The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything … or nothing.” — Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Lady Astor, Viscountess Astor (1879 -1964) was the first female member of parliament to take her seat.
Most of us love change, right? Well maybe in our homes. Other than a great coat of paint, nothing else you can do to your space will signal a greater change than by adding an area rug. I absolutely love them because regardless of your style, color preferences or the space in question, the addition of an area rug will make that space more comfortable and a lot more interesting.
Area rugs can add to your home in many ways.
Area rugs warm up your space. While we love our hardwood or solid surface floors, they can sometimes be cold and, well, empty. Adding a rug will warm up the space instantly.
Area rugs add color and pattern. Plain, unadorned floors need a spot of color. A rug is a very easy way to introduce color or a new pattern to your decorating scheme.
Area rugs help to muffle the sound of footsteps on a hard surface. Clomping around on a hardwood or tile floor in high heels or just shoes of any kind for that matter can produce a very annoying sound.
Did you know that in some areas when you are about to purchase an apartment or loft space you are required to cover a certain percentage of floors in carpet or rugs? Nobody wants to hear somebody in another unit walking around. Area rugs keep the sound down and feel good on your feet at the same time.
Area rugs are a great soft landing place for your feet. If you walk around all day in your home on marble, concrete or tile floors, by the end of the day you will feel it.
Bare floors can present safety considerations and placing area rugs on hardwood or tile floors reduces the chance of slipping on the bare floor. Bathrooms are great places for rugs — firstly, for the warmth and, secondly, to keep you from slipping on a wet floor.
And remember this: They don’t have to be fuzzy bathroom rugs. Beautiful area rugs or runners really dress up your bathrooms.
From a design standpoint, area rugs fill a lot of needs also. If you are starting from scratch with your furniture you might start with a large area rug for your largest room and use that as your inspiration for the rest of the room.
Rugs are also very versatile. It’s lovely to have a wool or silk rug in the winter and switch it out for sisal or coir in the summer. Using rugs gives you a lot of versatility in your space and can provide almost any mood you wish.
Area rugs also ground your space and pull seating and dining areas together. Placing an area rug within the sofa/chair configuration will add the finishing touch and make it a true conversation area.
Different patterns, textures and colors can certainly be used in the same room. There should be something to tie them together — probably color that can be found in each rug.
Different areas of the home require different shapes. A seating area or a dining table would most likely look best with a square or rectangle rug. An oval rug would soften the area a little more.
And remember, a rug under a dining table should be large enough to handle the chairs when they are pulled out from the table. When the rugs underneath a table can’t accommodate the chair movement, it ruins the look of the whole room.
Hallways or kitchens make places for runners also. These usually range from two to three feet wide and five to eight feet long.
In addition to these great reasons to invest in area rugs, they will also protect expensive marble or hardwood floors from excessive foot traffic. And regardless of what you may have been told, you can also put an area rug over a carpet. Some may require padding of some sort to keep it in place.
So if I’ve convinced you to look into area rugs, shop around for different styles and materials. Buying an interesting rug is your opportunity to add a shot of color that you may not necessarily want in a large dose and it’s also an opportunity to mix styles.
Source: Architectural & Decorative Arts Society