4 Tips To Choose The Best Rug For Your Living Room

Having a lovely rug in your living room can brighten it up, make it look more inviting and make you more comfortable. There are so many different types of rugs and choosing a rug can be tricky, here are some tips to get you started on the right track.

When To Choose Your Rug

The best time to choose your rug is either before you start setting up your living room, or as the final touch. You may want to make your rug to make a big statement and then choose your furniture and fittings around your rug. However, if you already have furniture you want to choose something that fits into your room and complements what you already have.

Go Big

Size does matter here. The bigger the rug the better, you don’t want to have a tiny rug in the middle of the room that looks like it is floating around. You want your rug to pull the look of the room together, not look lost in it.

Choosing The Colour And Materials

Your living room is a high traffic area in the house, so avoid white or very light coloured rugs. White rugs are going to be a nightmare to keep clean in such a busy area of your home. When it comes to the colour of your rug consider the size of your living area as well as the mood you are trying to achieve.

For smaller rooms lighter coloured rugs will work best to make the space appear larger. Dark colour rugs will be easier to keep it looking clean, and it can give your room a contemporary look if that is what you are trying to achieve. Cool colours like green, blue, and purple will give your room a calm atmosphere and warm colours will create a more inviting space.

Alternatively you can choose natural shades for your rug and bring colour into your room with other decor items.

When it comes to the type of material used for rugs you have a number of options including wool, silk, cotton, natural fibers, animal skins, and synthetics. The top material choices for living rooms are wool, cotton, natural fibers, and synthetics.

Wool is strong, durable and soft, with good insulation. It is water and stain repellant. Cotton is more affordable, and it is easy to clean, however, it won’t wear as well as wool. Natural fiber rugs are usually free from chemicals, strong, and eco-friendly, however, they can be tricky to clean. Rugs made from synthetic materials such as nylon, polypropoline, and viscose are easy to clean but won’t feel as luxurious as wool or cotton.

How To Place Your Rug

If you have a long room make sure to place your rug lengthways. How you place your rug depends on the layout of your furniture and the size of your room. If your living room is small you can place a small rug (5″ x 8″) in between your furniture under your coffee table, leaving walking space around the rug. Alternatively you can use a big rug and place all your furniture on top of it to create a unified space.

For a medium sized living room use a large rug (8″ x 10″)and place your anchor furniture around it with the front legs of your furniture on top of it. It is best that the rug extends past the sides of the sofa.

If you have a large living room choose a larger rug (9″ x 13″) to frame your living room. You can also choose to use a number of different rugs to define different spaces of the room such as sitting area and eating area.