Completing your room with an area rug is a quick, and often inexpensive, way to add some personality to your decor.
1. Selecting the Area. Choose a room for the area rug and carefully measure that area. Take note of the approximate size of the furnishings in your room, as your area rug should match in size. Decide whether you’d like to have your furniture completely on or off the area rug. For larger rooms, such as dining rooms, an 8′ x 10′ area rug is suitable and allows all of the table and chairs to fit on top of the rug. To accent furnishings, leave some floor space between the furniture and the area rug
2. Select Shape. Area rugs come in a wide variety of shapes: oval, circular, square, rectangular. Shape makes a big difference on whether or not it will be pleasing to the eye.
3. Runners. Runners are great ways to fill up narrower spaces that need a splash of color or character.
4. Selecting Pattern. For a room with few colors, use a busier pattern on your rug to liven up the environment. For a room with a lot of furnishings and colors, better to stick with a more simple pattern so as to not add too much chaos to your decor.
5. Select Rug Material. Wool is highly resilient and resists dust mites which is helpful for those with allergies. Cotton has great feel under the feet, but often is less resilient than wool. Nylon resists stains and have excellent strength and often cost less than those made out of natural materials. Acrylic is also resistant to stains, but these are mostly used for bath mats and rugs.
6. Match with Decor. Take notice of the decor around your area rug. Some of the colors should match with the area rug you decide on. When shopping for area rugs, have a color sample from your home decor by your side as a reference. Lighter colors give the feeling of spaciousness, while darker colors create a cozier mood.
7. Get the Right Accessories. Area rug pads will keep rugs from slipping on hardwood floors and often provide a more cushioned feel to the rug. They also protect the grain on hardwood floors and make vacuuming easier. A vacuum is essential to keep your rug clean and free from dust. Chemical spot cleaners are essential for those inevitable accidents that may come your way.
