The rug you choose for your space can dictate the style for your space. That’s why it’s important that selecting a rug is not an afterthought but rather one of the first steps you take in the design process.
Considering the huge variety of rugs available today, whether its online or in store, selecting the perfect rug can be overwhelming! We’ve come up with 4 factors to consider that will help you select the right rug with ease and confidence.
Rug Style
If you are looking for a rug for a room that already has furnishings and décor in place, then you certainly want to take into consideration the existing style of the furnishings. Choosing a rug that will complement other elements in the room is important. This will prevent the rug from looking like it was an afterthought but rather part of a well thought out design.
If you are starting a room from scratch, here’s your chance to let your design prowess shine! You want to make sure that the furnishings and other design elements that you introduce into the space complement the rug and the vibe you are going for. If you choose a Persian rug and then bring in modern furniture into the space, there’s a good chance the space will lack cohesiveness.
Color and Pattern
Apart from the style of the rug, color is also a great starting point in selecting a rug. If you have a color scheme laid out for the room, you can decide what colors you want the rug to pick up versus the color of the furniture, artwork, drapery, and the accessories will be. This is where the pattern of the rug ties in with the color scheme and plays an important role. If you are going for a minimal look, heavily patterned rugs probably aren’t your thing. But if you want pattern to play a role in your space then you want to decide if you want to display the pattern in the furnishings, walls or the rug. Too many patterns can clash and make the space look too busy. Overall, you want to make sure you strike the right balance between the pattern and color of the rug with the other elements in the space.
Rug Size
Choosing the wrong rug size is a common decorating mistake made by many. In order to avoid making this mistake there are a few simple tips that you can follow. For most rooms, the space from the edge of the rug to the wall should be anywhere between 10 to 20 inches. For smaller or larger rooms, you can go outside of this range by a few inches. Another simple tip to follow is to make sure that the front legs of the furniture are resting on the rug.
Rugs help define a space, so if you are working with an open floorplan or like the layered rug look it is okay to have multiple rugs in a large space to help anchor and identify the space. If you’re deciding between two rug sizes, we’ve found that it is always better to size up and go bigger.
Lifestyle and Maintenance
The amount of work you are willing to put into maintaining your rug is an important factor in deciding which rug to choose. Flat weave rugs are easy to vacuum and clean, whereas the higher the pile of the rug the more difficult it becomes to clean. Some high pile rugs require special equipment to thoroughly clean and remove stains.
In high traffic areas low pile rugs will perform and wear better. On the other hand, if you enjoy the sense of comfort and luxury that high pile rugs provide, you might consider them for bedrooms and other low traffic areas.
