I grew up in a home with wall-to-wall carpeting and didn’t know the beauty of a hardwood floor until I recently got married. My husband purchased an older home before we met and during our remodel we discovered that underneath the old carpet were beautiful wood floors. We started a remodel in the lower level but the entire home including the bedrooms have the same wood flooring. I love the look of wood floors, they allow you to add some area rugs to make the home cozier. We kept the carpet in the other rooms in place and will gradually tear it up and add rugs as we move forward with the remodel.
The downside to wood floors is that they can be cold in the winter and there’s an echo throughout the entire lower level. So, we need a warmth element as well as a sound element added to the living room, dining room and kitchen. The furniture just doesn’t warm it up enough or deaden the sound.
For me, finding an area rug was a months-long journey that taught me everything I could want to know about area rugs and how they feel on your feet and most important, how the rug will look in our home. The rule of thumb that I followed, which kept me going, was to remove all the technical features of the rug and to just go with what I loved. I had to love it first and then everything else was secondary. If I loved it and it was cheaply made I didn’t go with it. But, if I loved it and the price was right it made my possible list. I also toyed with the idea that a piece of carpet can used as an area rug when you have the edges surged.
During my search for a rug I found that I personally gravitate toward antique low-pile or flat-weave rugs with a visible patina.
There are countless “rules” on how large rugs should be or how they should be laid out in a space, and I generally stick to what I know has worked for me: What feels right?
I tend to shy away from placing all furniture on the area rug, as I don’t really like the island feeling it creates. However, using area rugs to denote a specific space within a larger room, such as under a dining table and chairs, is different.
Back to the “rules,” there are several schools of thought regarding furniture placement on area rugs, but I always ask myself how I’m going to use the space. The use of the space determines the purpose of the rug. If you sit on the sofa to watch television and no one is ever on the floor, the area rug would serve the purpose only of visually warming up and defining the space. In that case a flat-weave rug works wonders.
Other questions arise when you need to decide if all four legs of the furniture should be on the rung or just the front two. In the rooms I’ve shown here, the rugs provide a point of interest while anchoring the sitting area within the large room. There’s also rugs in the large hallway that become the center piece of the space. You can’t help but to look down at that beautiful rug.
Most of the rugs shown here are over-sized and will ultimately define the area all by itself. Small rugs like a kitchen runner are used for warmth and foot comfort but they still warm the area nicely.
When it was all said and done I actually enjoyed looking for a rug in our kitchen, living area, and under the dining room table. I purchased two of the three and have since decided that a rug under the table isn’t necessary.
For more information about area rugs or any design trends or tips all you have to do is contact a Haven Interiors designer and we will be happy to help.