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area rug sizes

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Like many things in interior design choosing a rug can seem like a perfectly simple decision. In many ways it is, but like many other pieces a rug can literally make a break the flow, mood and appearance of a room theme.

Of course, practical restraints like budget and cost come into consideration. The perfect rug for your ideal room might be made of organic wool sourced from New Zealand or Scotland. But we can’t all have that luxury.

Unlimited budgets aside, the main points are simply style and size. So, let’s get started.

What Size of Rug is Right for My Room?

The answer to what size of rug do I need really comes down to your preference of how you want to room to look.

The first option is if the rug is going to be the defining style for what the eye sees on the floor. Do you want the main visual on the floor to be the rug? I.e. your furniture sits on it completely? If so then you’re going to want to leave at least 12-18 inches of floor visible from the wall on all four sides. This helps create a nice separation between the wooden flooring underneath and the style of the rug.

The second option is if you only want the front two legs of your major items of furniture to sit on the rug. This is more budget friendly than a ‘whole room’ rug, but still gives the rug a commanding presence in the room’s appearance.

The final option is what is referred to as the ‘no legs’ option where a smaller rug is simply placed in the centre of the room. The only legs touching a rug of this size would be all four legs on your centre piece coffee table. As you would expect this is also the lowest cost option as it uses the least material.

What Style of Rug Should I Choose?

There is obviously no ‘correct’ style of rug, it is completely down to your personal preference. But a rug that you like the look of in isolation might not work with the theme of the rest of your room.

So here are some simple rules to help you get it right:

1 – Know your colour contrasts

In most cases you’re going to want the colour of the rug to contrast with the colour of your furniture. You can look up colour palettes on a number of different interior design blogs to help you get started. But a trend which is in just now and helps demonstrate the concept would be contrasting a grey furniture palette with a mustard rug and cushions.

It’s important to create these visual contrasts to make the room flow correctly and give it an appealing look.

2 – Patterns only belong in one place

If you like the look of a patterned rug, such as a rag rug then you need to make sure that your furniture is not pattered as well. Keep the furniture plain and let the rug do the talking if you want a vibrant and visual patterned rug as a centre piece.

This is an easy mistake to make, because even a subtle imprint pattern on your sofa and chairs for example can really cause a clash and ruin an otherwise carefully constructed room design.

3 – Be careful with texture matching 

Similar to pattern matching you need to be careful on the rug texture as well. If you have a high volume fluffy rug then you need to be careful about what cushions you have on your furniture.

The hard and fast rule would be to match your rug texture with a similar feel on your cushions. For example fluffy rug matched with fluffy cushions. A tight knit firm rug should be matches with smooth cushions.

Final Thoughts…

All in all if you still feel lost you should go to showrooms and take inspiration from displays that you like there. Or if because of current covid restrictions showrooms in your area are close, you can browse Pinterest or Instagram interior design accounts.

More often than not whoever has staged a showroom will get it right and you can copy their design, and the same thing goes for popular social channels.

Good luck!

SHOP AREA RUGS…

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“I see cowhide rugs everywhere.  I purchased one but it’s too small for my living room.  How can I use it ?”

Cowhide (real or faux) is a great way to add some natural animal elements to a room and also some texture.  We love how every cowhide is unique – it’s adds a cool and organic element to a room.  But you are right the size can be tricky especially in a larger room.

Try this – it’s actually a great trick for any area rug that you want to use that’s too small…

Layer it!

Yes, that’s right – layer it!  OK let us explain.  The cowhide is going to add a great graphic pop or natural texture to your space.  Underneath the cowhide use another rug in the correct size – in a neutral tone (we highly recommend a rug that is close in tone to the wall to wall floors).  We love the look of another natural textured rug like a sea grass or sisal or recycled leather but it doesn’t have to be.

Here are some examples:

Here the black and white cowhide is layered over a natural sisal – the mix of textures adds an extra element to the room.  Also the black and white pillows add even more visual interest in the space.

Try layering multiple rugs in one room.  Keep the largest one in a neutral and then the medium one is next and lat the smallest.  Feel free to lay them in an off set manner.  They don’t need to be completely centered and perfect. We like the look in this clean and modern space.  The walls being white allow for a ‘busier’ floor.  Notice the cream rug is layered with a black and white stripe and a cow hide.  It adds such a sophisticated feel to the space.

This is also a great way to update a space that has wall to wall carpet

You might think that this technique doesn’t make a difference but it does!  The larger rug pulls the eye out and wide and the smaller rug adds a pop of colour/print so the room still looks big and spacious whereas just having an area rug that’s too small will make the room appear small as well. In order for this to be effective – the largest rug must be of the proper size for the room.

You can also angle the rugs – they don’t have to be straight on and centered. This can work in any room, too!

This is a great way to still use your favourite area rugs even though they are too small!

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