“The best rooms also have something to say about the people who live in them.”
David Hicks
Your home’s interior says a lot about your personality. This makes home designs a top priority for many. In the modern era, certain factors determine your taste in designing the interior, home accessories being a major one. Accessories give a new and more unique look to your home and what many decorators start their accessory selection with is rugs. Area rugs are a powerful tool to give your home a more artistic value. From contemporary to classic, from elegant to casual look, you can have it with an addition of this one switch. But with so many colors, styles, and materials to have, how can you know which one suits your needs? We have come up with a guide to save your time and effort in choosing the perfect area rug that goes with your personality. Here are a few tips that will help you in your rug hunt.
1. Finding a suitable color
When selecting a rug for your living space, the first thing to be considered is the color of the rug. The rug should complement the color scheme of your living space. It does not always have to be a matching color. It can sometimes give more of a noisy or maybe a boring touch to an overall look at your place. The rule that most designers stick with while choosing an area rug is working with the matching hues. Different colors while sticking to the same hue does the deed for you. If you notice the colors in your home, you’d see that dark colors make the rooms look smaller and the opposite happens when we use light colors. Keep the size of your room in your mind when choosing the color of the area rug.
2. Keeping everything in scale
Area rugs are supposed to add a flavor of uniqueness to your room but what good would that do if it doesn’t give a complete look to your living space? An area rug should create a balance for everything. Rug’s size should not only relate to the room size but also the furniture size and the placing. Sometimes, the rug is so small that it reaches the furniture but only to an extent that it covers some of the floors around it making it look unpleasant. Choosing the wrong size of the area rug can make everything look out of scale. A rug that exceeds the furniture makes the room look smaller. So the question is how do you want to portray your room?
3. Right Pattern
Having contrast in the pattern can give a defining look to the living space. You can experiment with the patterns of the area rug by keeping your furniture and wall colors in mind. Having an area rug with a unique pattern in the room with solid color walls can give a new look to the interior. If you have patterned walls or furniture, add solid colored rugs to give a contrasting and soft look. When looking for a rug, have a clear mind about what you need. Keep everything in account whether a pattern that is more inviting or the one that is more subtle one would look good with the walls of the room.
4. Rug Material
The material of the rug also adds a different look to it. Some area rug materials when combined with color and size give a more elegant look while others might give a traditional look. When it comes to the material of the rug, you also have to consider the feel and the durability of the rug. The woolen rug gives a soft feel to your feet whereas a jute rug gives more of a scratchy feel but is highly durable. Buy a good feel area rug for the areas where there’s going to be less traffic and more durable area rugs where there’s more traffic. When considering the material for an area rug, you should also consider the affordability. Wool mostly has higher prices than other materials for area rugs in the market. Silk rugs are considered the best feel area rugs and are generally extremely expensive when found in pure form.
5. Try Layering and Mixing
Experiment more with your area rugs selection. You can use more than one rug depending upon the size and style of your room. You can have different style rugs laid upon each other or in different corners of the room in a way that they complement each other. When mixing rugs in opposite corners of the room, you can experiment with many styles and colors. Lay down the same style area rugs with different colors or maybe different style rugs with the same hues as the wall closest to them. This can make your room expand more and give more of a division touch too. It all depends on the harmony you produce with them. When laying the rugs on top of each other, consider all the possibilities like which color would go better with the color of the floor and which one will look better in the smaller size. The one laid below doesn’t have to have a good feel to it. In this case, give priority to the durability of the lower rug. However, the upper rug feels under your feet does matter.
6. The right pile matters
The rug pile depends upon the density and height of fiber that is woven into the area rug. It is really important to know what kind of pile you want for your area rug. A low pile is the one that has lesser fabric with a height of around 0.25 inches These are less expensive than the shaggy and plushy ones which have a higher density of fiber in them. The fiber height goes up to 1 inch. They are really difficult to clean but have a really beautiful look to them. Plush area rugs add a touch of luxury to the room and also make the barefoot walking experience smooth. If the area rug is to be placed in the room that gets higher traffic, you’ll benefit from low pile rugs. They are sturdier but are easier to clean and maintain. They are light on your pocket and can also take a good beating.
7. But can you maintain it?
Before you choose an expensive, look good, feel good rug, question yourself “Can I maintain it?” As we mentioned earlier, the high pile, plush area rugs require high maintenance. If you’re willing to work for it and can keep it in good shape, only then go for the shaggy rugs. Light color rugs are also difficult to maintain. You’d have to vacuum the rugs on a daily basis or else they die out. Some rugs need professional cleaning services for their maintenance. The area rug should be compatible with the flooring under it. Do not let the stains set on your area rug or you’ll ruin it in no time. Use rug pads before laying it on the floor. Using rug tape or rug glue can ruin your floor and your rug as well. A rug pad also adds a bit of comfort when used under low pile rugs.
8. Research more before you shop
Before you go into the market with thousands of options, research on what you need. Create a collection of designs on your phone that you like and compare them. Take pictures of your room on your phone as well for when you go shopping. This way you’ll have everything in your pocket and you’ll be able to picture every area rug you see in your room. Shortlisting the designs will make it easier for you to reach the one design that is made for your living space.
Bonus tip: Look for quality + discounts
When shopping for the area rugs, your topmost priority should be quality. Search for the stores that provide quality rugs at the most affordable prices. You can judge this by finding out the manufacturing place of the rugs. Area rugs made in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran are considered to be good quality area rugs.
A cost-effective answer to your needs is a store that has all this and discounts. There’s a misconception that quality does not come at a cheaper price. Wrong! RugKnots provide high-quality premium rugs at an affordable price. RugKnots is an online area rug store that has a collection of more than 8000 area rugs available. Contemporary, traditional, transitional, tribal, eclectic, or whatever style you’re looking for, RugKnots provides it all. We are offering up to a 60% discount on our bestsellers to make it easier for you to get the best designs for your home. Shop area rugs from our showroom and add a new look to your home.
