Posts tagged large area rugs

When it comes to do it yourself home decorating, using area rugs is an expressive way to do it. However, it can be a little intimidating if you’ve never used rugs as decoration before. Many first time rug decorators may feel nervous that they won’t make the right choice in a rug. If you’re decorating a bigger room, large rugs can start to become expensive, depending on the rug quality and material. Therefore, it’s a good idea to do a little research of your own to help with the selection process. The internet is great for this research and I’d encourage you to continue after you’ve read this article. To help you get started, here are some basic, useful tips for choosing and placing large area rugs in your home.

A Rug Isn’t Wall to Wall

One of the best advantages of area rugs is their ability to add another level of decoration to the room. Therefore a rug shouldn’t be used to cover the entire floor. Wall to wall carpeting is a much better option if you want to go that route and, therefore, is a poor use for a beautiful rug. As a rule of thumb you want some exposed floor around all edges of the rug, including any fringe.  Experts suggest at least eight inches. Anything less tends to confuse the eye and lower the effect of a good rug. Take some measurements of the room before you shop and simply subtract the desired amount.

Make a ‘Dry Run’ at Rug Placement

This is an easy technique to get a rough idea of how the rug will sit in a room before ever buying it. All you need is a tape measure, four pieces of paper, and some tape. Use the paper to represent the four corners of an imaginary rug. Take measurements from the wall of at least eight inches and tape down a piece of paper. Repeat this process until all four pieces are in place on the floor. Once finished, you’ll have a rough outline of the space the rug will occupy.

Now that the outline is found, take a moment to look at the area the rug will occupy. Are there any air vents or other things the rug could cover up? Make sure the rug isn’t in the way of any in-swinging doors. If a door will swing over the rug, make sure it has enough clearance to pass over without touching it too much. If it doesn’t the door may erode the rug down more quickly.

Using a Rug as a Focal Point

If you’re intent for the rug is to make it the main attraction of the room’s décor, large rugs are your best bet. They are also a very cost effective way to cover up an unsightly floor until the floor can be refurbished. Again, be sure not to let the rug edges crowd the wall, keeping at least eight inches of space between the two. Don’t worry too much about visitors seeing the bad flooring around the rug. The rug itself will attract the eye more and your guests probably won’t even notice anything else. In fact, most people will only comment on how beautiful the rug is.

Color and Design

With the varieties of color shades and patterns available, this step will mostly be a matter of personal preference. Therefore, it’s one of the most enjoyable aspects of rug shopping. There are some basic rules such as lighter colors will make a room seem brighter and larger. Darker colors will make the room seem more warm and cozy. You can take a photo of the room you’re decorating along with you to help see if any rugs you like will work well in the room.