Custom Cut Area Carpet Ideas

Custom Shapes

• The standard use for area rugs is to provide a soft, colorful surface over the floor in a large room, but they can add more than that. Have the carpet cut with an edge that curves to match a wall or major piece of furniture. This creates a custom look of grace and elegance. Rooms with unusual dimensions, such as rooms with bay windows or slanting or staggered walls, benefit from this treatment.

  Test the effect by cutting a sheet of butcher paper in the shape you want and see how it works in the space you've chosen. Experiment with ovals, zigzags and freestyle shapes. Try a clown-smile shape in a plush fabric to attract a group to sit by a fireplace.

Conversation Areas

• Area rugs can be used to define a conversation area in a large room. Have a carpet cut to fit an area under a sofa and several chairs with accompanying lamps and coffee tables, or under a kitchen table and chairs. Use a pattern with colors that reflect the furniture. A contrasting border is especially effective. This defines the area as a space where guests are welcome to sit and chat.

Create Pathways

• Define walkways in a room with custom pieces of carpet. Use a contrasting color to the current floor. This works well on a floral patterned carpet if you use green or brown area rugs that look like garden paths leading from doors to furniture to exits or just gently winding through a room. Have a matching piece cut to lead out of the room and up a staircase.

Color Schemes

• Small accent area rugs can add brilliant splashes of color in a room. Pick up the colors of your furniture, window treatment fabric or paint in a carpet and have it cut into small shapes to distribute around the room: in front of sofas, by entryways, under tables, in front of a fireplace or bed. They will consolidate your color scheme in a harmonious way.

Cover Defects

• Area rugs can draw attention away from a room's defects. If you've bought or are renting a home with a drab, utility carpet, have a bright, modern designed carpet cut for the visible areas. Integrate a dark alcove by running a custom cut carpet from it to the center of the room. Long featureless hallways can be enlivened by custom cut carpets. Lay one on top of the other to create the effect of a garden or waterway.