You might try a solid rug which has some sort of self pattern so it won't look boring. Overstock and wayfair would be good places to look.

Thanks, the problem is that I'm not able to identify what this looks like. Can you provide an example ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

Thanks for the examples! I see now that the photos are deceiving, but grey is too cool for the room. There are lots of warm tones, here's an example of a board with my furniture; the mint color in the ottoman, pillow and artwork is coming out. The difference is that the sofa is darker in real life and the jute rug looks pale here compared to how it would be (I think).

I viewed every rug at room and board, and I've taken swatches home. The adler rug in ivory is the best I've got but that has a higher pile than I'd like, its 0.5. Here are some more angles of the room.. the room is already looking very "muddied" with all this brown.

The color of the chair looks off here, I included a detail photo of it in my first post.

I know this must surely go against all your instincts, but consider an Oriental rug, which is deemed suitable for any style of furniture. It was your painting that made me think of going in that direction. With the muddy (as you describe it) colors you have so far, something exciting and vibrant at ground level may be exactly what you need, which will then be carried on to a higher level with your art.

Thanks I like where we are headed! Maybe an overdue dyed blue and white/cream?

The only other thing I want to mention is that the painting might give the impression that I have a traditional style, but I would say it is more modern/contemporary. I'm also phasing out my furniture to be more modern. Persian rugs have always made me think traditional and I would want to shy away from anything with a floral design. I will try to find some and post on here to ask your thoughts. In the meantime please post if you have something in mind. ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

What about this one: I'm a little worried about the fringe because of pet hair but I think it will look good against the dark wood floors and dark espresso couch. https://www.westelm.com/products/checkerboard-diamond-wool-dhurrie-rug-t3134/?pkey=e%7Cdiamonds%7C44%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C4&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH

Persian rugs go with contemporary and modern furniture too.

That's why they are timeless.

You could also try a nomadic or tribal woven rug.

EQ3 has some nice neutral flatweave rugs. These mostly run greige, and should work with warmer tones (especially the Caden and Husky). The Ori has the lowest profile of the three, I think (I have the Ori)

https://eq3.com/us/en/productdetail/rugs/rugs/8-x-10/ori-dining-rug.html

https://eq3.com/us/en/productdetail/rugs/rugs/8-x-10/husky-dining-rug.html

https://eq3.com/us/en/productdetail/rugs/rugs/8-x-10/hazel-dining-rug.html

https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Unique-Loom-Striped-Williamsburg-Area-Rug-9-x-12/16318393/product.html?recset=5b339eb6-02a3-4ced-9e1f-e9edc917f536&refccid=MFDKATDIK74ZZZCGIQBJVSBWF4&recalg=914,873,839&recidx=0

The rug that you showed is a dhurrie and they are thin and tend to move around on the floor. I hope you won't mind if I show you my rug because, even though my style is more traditional, this rug really isn't and I wanted to shake things up a bit. It may be too much color for you, but there are more restrained ones too.

The urban apartment with white walls and contemporary or mid-century modern furniture with wood floors and Oriental rugs is well-established design.

Rugs can be more geometric and less floral.

Google images for rugs that are kilim, nomadic, tribal, Caucasian and find the colorway and size you want.

if you live in an urban area there are lots to choose from.

You can get a handmade rug (knotted or woven) that has substance, style, maybe individual history and that ineffable quality that comes from being handmade, one of a kind, and part of a tradition.

Or you can get a machine made rug that is just like thousand of others that so many other people have that really says nothing about you as a person.

Oh, if you have a pet, rethink the Persian carpet. And not anything with loops.

They are best not vacuumed on a regular basis, it loosens the knots. You can use a carpet sweeper regularly, but I don't know how much your animal sheds.

Also, as your animal ages, it may have accidents, and that will spell disaster for the carpet.

At least if it is a sizable investment.

Wool Persian rugs are pretty tough. My late parents had some for decades and they were vacuumed at least once a week, and I recently put them in our new house after having had them in not-at-all-climate-controlled storage for 8-25 years and they look great.

For more on Persian/Oriental rugs with modern/contemporary style, look through these links,

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/vintage-purchases-new-house

https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/tag/persian-rug 

Thanks! If its not low maintenance its probably not the best match for us. Its definitely a beautiful investment piece and I would want to take care of one properly. I think I'll go with a machine made one. Of note, last year I purchased a polypropylene rug that I didn't like for many reasons - but one of which was that I thought it was too thick.

So for whatever reason I am drawn to thin floor coverings. I realize they are harder to keep in place.

I agree thin is the way to go. The gray and white rug striped rug is very inexpensive, polypropylene and you can wash it outside if necessary.

That's why I suggested cowhide earlier.

modern living room with cowhide rug - Google Search · More Info

Patchwork Cowhide Rug Stripes Design in White, Gray and Beige · More Info

modern living room with cowhide rug - Google Search · More Info

real hand knotted wool is very tough actually, i agree here with Becky. there's a reason these rugs outlive us. and that they're cleaned with snow in climates where there is snow))

but

other good options, thinner ones, are indeed:

-inside-outside rugs...they got so much more choice in these lately

-cowhide, yes

(I'll try too look for examples later..maybe I'll get lucky)

( I love cotton and all theoretically-but easy to trash these)

-or. wait. wait until something grabs you. leave the room for doubt-you won't know for sure what will grab you. set your criteria for functionality you want-and wait. your floors are very beautiful indeed. I wouldn't be in huge hurry to cover these either. I'd make damn sure I love my rug

beautiful room. And as I can see-we love same mugs))

Vintage Persian and Oriental rugs are not only a bargain but often quite thin as well.

Thanks, kulrn, I must have glossed over your earlier comment. I'm not completely sold on the look of having a cow on my floor. If I did, I would definitely go with a faux hide. But If someone said that dhurrie is prone to moving around, I don't see how this is better at staying put?

beckysharp thanks! I looked at the links you showed and I'm not seeing how persian rugs are a bargain; in fact the blogger writes about how they are expensive and she went with an alternative rug. Anything online you can point me to? I'm not the type to go store hopping, and I don't have a car.

aprilneverends thank you! I love that mug. I agree - I don't really want a large floor covering per se, but we're renting and need something. Let me know if you see something online -I must've spent 20 hours online searching and I really just don't know what I'm looking for any longer.

I'm not sure what your budget is and what you consider expensive or a bargain. A wool rug will last several lifetimes, whereas a synthetic rug will last for a few years and look good for considerably fewer, so one ends up buying a number of poly rugs rather than one good, wool rug. It's the pennywise, pound foolish formula : ) . I've found the Rug Chick blog to have very good information when buying rugs, especially about synthetic/polypropylene rugs.

The links I provided from Emily Henderson were just to show you the look. The general rule of thumb with bloggers like her are that they will only link to items where they can generate cash for clicks, so I find those links less than useful. Also, she lives in LA where I suspect much is overpriced : ) .

I would try eBay, Craigslist, etc. Also, I'm in Canada and have found some nice vintage rugs at very good prices at ecarpetgallery (dot) com through their Canadian site, but check their return policy at the US site for US customers.

(I did find smth very cool and inside-outside, and your style as I see it-unfortunately it's probably cooler, "colder" colors than you need. It's always something))

I'll look for more)

faux hide, I've also found..it's better than dhurrie not in terms of not moving, but in terms of much easier cleaning. Well I don't know with faux..but leather cleans better. Faux leather should be easy to clean I think too?

but if you're not sold on look-I won't link to it. It's not such a rarity to find. They're everywhere. Even though I did like ones I found-they seemed very happy faux cowhides))

This is probably more than I wanted to spend, but the runner in front of the couch is an interesting idea - I wonder if its practical.

https://etsy.me/2KK9drH

At the risk of suggesting something obvious, if you have an Ikea nearby, you might want to take a look at their selection, which includes low pile rugs, some of them in wool. Plus there are rug pads to help rugs from moving around, and they can be cut to fit.

Just Googled and found this, which might be helpful,

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/15-awesome-places-online-to-buy-rugs-248032

great link, becky! Studying it already-several shops new to me

love that shop and runner, notnyc-it'll be practical in terms of wear and tear I think, and it's lovely. But it'd be a rule breaker in terms of size. Which might work anyway. Depends. Usually folks prefer the rug to be bigger, so all the so called converstional zone pieces have at least their front legs on it. Makes the room feel bigger too. But. There are times one breaks the rules. I see just a part of the room, so.

You mentioned you need to cover the floor since you rent..to you need to cover maximum of it, or for some reason only the part closest to sofa?

on the other hand, a thought..since you're renting..it's easier to repurpose smaller rug or runner everywhere later..

This is probably more than I wanted to spend

Just as a point of reference, here's a vintage Persian runner at ecarpetgallery, slightly longer (3'6" x 10'4"), and several hundred dollars less ($420), compared to the one at Etsy,

http://www.ecarpetgallery.com/area-rugs/hand-knotted/iran/sarab/item-230857

Thanks everyone, I am taking a closer look and thinking that the reds - which nearly all persian rugs have- won't work with my color scheme. My floors are pretty dark and the sofa is as well; I think the rug needs to be something light (maybe overdyed) to contrast with the floor? please correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as color, don't limit yourself to the term "Persian", or a particular country. Take a look at rugs described as "tribal", from Afghanistan, Turkey, and so on. And you can search online at certain sellers by color.

As I can tell from your furniture, a rug with slight patterns would definitely liven up your space. Be sure to choose a rug large enough for atleast the front two couch legs and all of the table legs to be under the rug.

I think that this rug would look stunning:

^ Light blue ikat rug - [more info[(https://www.houzz.com/products/light-blue-ikat-rugrectangle-511x91-prvw-vr~110605077)

following

Here are a few with some blue tones as you have them in the space according to the board you have created:

Thank you - can you provide links to rugs 3,4,5 and 6? Porter Edun

6 is Nuloom Farroe Faded lace

4 is Edessa tribal medallion I believe it's also Nuloom

3 is Arabella Faded Crowned Rosette

5 is Waverly rowed diamonds

I actually found the Waverly Rowed Diamonds at RugsUSA.Com when I was searching the names for you. I didn't see it any other place.

Arabella Fades is on Amazon and other sites. Some of them come in multiple colors so be aware of that. I took them from a file folder so I had to look them up to see they are still out there and they are.

This is Jaipur rugs Desert Carcal (it's extremely thin though if you have children it may be a fuss).

Sorry, I said, "Arabella Fades". It's Arabella Faded! :/