Area Rugs

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Nothing can pull a room together better than the right area rug. A versatile design element and natural focal point, area rugs set the mood and character of any space with a warm, inviting feeling that also serves as a comfortable, quiet oasis on top of hard surface flooring. Whether your personal style is traditional or contemporary, formal or casual, area rugs offer seemingly endless color and pattern options to help brighten smaller rooms or separate larger areas into more defined, intimate settings. Portable, easy to care for and available in a wealth of shapes and sizes, area rugs can help create the perfect feel and fit for any room in your home. 

Choosing the right size of area rug is just as important as selecting a pattern or color. Whether rectangle, square or round, the perfect size and shape of a rug is critical to achieving the right look for a room's particular proportions and design.

For example, the size and shape of a rug can help define sitting, dining or accent areas of a space by accentuating particular groupings of furniture. Furniture can be positioned either directly on the rug or around it depending on the size of the room or the aesthetics you want to achieve. Use of multiple rugs can draw the eye from one room or area to another.

However, there's a science to choosing the proper size of rug for a particular application. Use this handy guide to help you determine the right rug for your room

For an awe-inspiring statement in larger areas, choose a 6'x9', 8'x11' or 10'x13' sized rug. These sizes allow for a greater design pallet, so the motifs and patterns will be prominent and more of a focal point of the room¬s decor. Make sure you match the size of your furniture grouping by choosing a large enough rug. A rug that fits properly under your room¬s furniture grouping anchors the elements in the room and visually brings everything together.

For very large spaces, you can always utilize the floating layout as well. With this option, all of the furniture is placed entirely on the rug. This leaves a symmetrical border of exposed flooring on all four sides of the rug. If the design of the room does not allow for symmetrical positioning, choose a size that will provide equal borders top and bottom, and side to side.

A good rule of thumb is that area rugs should be 3 to 4 feet larger in length and width to the dining room table. You should be able to pull a chair out and sit at the table without the chair legs falling off the edge of the rug. For the average dining table and chair grouping, typically an 8'x11' should be the minimal size considered, depending on the size of the dining table-rectangle, square, round, etc. 

In bedrooms, there are various ways to incorporate a rug. You may choose a rug large enough to accommodate all of the room's furniture, with a symmetrical border of exposed flooring on all sides. Adding a rug under a bed is a great way to pull a room together. You can even position the rug at an angle for a unique design element.

Many times you will find that in an average size bedroom, the bed will cover the majority of a rug, you may want to choose smaller rugs to place around it instead. In addition, incorporating a patterned rug in a bedroom with solid colored carpeting can also add interest to the room's decor.

Entry ways offer a great opportunity for a positive first impression, especially with a round rug or runner. These small spaces usually require a 2' x 3' up to a 4' x 6' rug. Large motifs or medallions can overwhelm a space, however smaller patterns can complement tight quarters and allow the rug to become an accent rather than a focal point.