You’ve got 381429 mood boards going, you’ve secured your overarching style, you’ve got some dreamy newfurniture, now it’s time to make a statement with a brand-new rug.
There’s no doubt that most of us have been spending an unexpected amount of time in our homes this past year and some of us (me) have been turning our homes upside down in the name of interior styling.
If you’re a homeowner or a renter, a rug is an easy win if you’re looking to transform any space at home; from the living room, to the bedroom, to the bathroom, to the hallway. Shopping for a new rug is a real opportunity to bring colour, texture and character into your home.
Whether the rug you choose is bold or subtle, either way it’s a form of artwork for the floor that will make yourself and guests (post-lockdown 3. 0) feel right at home.
Which type of rug do I need?
It’s a great idea to firstly decide why it is you’re looking for a rug; is it to protect the flooring, for durability, ease of cleaning, or aesthetic pleasure? This then gives you a great starting point to finding the rug perfect for your home.
Shaggy rugs are often thickly piled, they feel great under the feet in bedrooms, but they are tricky to clean. Patterned rugs are a great look for hallways; there’s a huge variety, they’re purse friendly, but pattern-fashion moves on quite quickly. Sheepskin or cowhide rugs are a trendy addition to a dark room, they have an androgynous feel, but they’re not for everyone in 2021, therefore there are plenty of artificial options available.
Wool rugs, one of the most popular choices, are naturally stain-resistant, easy-to-clean, sustainable, but can be a touch expensive. Vintage and traditional rugs can give an ultra-modern room a little bit of soul that it could possibly be lacking, with thanks to the McGee’s on Netflix’s Dream Home Makeover, there’s lots of vintage rug styling to take inspiration from.
Where should I put a new rug?
Rugs look great on top of a hardwood floor, but they can also be layered on top of carpet to give a room that ultra-cosy feel that we’re all craving this Winter. There’s a few feng shui rules we should be living by to ensure the rug placement and size allows peaceful energy to flow through our homes, instead of balls it all up. After 2020, we need all the help we can get for a bit of harmony in our lives.
The bigger the better, especially if you’re picking out a rug for the living room or bedroom. Where possible in the living room, a rug should fit comfortably under all of your living room seating and any coffee table you might have.
You should think about where it is in the room that has the most activity and where it is you’d like people to gather, that’s where you place the rug.
Rugs in the bedroom should fit under your bed, ideally where possible it should be on display equally either side of your bed. However, the most important feng shui rule we need to obey is: rugs should not be touching any walls.
