How To Choose An Area Rug

Area rugs are one of the most marvelous home decor elements ever created. What other furnishing provides warmth for a cold floor, give a certain mood to a room, or even act as an art object?

As if these benefits weren’t enough, area rugs are one of the wisest investments in home decor you can make in these turbulent economic times. The right area rug imparts a new character to a room without requiring a complete makeover. With all the sizes, colors and design options available, there’s an area rug available for any style at any price.

Benefits you’ll notice with area rugs is that they protect wooden floors from high trafficked areas, provide a soft feel when walked upon rather than a hard surface, and of course give a room a great make-over without having to purchase many new items.

So you wonder if the area rug is more for art or for protection. The answer is both. It will give your home a great design feel as well as give you a softer cozier feel to your home.

There are a few questions you should ask yourself before purchasing an area rug. How many times a day do people go through this area and what type of lighting does the room have?

Rugs with a good combination of density and fiber will wear best. Rugs with closer tufting or stitches will last longer.

If the area rug is going to be placed somewhere that it may be used as a seating area, you want to make sure it has enough padding. A great padded area rug is a must as well in many cases if used in a highly trafficked area.

Color is another aspect of choosing a great area rug. Look around at your room’s dcor and notice which colors are visible. Those should be the colors which you look for in your area rug. Lighter colors for smaller rooms and darker colors for larger rooms is another option to consider.

Make sure you know how large or small the area rug should be before heading out to purchase one. You want the rug to fit properly not look like it belongs in another part of the room since it’s too small for the largest room in the home.

Dining areas are a great idea to place an area rug in. Just make sure you add a few extra feet onto the width and length. You want to make sure that each chair leg is either all on the rug or all off. You don’t want it to be off balance causing a situation.

Fit a hall runner so that it’s within four inches of the hall’s width. Keep the length within 18 to 24 inches of the hall’s length.

Measure once and measure again to get the most accurate measurement in your dining room.

Hand hooked area rugs are a beautiful. You may notice these looking like the latch rugs which are sold in your local hobby store that you may have done already in your lifetime. Just add a great backing and you can make your own area rug.

Woven or flat woven rugs are now made by machines but used to be hand made looms.

Area rugs that are flat woven may also be considered the reversible rug.

Braided rugs are a wonderful idea if you have a busy area of traffic in your home. The materials used back in the day were old curtains, blankets, or other fabrics that weren’t used in the home any longer. A great way to be eco friendly.

Bamboo and Sisal are a natural fiber area rug which is very durable. They are great for heavy trafficked areas along with outside on the patio. Persian and Oriental Rugs are quite popular but aren’t cheap either. They are made of wonderful quality and will give you your monies worth if it isn’t placed in a busy room. This is great for that formal living space that usually is never used.