When you’re first choosing how to begin decorating your home, you may have some trouble narrowing down the general style themes you want to work with. Some people are quick to jump into interior design and make all their important decisions right away, but others may need to take some time and consider carefully before choosing. If you find yourself faced with decorating choices and have no idea where to begin, it can be a good idea to choose the area rug style you plan to work with before branching out to the rest of the room.
But just what is an area rug style? In short, there are three different design categories that area rugs can fall into. These categories can also spread into the rest of the room’s décor and themes, so it can be helpful to pick one of them for your rug needs and then let them guide your decisions about the room as a whole. In this article, we’ll discuss the three categories that rugs can fall into and help you better learn to identify each one. This, in turn, will make it easier for you to choose the perfect rug to accent your home in no time.
Contemporary
Contemporary area rugs are also known as modern area rugs. These rugs are some of the most up-to-date in terms of fashion and style, and they offer many design trends that may be on the forefront of home décor. Contemporary area rugs focus heavily on making a statement and drawing attention to the floor rather than blending in with their surroundings. If you’re going for a contemporary look, you probably want to let your rug do a lot of the talking in whichever room you’re decorating. You may also want to choose a rug that can be useful as well as beautiful, and pick one that can hold up to foot traffic.
Contemporary rugs may use just about any color, but they tend to stick to bold and vibrant splashes against more neutral backdrops. They may also incorporate contrasting colors, and black-and-white styles are very common in this design category. These rugs are usually made of manmade fibers, but can be made of silk, cotton, jute, bamboo, and many others. They are available in many shapes, sizes, and styles, and may be used as runners as easily as they can become centerpieces or throw rugs. Shag rugs are very prominent among contemporary rug designs, but other piles can be found as well.
Traditional
Traditional area rugs are usually what people envision when they think about rugs in the first place. These rugs may include antique Persian rugs and the like, but they don’t have to; just because a rug is traditional doesn’t necessarily mean it’s old. They can be used as large centerpieces to help draw a room together, and they tend to blend in a little more with the rest of the room than a modern rug does. These rugs are often made of natural fibers, but not always, and they feature timeless designs that look great in almost any situation.
Traditional rugs are almost always made of wool. However, they may be made of any other type of fiber, too, as long as the end result looks the part and fits into the design category correctly. They tend to feature earth tones and neutral tones, like shades of brown, cream, gray, and dark green or blue. These rugs are usually very large and feature floral and geometric prints. They incorporate large, thick borders that take up several inches of the rug’s perimeter in most situations as well. These rugs are meant to be centerpieces.
Transitional
When you want to enjoy both contemporary and traditional design elements or you have many pieces of furniture and other décor from both categories that you want to blend together in one room, you may want to go with a transitional area rug instead. This category allows you to combine both other styles to create something entirely new. Many times, this means utilizing the colors and fibers of a traditional rug with the patterns and shapes of a contemporary rug. It may also mean a rug made of contemporary fibers in very traditional colors and patterns. There are many possibilities with transitional rugs!
More often than not, transitional rugs are made of contemporary fibers that are a little easier to take care of and more durable than their traditional counterparts. A common trend among transitional rugs is to utilize the floral and geometric prints of a traditional rug, but in a much larger scale that takes up more rug space and features little to no border instead. This is just one of the many ways you may see the two stylistic trends combined into one. Just remember that any time a rug bridges the gap between the two other styles, it most likely is transitional.
There is no right or wrong answer about which type of area rug to choose for your home, just like there’s no right or wrong way to decorate the rooms of your house. The choices are entirely up to you, and you should not feel limited by a certain style if you don’t like its elements that much. Take your time and consider these options to help you find the right fit for your home. You may want to stick to a uniform design category throughout the house or change it up from room to room or between different areas instead.
Just remember that, when you’ve decided on a category, you should try to stick to it within that individual room. Otherwise, mixing the styles will end up with a transitional look every time. Although there’s nothing wrong with this, it may not be what you’re going for, so keep this in mind when decorating for best results!
Remember, too, that you should consider the colors, materials, and size of the rugs you choose to help you pick the right category for your room’s design trends. Doing so will make it easier to understand which category your rug falls into and which one you need to stick with throughout your décor.