Stylish Floors: Decorating With Area Rugs

Children and pets will certainly bring quick wear and tear to an area rug, so keep this in mind when deciding what colors and particularly what fabric to use. According to designer David Scott, “the number one rule of decorating with area rugs is to purchase the rug with your lifestyle in mind. If you have pets and young kids, be sure to use wool rugs that can clean easily and have some pattern to hide the inevitable signs of life — stains, shedding, hair and spills.”

Designer Celia Berliner suggests making the size of the area rug slightly smaller than the area covered by the furniture. It should be “large enough to anchor and support the gathering space, yet it should free enough flooring around for the circulation flow,” she says. Designer Jennifer Duneier says the size of the area rug depends on the furniture layout. She prefers the front two legs of the sofas or chairs be placed on the area rug.

Be daring and break out of your decorating comfort zone. Designer Andreea Avram Rusu believes a good rug can anchor the entire composition of a room. An area rug “can either bring something unexpected or add a jolt of color,” she says. “Don’t be afraid to use a bold color or rich pattern.” Against white walls, floors and chairs, this zebra-inspired rug adds a shock of color and becomes the room’s focal point.

Neutral walls and furnishings allow a bold rug to take center stage. “It is a nice way to add color to a room if you don’t want to commit to a strong color on the furnishings or window treatments,” designer Jennifer Duneier says. “It warms up the room and can define different spaces within a larger room.” The sitting area is separated by an extra-colorful area rug in this spacious playroom.

Stuck with a long, narrow living room? Area rugs come in all shapes and sizes, and there’s one for every space. Designer Andreea Avram Rusu says that an area rug’s shape should depend on the furniture and the shape and size of the room. In dining rooms she suggests using a rectangular rug with a long table, a hexagonal rug with a square table and a round rug with a round table. She uses a rectangular area rug in this living room to mirror the long shape of the space.

Don’t limit your space to just one rug. In this yoga studio and lounge, designer Andreas Charalambous and FORMA Design used two rugs to define the separate areas in this ultra-large space. Make sure the two rugs complement and coordinate with each other. Designer Celia Berliner says multiple rugs are only OK in large rooms. “If you have a very large room, the placement of rugs will create and define multiple alternative spaces that will punctuate the space and bring harmony and unity to the overall design,” she says.