THE RIGHT RUG FOR YOUR SPACE

When decorating your room, whether you’re using your rug as a starting point or finishing off a room, rug choice can make or break it. 

Choosing the right rug will help delineate and define living spaces, anchor furniture, adding softness, texture, colour and warmth to areas that can feel or look cold, particularly those tiled floors.

Our Adelaide design team know that selecting the right rug for your indoor and outdoor living space can be challenging, so here are our best rug styling tips, straight from our interior designers.

SIZE

Dont choose a rug thats too small for the space!  This is a common mistake and can really make the difference between pulling your room together or making it disjointed and out of proportion.  When in doubt, go bigger every time; it will be worth any extra expense.

A rug anchors a group of furniture that otherwise can look adrift in a space.  In a living area, our interior designers recommend a rug that extends to half way under sofas and chairs and in a dining area, make sure its large enough so that when the chairs are out or in use, they still sit on the rug.

To really get an idea of how your rug will sit in your space, marking the area out with painters tape will give you a great sense of the scale and proportions.

In the bedroom, as a general rule you should position your rug from the bottom 2/3 and extend it out to the sides and end. 

Don’t forget to take into account the orientation of your room. A rectangular space looks best with a rectangular rug positioned in the same direction, whereas a square room would better suit a round or square rug.

COLOUR

Because rugs anchor a room, the impact of their colour and tone can have a dramatic influence on the overall feel of the room.  Darker colours will reduce the light and create an intimate mood, while lighter colours will reflect light and open the space.  Take exisiting furniture, wall and window coverings along floor colour into account when choosing your rug.  Be mindful of selecting the right tone and temperature of the colour to complement rather than clash with the decor.

If your rooms colour palette is muted or monochromatic, going bold with a colour choice can be a great way adding some life, personality and interest to your room.

TEXTURE

The texture of your rug will effect how it feel and how it looks adding light and shade, depth, interest and softness.  The texture of a rug can help to define the theme of a room from a relaxed, casual sisal, through to a traditional Persian or a bright decorative Kilim.  

The rugs material and weave creates its depth and texture. Our designers recommend always using rug underlay on hard floors with flat weaves, such as Kilims and the popular distressed traditional rugs to keep them in place and looking good.  Heavier heavier, wool weaves have enough weight to sit on carpet without buckling when furniture legs sit on them.

Its important to keep the use and traffic of the rug in mind when selecting the texture – Natural rugs made form sisal, jute or seagrass are also durable making them great in high-traffic areas whereas wool rugs will wool create softness, luxury and subtle texture to your space and look their best in  in spaces where there isn’t as much traffic, limiting the wear and tear.

The rugs weave and texture can also effect how easy it is to clean though vacuuming or professional cleaning – if you have pets or small children, it can be a deciding factor in your rug selection.  Our experienced designers can always help with selecting a rug thats beautiful, robust and perfect for your home and family.

PATTERN

Pattern and texture can go hand in hand – open weave rugs will add light and shade without being overly dominant in pattern.  Keep in mind that large patterns can dominate a room and its a brave choice that has to be executed well to create harmony. 

Smaller patterns will add texture and echo the colour palette of a room, balancing with solid walls, furnishings or window coverings.  Patterned rugs are also practical in that they don’t show every spec of dirt and fluff from daily living.

Rugs with muted patterns or weaves are a safe way to create some interest without being to dominant. A solid colour rug will have a grounding, restful aesthetic in your space, whereas a bold patterned rug can really bring your room to life. 

Like anything in your home, your rug should be right for the people that live there – it should be beautiful, durable, practical and personal.  Take your time selecting the right rug – it will be the focal point of your room for many years to come.

If you need help selecting the perfect rugs for your home contact our team and one of our designers can help you select the perfect rug for your space.

^{HEADER IMAGE: Etoile Rug in Porcelain by Armadillo}