How to Choose a New Rug for Any Room

While some people prefer or require bare floors, every room looks better with a rug to anchor the furniture and give a room that finished look. If you’re in the process of buying a new rug for your home and don’t know where to start your search, here are a few tips that will help you pick out the best rug for every room in your house.

Select the room

Before you hit the store or start your search online, study the room the rug is supposed to go inside. Different rooms need different rugs. For instance: hallways and kitchens have a lot of traffic throughout the day so you need to opt for a rug that’s easy to clean and durable. Living rooms are the most versatile and you can let your creativity fly free. Rooms that get in touch with dirt and food (hallways, kitchen, dining room) might benefit from a darker shade or a busy pattern that will hide stains between cleaning.

Calculate the best size

Measure the space (no guessing, please) and settle on a dimension of your rug. In order to prevent the most common mistakes, avoid the ‘floating rug’ effect—a small rug in the middle of the room that’s not touching any furniture. One of the main purposes of a rug is to tie other furniture together so make sure to have at least a coffee table and front legs of all your sofas and chairs resting on the rug.

If you can’t visualize the look of your future carpet, you can grab the newspaper and cover the area with pages. This way, you can change the size and move the pages around until you find a size and shape that fits your needs.

Pick a style

Rugs today come in all styles imaginable, and which one you opt for depends on your preferences, lifestyle and the room. And keep in mind that you’re never limited to one style, and rug mixing, matching and layering are very popular and attractive. And you can find many styles in one place today if you look up rugs in Hong Kong and see all the styles. From traditional and natural to modern and bohemian, every person will be delighted by all the choices. But if you need a quick overview of different rug styles, here’s what you need to know:

Traditional: Persian, Moroccan, Barber, Oriental
Modern: geometric, coastal, farmhouse, mid-century
Natural: sheepskin, cowhide, silk, sisal, jute
Bohemian: shag, Ikat, Kilim, Dhurrie

Settle on the shape

Standard rugs are mostly rectangular, but today, you’re not limited by that shape only. For instance, if you have a circular dining table, a circular rug is the best option that will fit all your chairs nicely. Maybe you want to make a statement. In that case, you can opt for one of the abstract shapes like oval, teardrop, even cloud or puzzle piece.

Don’t neglect the material

Material plays a big role in the choice of rug. Different areas in your space require different rug materials because they all vary in traffic, maintenance and softness. Some most popular materials are polypropylene, nylon, cotton and wool. Polypropylene is very durable and easy to maintain, making it perfect for high-traffic areas. Today, they can feel very soft, but that’s not their main feature. On the other hand, cotton is very soft, yet a bit less durable than polypropylene, jute or sisal (the other two popular natural materials). Wool is the softest, but also quite durable and easy to clean. However, wool can be quite expensive, especially if you choose a handmade rug.

Use these tips above and apply them to your rug shopping. You are guaranteed to end up with a rug that will perfectly compliment your home and elevate it even more.