Area Rug For Creating Country Decor

While the perfect area rug serves a practical function as a floor covering, they have the ability to alter the look and feel of every room and are great for an instant solution to problems with your existing flooring or carpeting.

With more and more homes using hardwood or tile flooring, area rugs have seen an increase in popularity, as they can protect hardwood floors or wall-to-wall carpeting. Beautiful floor coverings also have the ability to tie elements of a room together.

An area rug is an excellent way to instantly warm up a room. They can add dramatic color and design to any room. The perfect area rug can define a seating arrangement, making it more inviting and intimate. You can change rugs whenever you want and you can take the rugs with you if you move.

Rug Colors and Patterns

Color is always the most important factor when decorating. Your chosen color or pattern of area rug should act as a contrast to the already existing theme and elements within that room or area. If your room has a great deal of bold and bright colors, you should choose a neutral color and a subtle design for the rug. If the colors of the room are neutral and soft, you can also add interest with a bright area rug with a dramatic design.

When choosing the pattern on the area rug, remember it must not clash with patterns on the wallpaper, window coverings, cushions, and any other fabrics in the room. Light colors give the impression of more space while dark colors add warmth. Also consider the amount of traffic the area will get. If the rug will get steady use, intricate patterns and dark colors will not show dirt as much or as quickly as light colors.

Rug Sizes and Shapes

A great tip when deciding on rug shape and size is to use masking tape to define the space, to help you visualize the rug in the room.

If your are using an area rug to cover most of the floor, the same amount of bare floor space should be exposed on each side of the rug. If the shape of your room is irregular, try arranging furniture to extend to the side of the rug. And if this is not possible, ensure at least two parallel sides are exposing the same amount of floor space.

If you are using a rug to define an area, there should never be more than than two feet of empty rug extending out from behind the furniture. A rug used for defining an area is unifying the items placed around it .

A rug in the dining room, should extend eighteen inches to twenty-four inches beyond the table, with generally an eight- by ten-foot rug working in most living rooms and dining rooms. Fora small area, such as coffee tables a six- by four-foot or a six- by nine-foot rug would be perfect.

Rug Theme and Characteristics

Consider an area rug with a central medallion, if the rug is to be the focal point of a room. If the medallion will be mostly hidden by a piece of furniture, choose a rug that has detail on its borders or one with an allover design.

Oriental rugs refers to rugs from any Asian country that are popular in modern as well as traditional homes.

A round braided rug, will be a perfect addition for a North American theme. Using a Navajo rug, with its flat weave and geometric designs, can reinforce a southern or desert theme.

Other Area Rug Tips

Maintenance is an important consideration when choosing rugs not only for the bathroom, but also the kitchen, the hall, or the room of a child. Select designs and colors that don't easily show dirt, and are stain resistant and easy to clean.

It is a good idea to add padding under area rugs because it will extend its life, absorb sound, keep the rug from moving, making vacuuming easier. If you place a rug over wall-to-wall carpeting, choose a thin under-pad coated with adhesive.