Are you looking to decorate your home with a new floor treatment? Do you want something to spice up your interiors and keep your spaces looking fresh and new without having to totally redecorate? Or are you putting together a look for your new home and trying to find the right way to blend your unique interests with design element that will look fantastic? No matter what the reason might be, if you’re looking for a great new area rug, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll show you how to decorate your home with a new area rug and how to choose the perfect new piece for any room. Read on to learn more!
Remember to accent your existing styles.
When choosing a rug, whether it’s going to be an accent piece or a centerpiece, it’s important to remember the types of styles you have to work with in your home. You don’t want to choose an accent rug that doesn’t match anything you have going on in your interior spaces, after all! In order to choose the best accent rug for your room, you should understand which style your décor falls into. There are three main categories you can learn about to help you get started:
- Traditional: These area rugs are almost always made of wool, but they don’t have to be. More and more synthetic rugs are becoming available in traditional styles, and some may be made of silk as well. These rugs are usually very large, so they may not be accent pieces. However, again, this is not always true. Finally, traditional area rugs rely heavily on earth tones, jewel tones, and on more old-fashioned patterns involving borders and floral prints more often than not.
- Contemporary: These rugs can be almost anything that doesn’t fall into the traditional category. While most contemporary rugs are made of synthetic materials or more unique fibers like jute or bamboo, again, this is not always the case. These rugs may be very large or very small depending on the style in question. Shag rugs are a common find in contemporary designs, and these can work great for accent pieces as well as centerpieces.
- Transitional: Finally, transitional styles combine the best of both of the other two categories. If your rug has a traditional pattern and color scheme but is smaller and made of synthetic fibers, then it may be classified as transitional. On the other hand, if you have a bright and vivid abstract rug but it’s made of wool and large enough to be a centerpiece, then it may also be transitional.
When you know the type of style you’re working with in your home or the room in question, you can narrow down your accent rug options much more easily.
Work with the rug or carpeting you already have.
If you already have carpeting or a larger area rug in your home or room and you’re looking for an accent piece to go with it, be sure to choose something that will work with the existing floor treatment. For example, if you have a very large traditional area rug in the center of your room which features a floral print and various shades of brown, gray, and olive green, then it isn’t going to work if you choose a bright blue shag throw rug to go with it! You should consider complementary or matching colors for best results, and always keep the first tip in mind—work with your room’s style.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match.
Although it doesn’t usually work to decorate outside your existing room style (unless your room is already transitional), it can be very effective to mix and match design elements within the style in question. For example, if you love the look of traditional rugs with thick borders, you can usually get away with decorating with two smaller accent rugs in this style rather than one large one. They may not be the same design, but they may match or complement each other.
On the other hand, if your room is very modern and contemporary, you can go a little wilder with your choices. You can choose different fibers altogether or go with two totally different types of abstract designs. As long as everything you pick still fits into the contemporary category, being a little mismatched can usually go a long way in this type of style.
Stick to fibers that you can maintain.
Last but not least, it’s a good idea to pick your accent rug in a fiber you’re willing to maintain. This means that, if you want something that can hold up to a lot of foot traffic—like a runner rug or an accent piece for a living room that gets a lot of use—then you should stick to synthetic fibers that are meant to last a long time and hold up to plenty of wear and tear. On the other hand, if you love the look and feel of chenille rugs and you know your accent rug will be in an out-of-the-way place, you can choose this more delicate fiber. Just remember you’re going to need to take care of a little more maintenance for this type of rug in the long run.
No matter how or where you’re going to use your new area rug, be sure you pick the right fiber for the job. Just because a rug is cheaper doesn’t mean it’s lower quality, and a synthetic rug may be the right choice for most spaces in your home.
Were you able to learn how to pick a great area rug for your home? We hope we’ve given you some tips to remember the next time you go shopping for a rug. Although it can take a little time to narrow down your rug decisions and find a piece of home décor that’s perfect for your needs, the right rug is sure to be out there. Just keep in mind the suggestions listed above and you’ll be well on your way to picking a great rug in no time!