How To Choose The Right Area Rug – Stefan Gheorghe is the founder and CEO. In 2008, she launched the platform due to her passion for interior design and home decor.
You’d be surprised how much a rug can change the decor and ambiance of a room. The same goes for carpets. But having any one accent feature is not enough. It is important to know how to coordinate the carpet or rug with the rest of the decor, materials used in the room, texture and color.
How To Choose The Right Area Rug
There are many types of carpets that you can choose from. For example, Dhuri rugs are made in India and are flat-woven cotton rugs that come in a variety of colors and combinations. Pastel shades are the most popular and designs often feature images of animals, flowers or people.
How To Choose An Area Rug For Your Living Room
Oriental rugs are a great investment. They are always expensive and their value never decreases. There are many types of oriental rugs, so be sure to do your research before purchasing. For example, oriental silk is often woven with gold threads and wool is more expensive than oriental.
Bordered rugs are simple and have a base color in the center and a border around the edges which can be in different styles, colors and designs. It can be a simple strip of one color or several strips of different and contrasting colors. These rugs are truly versatile.
Embroidered rugs can come in a variety of designs and can be personalized with initials or anything you draw on the paper. There are no rules in this situation. The price varies depending on the complexity of the design.
The rug or carpet you choose should match the space you have in mind, and there are a few things to consider in order to make the right choice. First of all, consider the lifestyle you live. For example, if you have small children or pets, you should buy a carpet that is easy to clean or hides stains well.
How To Choose A Rug Size
Also, consider where the carpet or rug will be. If it’s a high-traffic area, you’ll want something durable and sturdy. If it is a formal living room, you can choose something elegant and simple. For the bedroom, choose one that feels soft and comfortable underfoot.
Style is also important. A rug should complement the room perfectly, so if you decorate it with minimal, modern furniture, an oriental rug will look out of place. Consider all the colors, textures and materials used in the room before making a decision.
Notice how easily it can be cleaned. Certain types of carpets and rugs require special care and should be taken to a professional at least once a year. Decide if it’s worth the effort and money, or if you’d rather buy something easier to care for.
If you move around a lot, you don’t want to lug around a big, heavy rug every time you move. So maybe a small rug is better than a large rug or carpet. That way, no matter the size of the room, you’ll know it will fit easily in your new room.
Best Rug Sizes For Different Rooms
Also, if you want to change your decor with the seasons, decide if the rug has a timeless design that complements the different designs, or if there are several rugs and change them according to the decor.
There are many types of materials to choose from and also different techniques for making rugs. Natural carpets are made from fibers from plants such as sisal, jute, sea grass or hemp.
Of course, you need to consider the cost. If you want something that will last for years without showing signs of wear and tear, invest in a high-quality rug. Cheap ones are not as durable and you will find that they are not as big. But if you like to change things up, this can be a good option. But carpets can be expensive. And choosing one can be daunting, as bulky items like these can have a huge impact on the look and feel of a room. The right carpet can last decades in your home. The wrong carpet will serve as a daily reminder of the money you’ve wasted and the expense you’ll have to spend if you want to replace it.
Given the variety of materials, colors, patterns, and sizes available, it’s easy to make a mistake. Finding the perfect rug is “a tricky puzzle,” says celebrity New York interior designer Celery Kemble.
How To Choose The Right Rug Size For Your Living Room
We asked Mrs. Kemble and other carpet designers and manufacturers for their advice on this question.
There’s no rule that you have to stick to just one rug in your living room. Designers often use multiple rugs in large rooms to define different areas. So how do you know if one or more is best?
A rug with a bold pattern can serve as the defining feature of a living space. (The Bridge Hand Knotted Wool Rug above is from The Rug Company.)
“I often work in apartments where the goal is to maximize the sense of usable space in the living room,” says Kemble. In those cases, “I usually want to use a rug and make it as big as possible.”
Choosing The Best Size Area Rug For Your Space
Large, open-concept spaces like lofts benefit from multiple rugs that help hold different furniture groups and can be used to separate living areas from dining or media areas without walls.
Another option is to layer rugs with a single large flat rug underneath to cover most of the floor and smaller decorative rugs to anchor the different living areas.
“One of my favorite tricks is to use a very large sisal rug, which is relatively inexpensive, and then cover the living area with soft, fluffy rugs or an umbrella,” says Kemble. “The size of the sisal tells everyone you’re all in the same party.”
Carrier & Co. of Wilton, Conn. Placed an antique Persian rug over a large sisal rug for the living room. Credits… Sam Frost
Guide To Rug Sizes: How To Choose The Right One
“We always start with the practical, considering the architecture and mechanics of the home, and then move to the decor,” said Jesse Carrier, principal of Carrier & Co., a New York interior design firm. “Are there doors and windows to think about? Don’t you want to cover any HVAC floor grates? Do you have a fireplace to tackle?”
“There’s nothing worse than walking around the perimeter of a carpet,” said Mrs. Kemble, with one foot out and the other out.
Choose a size that will completely cover the walkway or leave the floor clear for people to cross. Next, determine how far the rug will be from the furniture. A common way to measure a rug is to make sure it reaches under all four furniture legs.
Or you can use a small rug that goes under the front legs of sofas and chairs and stays there. Make sure small items like side tables and floor lamps on the edge of the rug are completely inside or outside the rug, Carrier said: “You don’t want side tables that are unbalanced and wobbly when you put everything down.”
Rules For Choosing A Dining Room Rug + Pretty Rug Souces
What about small rugs floating in the middle of the room that aren’t anchored by sofa and chair legs? Many experts advise against it.
“Smaller rugs look a little lost and incomplete,” said Susanna Joycey-Cecil, marketing director of a rug company in London. “It can look like a postage stamp, which is not very pleasing to the eye.”
In a house designed by Richard Mishan in Cartagena, Colombia, all the living room furniture sits on a large Sandeep wool rug by Patterson Flynn Martin. Credits… Roger Davies
A rug with a bold pattern can act as the defining feature of a living space, but to make such an impact, boldness is required. Deciding to go with a graphic rug or something simpler comes down to personal preference, as well as your overall design vision and where your home is located.
How To Choose An Authentic Area Rug 2023
“Oftentimes customers in the city want to invest in an antique rug from an auction or one of the larger rug dealers,” Carrier said. But at the cottage and on the beach, “we’ll usually do some sort of sisal, seagrass or coconut rug because it’s a little more casual and rustic.”
If you decide to buy a patterned rug, there are endless options, from modern freeform designs to more traditional designs. But if you prefer to keep it simple, there are plenty of possibilities
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