Area Rug Tips

Defining Room Sections

• In a large room with distinct areas, use area rugs to delineate and define functions. For example, a 20th century bungalow may feature one large room that acts as a living room on one side and a dining room on the other. By placing a large area rug in each section, you create a central focal point that visually defines the two areas as separate. Don't use rugs that clash, but don't use identical rugs either. Two very different rugs that complement and contrast with one another can create a stimulating and harmonious interior.

Compatibility

• Keep your overall decor in mind when choosing area rugs. If possible, borrow a rug before you buy it so you can put it in your home and see how it looks. Rugs don't necessarily have to be of a similar style or era as surrounding furniture and accessories, but they should relate to the decor in either a harmonious or a contrasting way. An antique Persian rug can offset sleek modernist furniture when placed properly, but a cheap area rug with no particular character set next to a dramatic Gerrit Rietveld chair probably won't work.

Furniture

• Determine what size rugs to get for a room by measuring either open spaces between furniture or the space required by furniture to have a rug under it. Avoid having pieces of furniture that are partly on top of an area rug. For dining rooms, get an area rug that is large enough to hold the dining table with enough space for chairs to be pushed back and still be on the rug. A rug in the center of a living room should be large enough that it isn't dwarfed by the room, but small enough to leave a foot or so of space between it and any furniture.

Rug Price and Quality

• Area rugs, particularly if they are Persian rugs, are available in a wide range of qualities and prices, from mass-produced, inexpensive rugs that may not last for years, to multi-thousand dollar, hand-woven masterpieces that you may not want to walk on at all. Get rugs that are appropriate to your home, your financial resources and your tastes. It's more important for rugs to be of higher durability if they will be in high traffic areas.