Area Rugs – Spot a Great One
DEAR TIM: I am thinking of purchasing some area rugs for different rooms in my house. How do you pick the right size rug for a room? I have children and pets and am thinking it is not a good idea to get a good rug. How do you determine quality as all the rugs all look great at the stores? Do I have to buy a pad for an area rug? Roberta P., Inverness, FL
DEAR ROBERTA: Congratulations! You are about to make a very wise purchase. Area rugs, in my opinion, are one of the most interesting design elements you can introduce into a room. My wife and I own seven area rugs and we absolutely love them. One of them is octagonal in shape and looks splendid in our entrance hall. If you purchase a quality rug, your children and grandchildren will probably use it in their homes.
This is a display rack at the store where we have purchased all of our rugs. Sam, the owner, is one honest businessman. The last thing we bought was an oriental runner that goes up our staircase!
There is no set sizing formula when selecting an area rug. The rug size is usually dictated by how the room is used. Some rooms may actually have two or more different sitting or activity areas. For example, we have two area rugs in my family room. There is a large one beneath the couch and two chairs that are opposite our fireplace. At one end of the room, we have a cherry card table with four chairs. Beneath this table arrangement, we have placed another smaller rug. The two rugs have patterns that compliment one another.
Don't always feel that furniture has to be completely on or off an area rug. Be aware that most rugs come in stock sizes. If you want a custom sized rug for some reason, you will pay a king's ransom for it. Flexibility is often necessary when trying to size an area rug.
Many people goof up the timing of the rug purchase. Area rugs are available in far fewer patterns and styles than wallpaper, upholstery, and window treatment fabrics. If you select your furniture fabrics and wallpaper first, you may have a hard time choosing an area rug. The rug should be the foundation of the interior design of a room. If you choose a large print pattern in the rug, try to use small patterns in the other fabrics within the room. If you are going to spend lots of money on rugs, furniture, fabrics, etc. within a room, I would absolutely hire a certified interior designer to help coordinate all of the colors and patterns.
Kids and pets can hurt area rugs, poor quality rugs that is! If you anticipate heavy use or wear on a rug, you will benefit by purchasing a high quality fabric. Wool is probably your best choice. The color dyes completely penetrate wool fibers. As wool wears, it releases cells much like a snake that sheds its skin. The newly exposed wool fiber cells looks as good as the ones that were just worn off. To even the wear on an area rug, you should flip or rotate it every six months. You can't do this with wall to wall carpeting!
Rug makers have developed a synthetic fiber - polypropylene - that mimics many of the qualities of wool. It has the look and feel of wool but only costs half the price of a wool rug. The synthetic fabric consists of small glass-like rods that do accept the color dyes throughout the fiber. However, foot traffic actually causes scratches on the small glass rods. The result over time is a dull look in all of the traffic lanes. The synthetic rug fibers crush more easily than wool fibers.
Pads are essential beneath area rugs. They absorb the shock of foot traffic. Select a pad that is no thicker than 3/8 inch and is sticky on both sides. Do not use padding that is made for wall-to-wall carpeting as it commonly is slick on one side. A slick pad will result in a fall for sure.
High quality area rug shops often let you "try before you buy." This transportable feature is another benefit of area rugs. If you grow tired of one, you can roll it up and put it in another room or sell it. I am confident you will be pleased with your area rug purchase as long as you buy from a reputable dealer.
Related Articles: Area Rug Tips, Area Rug Cleaning Tips, Area Rug Dealers
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