An area rug is defined as a rug that is designed to cover a portion of a floor. They come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and styles, and can be used in just about any room of a house, condo, town home, etc. Their many choices of design make them extremely versatile in their ability to enhance, define, or even change a room completely. Let’s look at an example.
Take, for instance, a large open area in the middle of a home. If you were to set a table and chairs in the middle of that area, they might look out of place – like they were randomly left there for some reason. If you place a 9×12 area rug there, and place the table and chairs on top of it, the existence of the rug sets the boundaries for the area, and what once was a random area, has just become almost a separate room or nook. We used, in this example, an area rug to actually create a room where before there was none.
By far the most popular use for area rugs is to enhance a room’s overall look, or theme. You can take a living room or family room with a fairly neutral theme and change the look completely with the right floor covering. Imagine your bedroom has hardwood floors. How would placing a large white shag area rug under your bed change the look of your bedroom? Remove that rug and replace it with a braided area rug. It lends a completely different look to the bedroom, doesn’t it?
The message here is simple, when shopping for area rugs, always keep in mind the look you are going for. Try to keep your theme in mind. You may find a Persian rug that you absolutely adore, but how will it look in the breakfast nook, when you have southwestern rugs in your family room about 10 feet away?
Another important consideration is size. Probably the most popular size for area rugs is 9×12. 8×10 area rugs are also pretty common. Size not only plays a big part in where you are going to place the rug, but also plays an important factor in the cost and selection. Often, a rug in a popular size will cost less than basically the same rug in a less popular size. This is often true even when the rarer sized piece is smaller. It’s all about supply and demand. It costs less money to make a rug in a popular size than in a less popular size.
The less popular the size, the less selection there will be as well. I had an experience with this personally when I was shopping. I had already planned out the rugs I would be using for my dining room and family room (both on the west side of my house). There is sort of an open hallway that runs from my family room, towards the kitchen, passing the dining room. I was looking for a runner to place in the hallway, and I don’t remember the size off the top of my head, but it was a difficult size to find. By the time I found a runner that I liked, I found myself needing to completely change my plans for the family and dining rooms.
The moral here is to shop for the rare sizes first! If I would have already bought the other rugs, I would have had to return them (which I hate to do). Try to stick with popular sizes of area rugs if you can. If you absolutely must find a rug that is of a rare size or shape, shop for those first. vintage turkish rugs