Seeking rug advice for one continuous LR-DR

12 years ago

Hi,

We have one continuous stretch of living and dining rooms -- not just open to each other, but in the same room, in a 16x25 area. This also happens to share space with our "entry" since our house has no formal entry. The entry door is in the middle of the LR and DR, with Dining to the left and Living to the right as you enter.

I am in the process of getting hardwood flooring and am very interested in getting the advice from all the folks on this forum on what sort of rug(s) I should have for my area. Currently my plan is to leave the entry area without a cover, but I am open to considering an alternative.

-- Should I use exact same types of rugs with similar color combination on both the LR and DR sides? If I were to put two different colors and patterns would they compete with each other?

-- Another option for me is to get a base layer of neutral, solid rugs on both sides, (individually cut, not one continuous expanse) and use a colorful rug on the LR side, over the base layer, to add definition.

Comments (6)

homey_bird
Original Author
12 years ago
Sorry, without preview my message got posted and now I realize that it looks unfinished.

Just wanted to say, thanks in advance for the suggestions. The alternatives mentioned in the post above are options that I've thought but I would love to hear about more if there are any. Also, I'd love to see the pictures if any of you have solved this problem any particular way!
Fun2BHere
12 years ago
I think it depends on the mood you want to create, the style of your furnishings, and your furniture lay-out. Can you post pictures of the room?
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Thanks, blf. That is exactly what I love about this site. Honest criticism! It doesn't tie in with anything. The closest tie-ins might be the leather recliner and the fact that we used to live in Texas! Houzz shows tons of cowhide rugs these days, but maybe the rooms are more contemporary than mine. Maybe the cowhide rug in my room is just trying to hard to be different! Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz cowhide rugs[(https://www.houzz.com/products/cowhide-rugs-prbr1-br~t_515~a_623-12946)
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From the angle of the photo, the room has very strong horizontal lines, drapes would break it up with the needed verticals, which you might consider hanging tall as in the metal rod examples provided by gr8day, for a stronger vertical. Someone else suggested roman shades and end panels, but you might consider both shades and curtains. As far as being too close to the far wall, I don't see that as a problem, per say. You have a lot of window in this room, if the drapes had to be brought in on that side to cover part of the far window, I don't know if that would be a crime. The room is a bit stayed and bland for my taste, and I think introducing a more vibrant color might help the scheme. Or an accent color, like a dull green or blue. As far as cats and blinds of any kind. It isn't just the fact that they are vertical but they are in the way of prime bird watching. It may not be so much that they are ignoring the other blinds but that only certain ones are perceived as being in the way. There will be nothing you can do about that no matter what shades you introduce. Are you suggesting there are only a couple of blinds that are being damaged and the others left alone. If so, those may be thought of as being in the way. You could try making a compromise with the cats and leaving those blinds up enough to peek out of while the others are down all the way. I suggest one of the many aerosol deterrents on the market to spray on your currant blinds, to keep from possibly staining the delicate material, you could spray on the back (window facing) side and the bottom edges.. Perhaps do a test first. switch out one of the scratched blinds with a good one rehang the bad one so there isn't a window without a blind, then spray the undamaged blinds with Cat Deterrent Spray, and proceed as you usually do. If the cats don't attack the sprayed blind, you will know it works and can purchase the replacement blinds and treat the whole lot with deterrent. Here is a link that might be useful: Cat Deterrent Spray
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Thank you Bev for giving me the visualization I've been lacking! It really helps! I agree that the colors In the painting have been giving me difficulty. I may try to move it into the DR or another room, but it is quite large, so I'm not sure. In any case, you have helped me feel bolder about getting started on this project. Thank you!! Chucksmom: I I00% agree that if you love something, it doesn't matter if it's "out". In my case, I do think I'm tired of the colors and need a change. Since the whole house needs painting, it seems like a good time to implement these changes. The chandelier was something I really loved for a long time, but I need a aimpler look. I have a friend who wants it and it will be perfect in her DR. Kippy: I've always thought it was strange that the furniture faces the stairs. Maybe it's partly why the room feels weird to me. That and the high ceilings make it feel cold. We actually never use that room other than when there are large gatherings that spill into that part of the house. We all congregate in the FR. Kitchen and backyard, though the cats like to curl up on the sofa!
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northcarolina
12 years ago
We have that exact same configuration, also with HW flooring. We have a patterned Oriental-style rug in the LR, and when we had a DR rug, it was a solid color with a patterned border. The colors did not match exactly but were compatible; they styles were also compatible. The LR rug is mostly dark red-brown and the DR rug was mostly dark green, with some red in the border. We no longer have the DR rug (dog messed it up and it's easier to clean a bare floor while the kids are little) -- so I'm afraid I can't post a pic. But to me at least the pairing looked sensible.
OrchidOCD
12 years ago
I think the key is compatible colors, not necessarily matching patterns. Different sizes/shapes also help to define the areas as separate functional areas that make up a cohesive whole. From my entry you can see (somewhat) into 3 different areas, so I have 3 rugs in one pattern (different shapes and sizes) in that area that contain colors that are echoed in rugs in the other three areas, though the styles/shapes of the other areas are decidedly different. My kitchen is open to my family room and visible from both the dining room and entry, so the rugs in my kitchen have some of the colors of the rugs in my entry, family room and dining room, but a decidedly different pattern from those other areas. Same with all of the other downstairs rooms...

Part of it was 'planned decorating', and part of it was 'oooh, I love this one, too - I can make that work!'... and okay, I admit it - I went a little wild on the Rugs USA site on some of their killer sale weekends. Part of the joy of area rugs is that you can move them around when you want to, so if you've got compatible colors, you can easily relieve the 'this room needs a change' itch. ;-)
homey_bird
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts.

Fun2BHere: unfortunately I lost the cable to my camera to upload the pics to internet (no smartphone here :-()-- so I will try and create a SketchUp floorplan to illustrate my layout better. Sorry about that!

I would love to read/see how others solved similar issues.
stinky-gardener
12 years ago
Homeybird, I have the same configuration too, and have two oriental rugs in the same color way, one in each room. They are not identical patterns, but are very close. I like having something a little different in each room.

You could go with a solid in one room and a pattern in the other, but I would want a rug of some sort in each room. Whatever you decide, make sure your dining room rug is big enough! You want to be able to scoot back all four legs of your dining chairs so they are touching rug. It's no fun to be halfway on the floor, halfway on the rug when eating dinner!

Seeking rug advice for one continuous LR-DR

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homey_bird
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Fun2BHere

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northcarolina

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Seeking rug advice for one continuous LR-DR

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homey_birdOriginal Author

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northcarolina

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