The rug is one of the best decors present in any house. Rugs help to enhance the beauty of your floors very much but by today’s tips and some secrets, it is gonna enhance the look of your floor 3 times or more.
Almost everyone has a rug in their house and if you are reading this article that means you may have or going to buy one for your home. So, in this case, many persons have a doubt that how to choose a rug for living room. We are talking about the living room because that is the place in our house where we have maximum space.
Some have this doubt because either they have rugs and want to enhance the look or they are thinking to buy the best rugs for their home.
There are different types of rugs present in the market for different rooms like living room rugs, kitchen rugs, bedroom rugs, bathroom rugs, entrance rugs, etc. This is one of the reasons why many people face problems in choosing a rug as there are so many types of rugs available.
A common question arises here, “What is the difference between rug and area rug?“. There is no much difference between them. Rugs are just smaller than area rugs. Rugs are used in small spaces like a kitchen or bathroom and area rugs are generally for living rooms or bedrooms.
Uses Of Rugs
Mainly the rugs are used as the decor of a room. A rug can grab the maximum space of the floor so it is more visible than other furniture in the room. Choosing the right rug can enhance the look of the room where it is present. They can be used smartly also if you have some defects on the floor then, you can cover them with rugs(better for wooden laminate floors).
Rugs can be a helpful material for the winter seasons as we barely like to keep our feet on cool surfaces. So, instead of cool surfaces, we can keep our legs on soft rugs and feel the comfort.
Other than these, rugs are super useful in soundproofing the floor because it can easily soak the vibration, especially fluffy rugs can do this better.
Let’s see the importance of rugs in a room in detail.
1. Protect Floor
The rugs are very much important for floors and especially for hardwood laminate floors. The rugs make a layer over the floor so that it doesn’t get dirty even if you fall something on the floor by mistake.
The excess water can damage the laminate floors because if water goes into the joint of floating woods, it will start swelling from that place and damage the flooring texture.
You can use the rug pads under the rugs for better protection.
2. Soundproofing
This is one of the best advantages of using rugs in the room. The rugs can absorb the vibration creates by the floors(which causes noise) and make your floor soundproof.
The thicker rug means better result. If you are using the rubber backing rugs or rug pads underneath the rugs then they are perfect for soundproofing the floor.
3. Complement Floor
If you understand how to choose the right rug for your room, then it can enhance the look of your room by 3 times or more. The floor is the major area(after the wall) which a person can see in a room. So, if you can cover that large area matching with the wall, furniture, and decors then it will boost the look of your room very nicely.
4. Zoning
This happens in large rooms. If you see the furniture in the large rooms with many spaces, furniture look lost in the room. In the same place, if you keep a rug underneath furniture, it creates a zone visually for furniture.
5. Add New Texture
For example, if you are having the couch and ottoman bench or the same texture and color in the living room, a rug of opposite color and texture can add a better and new look to your living room.
6. Connects Spaces
If you use rugs in all your rooms, the space of the rooms seems to be connected and the floor doesn’t look empty. It happens best if you are using the same or neutral rugs for living room.
How To Pick A Rug?
Here we are going to discuss how to choose a rug for living room. But Why for the living room? As we mentioned at the starting of this article, the living room is the place where we get maximum space in our home and at first, we all offer our guests to sit in the living room only so let’s discuss how to choose a rug for living room.
Here are the 5 essential points you need to remember while choosing a rug for the living room.
How To Choose A Rug Size For Living Room?
Size is one of the most essential factors in choosing a rug for the living room. As we said earlier, the living room is the place of our house where we have the maximum space available. So, you need the rug which can cover the space where the couch and table are placed, not for the entire room. You just need the rug to go underneath the couch or under only the front legs of the chair or sofa.
So, you need to measure the dimension of the space where you sit or your sofa and chair covers and pick the rug which will be almost 6 inches larger in every side than your measurement to go under the front legs of the chair. This will help to define the space where everyone sits.
Tip: It’s better to buy the bigger rug than your measurement than buying the smaller one.
How To Choose A Rug Color For Living Room & Also Pattern?
After choosing the size, color also plays a great role in choosing a rug for the living room. A complementary color is very much essential to enhance the look of your room. The rug is gonna acquire the maximum space of your living room so, you need to choose the color which will suit your furniture and wall also.
Don’t try to match the colors or patterns of furniture and rug. If your wall is of dark color then go with the white rugs or light color rugs and if the wall is of light color then go with a little darker one.
If your furniture has the patterns then go for a solid color rug and if they are of solid color then go for the pattern rugs. As simple as that!
How To Choose A Rug Material?
When it comes to comfort, always material is in the first position of the priority list. There are various types of materials are used for making rugs. Which rug you should take depends upon how that rug is gonna be used, how much traffic will it get, and all? Here we are gonna discuss few materials which are used to make the rugs widely.
Basically, there are three types of fibers and they are natural, synthetic, and artificial fibers. Let’s see the details about them.
1. Natural Fibers
Natural fibers mean wool, cotton, jute, and sisal, etc. They are made up of woven plant fibers.
- Pros: Long-lasting, good for high traffic areas, especially wool rugs are stain and water-resistant. Cotton rugs are cheaper by price.
- Cons: They are very hard to clean. You need a professional way to clean.
2. Synthetic Fibers
Acrylic, polyester, polypropylene are the examples of synthetic fibers.
- Pros: This is skin-friendly and comes at a cheap price and easy to clean
- Cons: They may not feel that much luxurious or plush as other materials. Material like acrylic is not that stain-resistant. If anything spills on it and doesn’t get cleaned then and there, the stain can stay forever.
3. Artificial Fibers
Viscose, bamboo silk, banana silk are the examples of artificial fibers.
- Pros: Easily made, affordable, and the random patterns can hide the dirt
- Cons: Material Like Viscose can soak moisture, oil, or water very fast and damage the fiber.
Wool
Wool is one of the most used materials for rugs. It is very soft and cozy. Wool is actually stain and water-resistant. If you need a rug for hard usage then wool is good for you as it is mostly used for high traffic. The thing is, wool can shed but vacuuming it can make it better over time.
Cotton
Cotton is also widely used for making rugs. This is an affordable material but if you need a fluffy rug then cotton is not ideal for you because cotton doesn’t fluff that much.
Pile Type
Along with the material type, pile type also you need to take care of. There are mainly two types of rugs based on height i.e high pile rugs and low pile rugs.
Low piles are good for sturdiness and easy to clean whereas the high pile rugs are good for a cozy and luxurious feel.
A low pile rug is good for high traffic and the high pile rug is not that good for high traffic.
Low pile is less expensive compared to high piles.
High pile rugs are not recommended for dog owners whose dogs chew a lot. Check out the best rugs for dog owners.
Backing
This is the point which many people neglect. A rug pad is very much necessary to keep the rug in one place and make it a non-skid rug. Other than helping the rug to be in its place, a rug pad helps to protect your hardwood floor also from scratches and absorbs the sounds created by the feet.
If you don’t want to use rug pads, then you can buy the rugs with rubber or latex backing for the best result(Note: latex is not a good choise for allergic people).
Type Of Handmade Rugs
When it comes to choosing a great rug for the living room, handmade rugs are a very good option as they are more aesthetic and durable than normal machine-made rugs.
Nowadays, handmade rugs have become almost like machine-made rugs. 10-15 years ago, the handmade rugs could be noticeable. But, now there are some quick and easy ways came to make handmade rugs.
1. Hand-tufted
Hand-tufted rugs are not so good rug compared to hand-tied rugs. This type of rug is basically made up of canvas type material and glued from the back.
The designs are drawn on the canvas and wools are shot thru the design with the help of a little sewing machine type instrument.
In order to hold the wool, they use some type of glue(named latex) behind the rug and then covered by canvas type material.
Note: This is the best indication of hand-tufted rugs, that they are covered by any canvas from the back.
2. Hand-tied
This is also called hand-knotted rugs. In this type of rugs, they knot or tie and cut them individually by hands.
Once this type of rugs is made up of good quality material, they can last for a century or decades. They age beautifully and clean easily.
Cons Of Hand-tufted Rugs
❌They last only for 0.1 to 0.15 times of hand-tied rugs
❌Not good for health. As they are made up of glue, in warm weather the glue dries out very fast and it forms a powder-like substance under the rug. If the powder gets mixed with the air, it may be toxic for the health.
❌Also, if you spill some liquid over the rug, the glue can come up easily and the rug can be damaged soon.
How To Choose The Perfect Rug Size?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a rug for my living room?
At first measure, the dimension of the space of your living room where you sit or the chairs and couches are kept then buy at least 6 inches or bigger than your space’s dimension on every side.
What are the best quality rugs?
Mostly wool is the best material for rugs and here are some list of best quality rugs:
>Noahas Luxury Fluffy Rugs
>LOCHAS Luxury Velvet Shag Area Rug
>Unique Loom Sofia Traditional Area Rug
What color area rug should I get for my living room?
For light color wall, dark rugs, and vice versa. If your furniture has patterns then go for solid color and vice versa.
Should I get a rug for my living room?
This obviously depends on you but rugs can be a very useful decor for your room. Not only for decorating purposes, but also for protecting your floors.
What should I look for when buying a rug?
Material, size, color & pattern, pile type, and rug pads.
What is the most comfortable rug?
Woolen rugs are the most comfortable and add a luxurious look to your room.
Last Few Words
Rugs are as much essential as your furniture. Rug acquires most of the space of your room so, always take care of everything we mentioned above before buying the best rug for your living room.
We hope we could able to make you understand how to choose a rug for the living room. If still, any query is there, please comment down below and any feedback will be appreciated.
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