Rugs, I love them! They make a room and to me a room just isn't finished without one. There are of course exceptions to this, but generally speaking they can really help to bring a room together.
Choosing the right rug for your space can be a little daunting, especially when there is so much choice out there, so we hope that this article will not only help you to choose the right rug size, shape and colour, but also offer a little bit of information around why rugs can vary so much in appearance, material and price.
If you’ve ever shopped for a rug, I’m sure you have noticed that there is a massive range of prices. The obvious reason rugs increase in price is when they increase in size, but then sometimes a rug half the size of another, can be twice the price. There are a few reasons for this, but generally it comes down to how the rug has been made and what it is made of. At the cheaper end rugs are made by machine and are generally then made of polyester, polypropelene or other man-made materials. As you move to the more expensive end of the market, rugs are either partially or wholly made by hand and are then made using completely natural fibres, such as wool, sisal, jute, seagrass, coir and silk. The most expensive rugs are generally hand knotted, which can involve hand tying hundreds of thousands of knots per m2, and as you can imagine takes hundreds of hours and hence costs thousands of pounds. You don’t have to spend thousands to get a good quality rug though, some machine-made rugs can be very good quality, will do the job you want them to do and will last you a good few years.
Images courtesy of Rama Carpets and Crucial Trading
On to the size of rug - what size of rug do you need? This one might scare you, but it doesn’t need to - you can easily work out how big your rug should be by taping out where you want the rug to fit in your room. This is a great visual representation for those unable to imagine what it will look like. And remember, a rug is always better oversized than undersized – people generally end up with a rug that is too small for their space, whether that be budget driven or because they are scared to go bigger. Unfortunately that will detract from the style of the room and will have the opposite effect to the one you are trying to achieve.
Click through the diagrams below, these really help to show and explain how important it is to get the right size of rug.
Images courtesy of Pinterest
Colour, material, texture and pile are worth considering when thinking about the location of the rug. Does it need to be hard-wearing, does it need a short pile for ease of cleaning, do you have a preference for a natural fibre, do you want it to create a statement in your room?
Sisal, seagrass and jute are all wonderful natural fibres that create amazing rugs and add texture. They also add an element of calm and depth to a room and they can be layered with another rug for another level of textural change. Depending on the quality of the fibre they can be hardwearing, although cleaning can be challenging, and they can also be quite coarse to the touch. For a more luxurious feel silk and wool are a wonderful choice for a natural fibre rug, and though we wouldn’t recommend them in high traffic areas, they do work well in a second lounge or bedroom. Rugs with majority man-made fibres offer a really cost effective and hardwearing option for higher traffic areas - generally a low pile is best with some pattern or texture.
A well-chosen rug can add personality, warmth and some colour to your room. Adding a splash of colour or texture that isn’t directly in your eyeline is a great way to add warmth and layering to a room, it can help to define and zone spaces, and will anchor your furniture so it feels grounded and in place in the room.
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Don’t be afraid to spend a little bit more to get a rug that is appropriately sized, is well made and adds a bit of interest to your space – you won’t regret it, it will add a wholly new dimension to your room.