Decorating Guides
Get Clever With Area Rugs for Warmth and Beauty
Give feet a soft landing, protect your floor, hide a stain ... with area rugs in your arsenal, you can win any flooring battle
It’s sweater weather — my favorite time of year. A well-chosen sweater adds warmth, color, texture and, let's face it, coverage for any underlying imperfections. A rug can do the same for floors.
If your home is anything like my pet- and child-filled household, your floors take abuse. Our foyer's once-beautiful parquet floors have become a landing strip for excited feet. And the damage pretty much runs the length of the house. We could refinish the wood floors (too expensive for now), lose the destructive forces (not a chance; they're way too cute) or hide the problem areas. If you're like us, the only feasible option is to mask the wear and tear with a reasonably priced rug. Choose well and your entry (wood or carpeted) can take on a whole new look and feel while standing up to further destruction.
Here is some inspiration for choosing a good rug style, pile and material, and some important advice on keeping a new rug clean for the long haul.
If your home is anything like my pet- and child-filled household, your floors take abuse. Our foyer's once-beautiful parquet floors have become a landing strip for excited feet. And the damage pretty much runs the length of the house. We could refinish the wood floors (too expensive for now), lose the destructive forces (not a chance; they're way too cute) or hide the problem areas. If you're like us, the only feasible option is to mask the wear and tear with a reasonably priced rug. Choose well and your entry (wood or carpeted) can take on a whole new look and feel while standing up to further destruction.
Here is some inspiration for choosing a good rug style, pile and material, and some important advice on keeping a new rug clean for the long haul.
Put them where they're needed most. Rugs are great for anchoring a room. In fact, many interior designers base a room's look around the rug. Sure, there are many good reasons to do this, but most of us don't have the luxury of reinventing a living area from the ground up once our floors start to age.
Instead, just strategically place cover-ups near doors that lead to outside and on heavily trafficked hallways and other paths.
Instead, just strategically place cover-ups near doors that lead to outside and on heavily trafficked hallways and other paths.
Other trouble spots that might need some coverage are around the coffee and dining tables, where forgotten spills sink deep into carpeting. Kids' bedrooms, too, are always in need of clever disguises.
Size. Once you've figured out where a rug would help most, measure the longest dimensions of the areas you wish to cover as well as the shortest measurements with which you’re willing to compromise.
Though there are many reasonably priced, ready-made rugs available, they may not come in the perfect size for your area. Be open to alternate sizes or a custom rug. And if the area you want to cover is large, consider multiple rugs.
How to Choose an Awesome Rug No Matter What Your Space
Though there are many reasonably priced, ready-made rugs available, they may not come in the perfect size for your area. Be open to alternate sizes or a custom rug. And if the area you want to cover is large, consider multiple rugs.
How to Choose an Awesome Rug No Matter What Your Space
Carpet manufacturers can cut and bind carpeting into a rug that fits your exact measurements. Or, you could use modular carpet squares; they allow you to piece together a rug that will fit your look and be just the right size.
Squares are great for creating colorful rugs for a small entryway or to cover a large living area like this room. If one piece becomes stained, you won't be forced to replace the entire system, just the single soiled square.
Squares are great for creating colorful rugs for a small entryway or to cover a large living area like this room. If one piece becomes stained, you won't be forced to replace the entire system, just the single soiled square.
Materials. “When I am helping clients select rugs or carpeting for their homes I always go to natural materials like wool, or natural-material blends like wool, cotton, jute, sisal,” notes interior designer Anastasia Faiella. “Wool rugs are the best, because they are easy to clean, and, being an organic material, they look better to me while feeling good on bare feet.”
Faiella is quick to point out that wool rugs tend to carry a higher price point than synthetic rugs made of acrylic. If this is a short-term fix, a rug in a lower price point may make more sense. However, a good-quality rug can always be transferred to another room later.
Faiella is quick to point out that wool rugs tend to carry a higher price point than synthetic rugs made of acrylic. If this is a short-term fix, a rug in a lower price point may make more sense. However, a good-quality rug can always be transferred to another room later.
If you prefer a high pile, shag and berber rugs may be just the ticket. “Either work well on wood floors or laid over existing carpeting and can be switched out if you live in a multiclimate environment,” says Faiella.
Again, going back to the sweater analogy: The beauty of sweaters and rugs is their unique ability to add unexpected texture in small doses. If you want your floor upgrade to go full-on cozy, don't be afraid to pile on the pile.
Again, going back to the sweater analogy: The beauty of sweaters and rugs is their unique ability to add unexpected texture in small doses. If you want your floor upgrade to go full-on cozy, don't be afraid to pile on the pile.
Rugs for all seasons. If you like to change things up from season to season, Faiella suggests using shag and berber in the winter, then switching them out for a low-pile wool or other natural material — like sisal, jute, cotton or sea grass (as shown in this photo) — for the summer months.
With so many rug choices available in so many price points, take advantage by getting different reasonably priced options. Multiple throw rugs will likely cost less than refinishing floors, and laying them down is definitely easier than hauling a room full of furniture in and out to accommodate new wall-to-wall flooring.
With so many rug choices available in so many price points, take advantage by getting different reasonably priced options. Multiple throw rugs will likely cost less than refinishing floors, and laying them down is definitely easier than hauling a room full of furniture in and out to accommodate new wall-to-wall flooring.
Adding a rug over existing carpeting. Though we typically associate rugs with being on wood floors, they work just as effectively over carpets to beautify a blah or stained section that you may not want or be able to rip out.
Just make sure the carpet you're covering up is up to the task. It's best if the carpet you'll be putting an area rug on top of is low pile, as opposed to anything chunky, like a shag or berber, Faiella says. The low-pile base will keep the new rug from shifting.
Just make sure the carpet you're covering up is up to the task. It's best if the carpet you'll be putting an area rug on top of is low pile, as opposed to anything chunky, like a shag or berber, Faiella says. The low-pile base will keep the new rug from shifting.
Adding a rug over another rug. The possibilities are endless when it comes to rugs. Now, I'm not saying this picturesque natural grass rug is in need of having a stain hidden, but in real life, this happens. By layering a cowhide over, the two rugs offer added visual interest and a cozier sitting area. And if, let's just imagine, a wine stain on the natural grass rug makes you want to rip your hair out, the cowhide makes everything better.
Borrow this idea of three circular rugs layered on top of one another to tailor your floor coverage to fit a unique room shape or furniture layout.
11 Area Rug Rules and How to Break Them
11 Area Rug Rules and How to Break Them
Keeping your rugs clean. It’s inevitable: No matter how much effort you make to find the right cover-up rug, things are going to spill on it as well. If you choose your rug wisely and understand stains before they happen, you can help avoid them. “Wool rugs are the easiest kind to clean,” says Faiella. “Wool is a natural fiber in which water can do an effective job cleaning basic spills. Though a rug manufacturer will supply specific cleaning instructions, in general I recommend letting a paper towel absorb any liquid. Don't rub. Then use sparkling water and your paper towels to spot clean, gently dabbing at the stain.”
But watch out. Hand-knotted rugs typically have natural lanolin in the wool, while some manufacturers use only vegetable dyes to color the wool, Faiella says. "These may need professional care, because a store-bought cleaning product could actually cause more stains.”
Get cleaning and care instructions from the manufacturer or vendor. Then kick your feet up, enjoy your beautiful new rug and don't give a second thought to what lies beneath.
Even if your worn floors are just in one concentrated area — say, right at the door — a sizable rug like this one will be effective at hiding the trouble spot while adding a new layer of beauty to the area at large.
Tip: No time like the present to enact a sensible no-shoes policy if you've been thinking along those lines. This is a great way to prevent further damage to existing flooring as well as keep new rugs in good shape.