How to Design a Room Around an Area Rug

Choosing an area rug

• 1

  Look at the effect you want your rug to create from several points of view. Color, of course, is a consideration, bright, dark, subtle or bold. Pattern counts as well: decide whether your room needs a single solid punch of color or can benefit more from a pattern echoing other design elements--scrolls, squares, stripes, or floral themes. Texture matters, too. Area rugs offer great variety in textures, from soft and luxurious to fluffy, shaggy, crisp or grassy.

• 2

  Measure the area your area rug needs to cover. You will see a great variety of shapes and sizes once you're in the store, and good fit makes for good decor. If it helps you visualize the new look you want, sketch out the dimensions of your new rug on the floor in masking tape. Allow room for the doors to open and for the placement of furniture, to keep your rug an asset, not a hazard.

• 3

  Carry some small reminders of your existing decor on your shopping trip, if possible. A single throw pillow is just the shade of gold you want--take it along. The couch may not be there forever, but it's staying for a long while. The print on the side-chair simply cannot be ignored. Even a few threads of colors that must be considered, taped to an index card, can help prevent you from having to return what looked like--but absolutely wasn't--the right shade of cranberry, for instance.

Pulling it all together

• 4

  Let your chosen area rug suggest small additional changes that will let it enhance your overall decor.
  Approach changes using the same criteria you applied to choosing your rug--color, pattern, shape, size, and texture.

• 5

  Make small changes one at a time, both to spare your budget and to keep the elements of your existing decor that you really love. Concentrate on one feature of your rug at a time, for the same reasons. Again, color may govern your first changes; easy, inexpensive color-choices include throw pillows, lamp shades, or a throw for the back of a couch or chair. One or more of these choices may be all you need to bring old and new together.

• 6

  Highlight a second element from your area rug if your new scheme does not seem quite complete. Choosing decorative objects that echo the shape or texture of your area rug can be fun and creative. Before you head off to the stores, give some thought to why choosing this rug made such good sense--your echoing object may be as close as the next room of your home. That wonderful vase in the back of your china cupboard may be the perfect companion to complete your new decor.