Choosing an Area Rug for A Living Room

How to Choose an Area Rug for A Living Room?

Everyone knows how important area rugs are in decoration. You can also use area rugs in your decoration. You can have a very stylish living room by choosing an area rug that is compatible with the decoration of your living space. You can add a different atmosphere to your living space with area rugs designed with the right size, colors and patterns you prefer. If you are unsure how to choose a rug that is in harmony with the decoration and in the right size for your living room, please continue reading our article. With a few small tips when choosing rugs, you can easily choose the right rug for your living room.

The Importance of Area Rugs 

Area rugs are an essential part of the decor in living spaces, especially in living rooms. Rugs, which are generally chosen according to their appearance and the feeling they give to the environment, are the perfect product for those who want to create a new atmosphere in their living spaces. While it illuminates the room with its weavings in different patterns, an area rug offers sincerity and comfort to the household. In addition, the area rug, which you will position on the top of your carpet in the high traffic areas of your rooms, prevents your carpet from getting dirty and slows down the wearing of your product. As a result, replacing an area rug is more accessible than replacing all the rugs in your home. 


The area rug types you use to decorate your living room also protect your health. You may have heard from many people that the indoor air quality of homes with area rugs is better than homes without area rugs. Well, do you know how a rug protects your health? Wall-to-wall carpeting traps all the dust and mites in the air like a filter, yet it often requires professional cleaning. A rug collects dust and mites, just like a carpet, too. The good part is that you can easily clean rugs by sweeping regularly. In addition, the rugs are washable. 

 

Types of Area Rugs 

There are so many varieties of area rugs. Rugs are classified according to the materials and style used during the production phase. Generally, three groups of materials are used in rug production which are; 


  • Rugs produced with natural fibers are generally manufactured using wool, silk, cotton, and jute. Wool rug varieties are produced using natural fibers. Traditionally hand-woven wool rugs are pretty durable. For this reason, it is very suitable for areas with heavy foot traffic, such as the living room, bedroom, and doorway. Wool rugs feel soft but can be expensive due to the material used in their design. Silk rugs produced with another natural fiber are known for their shine. Having a thin and soft structure, silk rugs should be used in areas with low traffic as they are quite sensitive. It should be added that they may be difficult to clean. Cotton rugs are also produced using natural fibers. Featured at budget-friendly prices, cotton rugs can stain and fade quickly. If you are looking for a rug for daily use, you can choose cotton rugs. Jute rugs are also produced with natural fibers. It comes first among the products you can use to create a seaside atmosphere in your home. You can combine jute rugs with decorative rugs. 
Austin Natural Fiber Wheat Area Rug
Austin Natural Fiber Wheat Area Rug​​
Blaise Natural Fiber Camel Area Rug
Blaise Natural Fiber Camel Area Rug​​
  • Rugs produced with synthetic fibers are manufactured using polyester and polypropylene materials. Polyester rugs are at the top of the list among the rug types made with synthetic fibers. They are entirely produced with a mixture of polyester or other synthetic fibers. The prominent feature of polyester rugs, generally machine-weaved, is that they are produced from recycled plastic bottles. In addition, PET, which has a soft touch, is used in its production. Polypropylene rugs are also produced with synthetic materials. It is thinner than wool rugs. These products are easy to clean and resistant to fading. You can use polypropylene rugs in your child's room, dining room, or outdoors. 
  • Rugs produced with rayon are made using viscose, bamboo silk, and banana silk. Because they have dense patterns, they can hide dirt easily, but even a simple water spill can damage their texture.

Different and Stylish Area Rug Styles 

The rug style you choose for your living space is as important as the material. It is not only Iranian or European-style rugs used in your living spaces anymore. In addition to the classic rug styles, rug styles are woven with geometry or flowers. Here are the area rug styles: 


  • Traditional
Legal Traditional Olive Area Rug
Legal Traditional Olive Area Rug​​
  • Bohemian
Oxbow Bohemian/Global Dark Blue Area Rug
Oxbow Bohemian/Global Dark Blue Area Rug​​
  • Modern
Sackville Modern Burnt Orange Area Rug
Sackville Modern Burnt Orange Area Rug​​
  • Authentic

Traditional rug types have antique and vintage influences reminiscent of Iranian, Moroccan, and Berber rugs. Patterned rugs in modern lines are usually designed with rural, mid-century, geometric, and farmhouse patterns. Bohemian rug types include Shaggy rug, Turkish rug, Dhurrie rug (Indian rug), and Ikat rug (Indonesian and other Asian countries). Natural rug types consist of jute, sisal, silk, and leather rugs.

How to Select a Rug? 

Before buying a rug, consider what atmosphere and impact you want to create in your room. Keep in mind that the rug you choose doesn't have to match everything in your room. The issue you should consider when buying a rug suitable for your room is the textures and tones of your furniture. One of the tricks of rug selection is color. The color of the rug you choose determines the tone of your living space. When determining the rug color, you should consider whether it will be compatible with your furniture. If the decoration of your living space is based on vibrant colors and patterns, you can choose a rug in neutral tones and monochrome. If you haven't selected furniture set for your living space yet, you should ensure that the rug tones you will buy are compatible with the floor, wall, and ceiling tones. 

 

 

So, what size area rug should you choose for your living space? A smaller rug for the size of your room will always look bad and create a negative impression on your guests and disturb the household. On the other hand, a larger rug that is too big in the room will look bad. For your average-sized room, you can leave a gap of about 20 to 40 cm between the rug’s edges and the walls. While doing this, you should make sure that you center the rug and that the distance between the rug and the wall is the same on all sides.

Choosing the Right Rug for a Room 

Many people know that area rug types look more stylish and functional than wall-to-wall carpet types in living rooms. Choosing the right rug for a room is like solving a puzzle. First of all, it is necessary to determine the rug’s dimensions.  


Rug sizes are usually manufactured as standard. Apart from these dimensions, you can also order a rug for your living room in particular dimensions. The rug you choose for your living room should have 20 to 40 cm of space on both sides. If the living rooms are large, you can use more than one rug. If you have a small room, it is more convenient to use a single rug. The front legs of your furniture should be on the rug. So you can catch the elegance. 


When choosing rooms with heavy foot traffic, such as living rooms, you should also pay attention to the material and texture of the rug. When choosing rugs, you need to consider how you want to feel and how often you can service them. You can use leather or silk rugs to make your living room look luxurious, but it is complicated to clean. It would be an excellent decision to choose rug models that are easy to clean and stain-proof for your living room. 

Where to Shop for Quality Rugs? 

You can go to a shopping mall or a carpet store to shop for rugs for your living spaces, but buying a rug can be hassle-free online. Many people think that touching is necessary to purchase products such as rugs. It is a lovely feeling to select the texture of a rug by running your hands over it. Yet, you can surely maintain a desirable look with a purchase online and return it if you feel like it does not respond to your needs. You can compare the prices of the product you like with online shopping, and you will see that online shopping costs less and is hassle-free. By finding the most suitable area rug for your living space, you can choose the right area rug types correctly.

Which Rug is Right for You? 

The easiest way to find the right rug for your living room or other rooms in your home depends on you. You can make a choice based on your lifestyle. For example, if you have small children and pawed friends, a high pile white rug may not be a suitable choice for your living space. The best choice for a family with small children and friends with paws would be a patterned rug or a plain-woven rug to hide the stains skillfully. To create a luxurious and comfortable atmosphere in your living space, you can choose silk or leather rug models or prefer long-haired shag rugs.  


You can use rug pads for light-colored rug models to keep them clean for a long time. On the other hand, you can prefer wool rugs for a rug that you can use for many years, even if the cost is high. Outdoor rug models would be suitable for use on your balcony or terrace. You can look at the jute or bamboo rug models for outdoor rugs.

Differences between Rug Sizes 

Naturally, there are differences between the rug sizes in accordance with the decoration. By choosing a rug of the right size for your living space, you can create a more elegant design. You can make a rug of your choice the focal point of the design. You can create a balanced area by choosing the right rug for the area you will use in your room. 

 

Close up ruler measuring the thickness of rug
​​Sackville Modern Burnt Orange Area Rug

For example, the small rug you will place under the dining table can make the whole room look small. You can use a rectangular rug in the living room, dining room, bedrooms, and hallways. When choosing the rug models you want to use in the bedrooms, consider a few points. To position the rug to take up as much space around your mattress as possible, you should place it horizontally under the mattress. So you can get large rug sections on all sides of your bed.

Tips for Disposal 

You can have a different and attractive decoration by choosing rugs in the correct sizes and patterns for your living space. The wrong rug that you will use in your rooms will spoil the whole atmosphere of your room. Therefore, choosing the suitable rug models for your rooms can be better. For example, you can select a round rug model for your kitchen instead of the bedroom. 


Moreover, it is vital to periodically maintain the rug types in your home. The medium and long pile rugs should be professionally cleaned once a year. You can clean the rug properly by keeping the cleaning instructions alongside the tags of the rug you purchased, which will help you extend the rug’s life. 

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