Making Decisions: Or Why I'm An Indecisive Mess When It Comes To The House

I am not independently wealthy.  That's probably shocking since you know I'm a public school educator.  Anyway, that fact alone means I try to be fairly frugal when it comes to outfitting the house.  We saved quite a bit of money in order to buy new bedroom furniture and new furniture for the living room, but I always knew I would need to furnish the front room a little more cheaply.

So I'm looking at a couple of these chairs:

(Source)

Favorite and I like the shape, the color and we've sat in them and think they're comfortable.  I'll probably have to invest in a couple of square footstools to go with them.  And, of course, we'll add some color with throws (but likely not throw pillows).

And in order to dull the sound in that room, we've also considered the possibility of an area rug.  Don't get me wrong here:  I LOVE my hardwood floor.  It is gorgeous and adds a richness to our house that nothing else could.  But there has to be some sound absorbtion to avoid a constant echo.  Unfortunately, that front room doesn't really have it, and adding leather (or faux leather) chairs probably isn't going to help any.

The room is painted a brown color with a yellow accent wall, so many of the accessories are going to be red.  If that doesn't make sense to you, then you don't reside in my head which is actually much safer for you anyway.

This is the first rug we found:

(Source)

I love the variety in color, but I was afraid it would be a little more than I actually wanted in that room.

Currently, I can't find the rug we will likely get, but I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Until then, what do you think?  Suggestions for getting things cheaper?