Big rooms and open floor plans are often a great selling point for realtors and rental agents. “Think of what you could do with this room,” they’ll tell you. But once you move in, it’s easy to get stuck thinking, “What am I going to do with all this space?” Without a way to define the purpose of each area of the room, furniture can seem placed haphazardly and guests will feel swallowed up by the room’s size.
There are a number of ways you can easily create a room everyone wants to be in just by using area rugs, but here are a couple of quick tips.
Divide Up a Room
Living rooms are often classic victims to disorganization simply because it’s where your family spends most of their time. This means that a big room can turn into design chaos quickly. You can use rugs to define areas within the room for a specific purpose.
Use a larger one to define the space around your entertainment center. Since this is the often the focal point of the room, choose one that will both compliment your furniture and draw your visitors’ attention to that part of the room. Video game lovers will also enjoy this space as a comfy place to sit while they battle it out.
Use another one to create a quieter place away from the television for a computer workstation or a cozy spot to sit and relax. Placing it under your room’s coffee table or desk will give this section of the room its own special place. Colors found in nature like soothing blues, greens, or tans will encourage a sense of calm.
If you’ve got kids, use a fun or colorful kid’s rugs to designate one corner as their own special place. Teach your children that toys and games stay within that area and you’ll do double duty by cutting down on clutter in the rest of the room. This will help children feel like they’ve got their own separate part of the room to play while Mom and Dad entertain.
Break up Larger Spaces
Newer homes and large studio apartments often feature open floor plan living areas. Open plans are great for making the most of a home’s square footage, but without careful design, it’s easy to feel lost.
This is where large floor coverings can be used to create defined living, working, and dining sections out of a big space. If you’ve got the same type of flooring running from one area into the next, choose ones that allow a visual “break” in each of the spaces. This tactic will be especially helpful if you’ve got different types or stains of furniture from one room to the next. Suddenly, a traditional dining set looks less mismatched next to a modern computer station when each are given their own defined space.
Choosing the right one can provide a fun and functional design element in cases such as this one. Picking two from the same series, such as those seen here from the Momeni New Wave series, show off a similar pattern but use contrasting colors. This adds visual interest to your room, but still allows you to give each space a specific feeling and purpose. Imagine serving dinner to your guests in the dining area, where the first rug’s inviting browns and rust tones encourage them to linger and then moving into the living area where the second one’s blue hues encourage relaxation. Guests will pick up on the pattern and be intrigued.
With the selection available on the market today, choosing the right one is merely a matter of considering your taste and budget. Keep in mind the size, texture, and function of each one as you shop. But by keeping these simple tips in mind, you can use them to turn your home’s living areas into a coordinated, delightful place to be.