How to Pick the Perfect Floor Rug for Your Space

There is no easier way to enhance a living space than with a rug. In the cooler months, a rug will add a warm and cosy feel to a space, while in the warmer months, the right rug is guaranteed to make a statement among family and friends.

Picking a rug can require some thought, because rugs come in many variations, including shapes, sizes, colours, patterns, and styles. Also, a rug often isn’t something you can try before you buy, so there’s always a risk that you’ll purchase something not quite right.

It really depends on your living space. Where round rugs in vibrant colours might enhance an entryway, rectangular rugs tend to fare better in a living room. In Australia, a natural fibre rug in jute or bamboo may suit beachside homes from Bondi to Byron, while a soft faux fur dining room rug can be the luxe finishing touch for a skyhome in Sydney or Melbourne.

And, while some styles simply clash, more often than not, rugs become the ties that bind two seemingly contrasting interior styles. Traditional rugs in contemporary homes? Now we're talking!

If you’ve spent countless hours looking at a range of rugs and haven’t been able to find the one, you need to read this. We’ve put together some rug-shopping tips to help you find the rug of your dreams for your space and style it your way. Make sure you keep reading to the end of the article so that you don't miss out on one of our best tips yet. 

Measure your space accurately

Whether small or large, the best rug will fit your living space in a visually appealing way. A large rug could make your room look cluttered, while a smaller rug or a hall runner in the wrong area could look like an out-of-place floor mat. A pro tip would be to ensure you’ve enough visible floor space for achieving the right balance, especially if you have a minimalist decor style.

Tips

• Always use a measuring tape for accurate measurements of rug size.

• When sizing up indoor rugs for a small living area, ensure that at least the front legs of your sofa and armchairs touch the rug. In larger living rooms that call for statement pieces, it's often better to style your furniture entirely on the rug, leaving some visible floor space surrounding.   

• For your dining room area, take your dining table’s size for reference. Whether you’re getting a circular or rectangular rug, ensure that your dining table with chairs pushed back are on the rug. So when you pull out your chairs, the front legs of the chairs are still on the rug. This is the right rug size. When purchasing a rug for a dining room, also try to ensure the rug has a higher degree of stain resistance.

Play around with rug shapes

A rectangle is the most popular rug shape, but don’t assume that it’s the only shape you could choose for your space. If you have gorgeous floors to show off, you may like to opt for a smaller size rug in a round or oval shape.

You could also use an assortment of shapes and textures for different rooms. For instance, you could go with a round rug for your reading room, a square rug for your dining room, a rectangle rug for your living room, and floor mats for outdoor areas. As a general rule of thumb, pick what works best, based on your own living spaces. 

Tips

• Choose the shape based on the purpose of the space. 

• Pick a rectangle or square rug for smaller spaces.

• Settle on for a round rug for your family room.

• Opt for a rectangle outdoor rug or natural fibre floor mat for undercover balconies or patios.

Remember, there are no set rules. Exercise your creative freedom, but check out various styling inspirations so you can make the right choice. 

Choose rug materials wisely

With so many choices in materials – from wool blend to synthetic rugs in polyester, and natural fibres like sisal and jute – you need to think about how you want the rug to feel underfoot and the maintenance required.

The rug's pile height is also an essential consideration, influencing the feel of the rug, and how easy or difficult it is to keep clean. Naturally, shaggy rugs tend to have a higher pile height, while Persian rugs lay lower to the ground.

Tips 

• Faux fur rugs add a sense of style to reading nooks and dressing rooms.

• Animal hide rugs for low foot traffic areas, home office spaces, or bedrooms.

• Small rugs in natural fibres such as sisal and jute are perfect runner rugs for high foot traffic areas, such as living rooms, or used in entry hallways as hall runners.

• Synthetic fibres, such as polyester and viscose, are ideal as runner rugs in hallways and other high-traffic areas. 

• Outdoor rugs fare better in synthetic fibres such as polyester, acrylic, or polypropylene.

• Smaller rugs in materials such as cotton are best suited to kitchens and as kids bedroom rugs. Just make sure you protect them with a stain resistant product first!

• Silk rugs or designer rugs are best for adult bedrooms.

• Wool rugs or plush rugs work well for high-traffic areas such as dining rooms, as well as other shared living spaces like rumpus rooms.

Go for complementary colours

Rugs can make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of your space. They can either soften the space or make a statement, and while some of this is to do with rug size, a large part of it comes down to colour choice. Rugs can create harmony in your space by tying together your decor and furniture visually. 

Tips

• If you already have the furniture in place, find a rug that picks up on colours or trimmings already in your room to create a complementary style. You can achieve a harmonious feeling with patterned rugs in bold colours or rugs in earthy tones. It all depends on your own interior design sensibilities.

• If you’re unsure which rugs will complement your space, go for floor rugs in soft neutral shades, such as beige, grey or cream. Wool rugs or shaggy rugs in a uniform colour should work with most interior design styles.

Opt for anti-slip bottom rugs 

Once you’ve found your perfect rug, depending where it goes in your dining space or living space, you should ensure that it has an anti-slip bottom. It may not be as necessary on carpet, but shifting rugs nevertheless can make life more difficult than it needs to be.

With kids, pets and the elderly around, shifting rugs can also be dangerous. Rugs with anti-slip backing prevent them from slipping. If you've found the right rug, but it doesn’t have an anti-slip backing, you could use a rug gripper roll, rug underlay, or double-sided tape to keep it secured on tiles, timber floorboards or carpet. 

Purchase rugs online

Considering a new rug? If you’re looking to style your home with new rugs, check out our huge range of rugs online at Artiss. Think the perfect rug doesn't exist? Think again.

No matter what you're after – geometric pattern rugs, Persian-inspired rugs, synthetic rugs, or shaggy style modern rugs – Artiss has an extensive range of styles to suit your needs. For inspiration, check out the Artiss range of floor rugs online today.