Category Archives: Area Rugs

10 Tips for Getting a Dining Room Rug Just Right

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Finding a dining room rug that is both practical and stylish is no easy feat. Fluffy pile can permanently trap every crumb from the table. Too-small rugs can trip up chairs. But a good rug can bring color, texture, warmth and style to the dining room — making the hunt well worth the effort. Read on for 10 tips for choosing the just-right rug for this hardworking room.
Beach Style Dining Room by allee architecture + design, llc
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1. Err on the side of too big. A dining room rug should have at least 24 inches of extra room on all sides of the dining table to allow enough space for guests to pull out chairs without tripping over the rug. To be sure you are getting the correct size rug, measure your dining table, then add 24 inches or more on each side and mark the area directly on the floor with painter’s tape. If the marked areas fall well inside your other dining room furniture, consider sizing up.
Transitional Dining Room by Sutro Architects
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2. Pick a flat weave or short pile rug. Because spills are inevitable, and the ease with which you can pull a chair back is important, flat-weave or low-pile rugs are the practical choice in the dining room. Keep the shag rugs, Moroccan carpets and other thick, fluffy rugs in the living room, where they will require less cleaning and maintenance.

3. Use the rug as a jumping-off point for decorating. If the rug is one of your first purchases for the dining room, you can use it to set the tone for the space and develop a color scheme. Pull the lightest or background color from the rug to use as a wall color, and bring in a bolder hue from the rug as an accent in the room, on chair cushions or in artwork.

Eclectic Dining Room by Logan Killen Interiors 

 

4. Choose easy-clean materials. Generally, pure natural fibers like cotton and wool are the simplest to clean at home, and synthetic blends are the most difficult. The exception are indoor-outdoor and stain-resistant rugs that are made to withstand scrubbing.

 

Contemporary Dining Room by SHED Architecture & Design
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5. Try carpet tiles. These interlocking carpet squares can be configured in whatever size and shape you need, and come in a wide range of hues, patterns and textures. What makes them a smart choice for the dining room? If a stain sets into one square, you can replace it without buying a whole new rug.
Farmhouse Dining Room Farmhouse Dining Room

6. Feel before you buy a natural fiber rug. With an affordable price tag, great texture and classic look, natural fiber rugs — including sisal, jute and sea grass — have a lot going for them. But where natural fibers like cotton and wool tend to be easy to clean, these natural materials can prove to be trickier. The key lies in the texture of the rug — the finer and smoother it is, the easier it will be to clean. On the other hand, it can be nearly impossible to remove ground-in food from really nubby natural fiber rugs.
Contemporary Dining Room by Leverone Design, Inc.
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7. Match rug shape to room shape. Have a square dining room? Try a square or round rug. Rectangular room? Use a rectangular rug. Echoing the shape of the room with your rug brings a pleasing feeling of order to a space.
8. Match rug shape to table shape. Round dining tables look great with round or square rugs. Rectangular and oval dining tables work well with rectangular rugs. Square dining tables tend to work best with square rugs, though a round rug could work for a more playful feel.
Eclectic Dining Room by Callwey
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9. Avoid light hues. Unless you use your dining room more as a workspace than for dinner parties, it’s probably best to avoid white and light-colored rugs in this space (as beautiful as they look). Of course, white is not the only rug color to watch out for. Any pale hue is going to show dirt and spots sooner than deeper, richer colors.
Modern Dining Room by BWArchitects
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10. Look at the larger space. When choosing a color and pattern for your dining room rug, look at it as a piece in the larger puzzle of your space. What color are your dining chairs and table, light fixtures, flooring, and wall color? If you have an open floor plan, what other rugs are you already using in the space? The rug you ultimately choose should fit naturally with these other pieces.
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5 Kinds of Rugs for Busy Households

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Thanks to HOUZZ.COM

Finding the perfect rug can be time-consuming. Given the endless choices of textures, colors and patterns, sorting through them to locate a good fit with your furniture and accessories may require some trial and error. Add to that the goal of finding a family-friendly rug, and you’ve got even more requirements to meet.

If your household is filled with kids, or just a lot of traffic in general, you likely want a rug that is durable and easy to clean, but still aesthetically pleasing. And you probably want something well-priced — because, let’s face it, if your rug will get a lot of wear and tear from little ones, a family-friendly rug may be a temporary choice. Read on for five types of rugs that can work well for families and busy households. Each offers a resilient option that can be found in a range of eye-pleasing styles.

Eclectic Dining Room by sarah & bendrix
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1. Jute, Sisal or Sea Grass

These natural-fiber rugs are an obvious choice for a family home. They’re made to withstand heavy use. The strong fibers of these rugs allow you to blot liquid spills and even lightly clean stains with a bristle brush.

Transitional Living Room by Von Fitz Design
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Natural-fiber rugs have come a long way from just the neutral shade of beige. Today’s fibrous rugs offer rich textures and patterns, and come in other hues like blue and gray. There are even rugs with metallic details woven into the pattern. These textured rugs aren’t necessarily appropriate for delicate toes in, say, a nursery, but it is a terrific option for a den, living room or sunroom.
Contemporary Nursery by dromme / drømme
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2. Cotton

Cotton rugs are sometimes defined as a flat-weave, or categorized as dhurries or kills. Cleaning them is relatively easy; many cotton rugs are machine washable or at least can be spot-cleaned with soap.

The advantage of a cotton fiber is that it’s softer to the touch than an earthy fiber. That softness feels better under little feet, making it a great choice for a nursery or child’s room. Because these rugs have a thin, flat pile, try adding a rug pad underneath them for more comfort.

Contemporary Kids by Chris Pardo Design - Elemental Architecture
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Cotton can also be a good choice when you’re looking to add color. Its porous nature allows it to be dyed in rich tones, and its thin threads are often woven into beautiful and stylish patterns.
Contemporary Living Room by Turner Pocock
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3. Wool

Because of their durability, softness and versatility, wool rugs can be quite costly, starting in the several hundreds of dollars and running into the thousands.

If you’re willing to make the investment, though, your wool rug will most likely last you more than a decade; it isn’t just a temporary option. Synthetic rugs, by contrast, may last only two to three years with heavy wear.

Traditional Kids by Poss Architecture + Planning and Interior Design
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Most wool rugs are made from sheep’s wool, a soft and durable fiber. Lanolin, found naturally in wool, makes it easy to clean and resistant to moisture. Spills don’t readily penetrate a wool rug, making it a smart choice for heavily trafficked areas of your home. In fact, many hotels around the world choose wool rugs for this reason.

Wool rugs are often soft to the touch. They can offer an elegant luster with wonderful color and woven patterns, as shown in the child’s bedroom above. The resilient fibers aren’t rough compared with jute or sisal, so they’re a thoughtful investment for your little one’s room or a family den.

Modern by Green Decore
Green Decore

4. Indoor-Outdoor Rugs

Indoor-outdoor rugs not only work great on a patio or in a sunroom, but they also can be a pleasing option for interior rooms that see a lot of wear and tear.

Craftsman Living Room by Rachel Grace
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Many indoor-outdoor rugs are made from synthetic materials, including nylon, polyester and polypropylene. They’re moisture- and stain-resistant, easy to clean with water or other cleansers, and easy on the wallet.

Contemporary Kids by Alexander Johnson Photography
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5. Carpet Tiles

Carpet tiles have gained immense popularity as a flooring or area rug choice. They’re a resilient option because you can replace individual tiles that are worn or damaged. This is perfect for an unfortunate spill or an area damaged by heavy use.

Modern Living Room by Watermark & Company
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Carpet squares come in various sizes, including 18 by 18 inches and 24 by 24 inches. You install them with glue or a peel-and-stick backing. They come in both synthetic and natural fibers, including wool, nylon, viscose or a combination. The pile can be low or a bit higher and plusher. One of the most alluring features about carpet tiles is the variety of colorful hues and bold patterns, which you can combine as you wish. This variation in colors and designs can be helpful for masking dirt and creating a visually appealing pattern the whole family can enjoy.