Rugs to Add Hearth and Soul to Your Living Room
Whether it defines a zone, cosies up a seating area or simply adds colour, a rug is much more than just a mat. Check out these game changers
Jo Leevers
17 May 2014
Houzz contributor. I also write about interiors and houses for leading UK magazines and newspaper supplements. Recent work at www.joleevers.com
Houzz contributor. I also write about interiors and houses for leading UK magazines... More
Interiors experts are always keen to tell you how ‘a rug anchors a room’ or works as a ‘focal point’. But what does that mean in practice? I thought it was time for some show and tell.
A rug is a fantastic part of a living room scheme, whether you’re gathering around a traditional fireplace or a cinema-style flatscreen TV. To make your main room’s rug work for you, think about the colour, texture, pattern and size. Oh, and it needs to be practical (most of us can discount snowy white cashmere, then). Here are 8 ways to make your rug work – and play – hard.
A rug is a fantastic part of a living room scheme, whether you’re gathering around a traditional fireplace or a cinema-style flatscreen TV. To make your main room’s rug work for you, think about the colour, texture, pattern and size. Oh, and it needs to be practical (most of us can discount snowy white cashmere, then). Here are 8 ways to make your rug work – and play – hard.
Work the midcentury look
The cool shades and restrained design touches of this midcentury-style home could feel a little over-polite. But the rug, with its large-scale squares, picks up on the 1950s and 1960s shades and gives them a bit more ‘oomph’. It’s like a 1960s artwork for the feet.
The cool shades and restrained design touches of this midcentury-style home could feel a little over-polite. But the rug, with its large-scale squares, picks up on the 1950s and 1960s shades and gives them a bit more ‘oomph’. It’s like a 1960s artwork for the feet.
Take a geometry lesson
Suzanne Sharp’s masterpiece for The Rug Company could almost have been the first element these homeowners chose, with the coordinating chair and sofa following in its wake. It’s a pretty good way to do things if you find a rug you really love. If you have a decorative ceiling, you need a bold rug to match, otherwise the eye is only drawn upwards.
Suzanne Sharp’s masterpiece for The Rug Company could almost have been the first element these homeowners chose, with the coordinating chair and sofa following in its wake. It’s a pretty good way to do things if you find a rug you really love. If you have a decorative ceiling, you need a bold rug to match, otherwise the eye is only drawn upwards.
Go with the flow
Primary colours and contemporary furniture need a suitably upbeat floor covering. Here, they meet their match in a vibrant, fluid-patterned rug that loosens up the look. A design with flowing, serpentine lines is a sure-fire way to add dynamism, and works best if it echoes other colours in the room.
Primary colours and contemporary furniture need a suitably upbeat floor covering. Here, they meet their match in a vibrant, fluid-patterned rug that loosens up the look. A design with flowing, serpentine lines is a sure-fire way to add dynamism, and works best if it echoes other colours in the room.
Mix up your stripes
Overlay graphic monochrome stripes in opposite directions for an instantly modern feel. This room has ample space to absorb all those directional lines, but it would still work on a smaller scale. Mix the width of the stripes as well as laying them at angles and it will make a room feel more expansive.
Discover 10 ways to style a striped wall
Overlay graphic monochrome stripes in opposite directions for an instantly modern feel. This room has ample space to absorb all those directional lines, but it would still work on a smaller scale. Mix the width of the stripes as well as laying them at angles and it will make a room feel more expansive.
Discover 10 ways to style a striped wall
Divide a space
Using rugs to mark off each area in an open-plan space is a tried and tested formula, but you don’t have to go for contrasting colours. This scheme uses a pair of generous but neutral rugs, with statement chandeliers above each. They do the job without stealing attention from the gorgeously velvety furniture.
Explore more style benefits of rugs
Using rugs to mark off each area in an open-plan space is a tried and tested formula, but you don’t have to go for contrasting colours. This scheme uses a pair of generous but neutral rugs, with statement chandeliers above each. They do the job without stealing attention from the gorgeously velvety furniture.
Explore more style benefits of rugs
Head for a hide
An animal hide can be a great way to add softness and natural shapes. This open-plan living space has a front door and stairs leading off it, so it needs this rug to make it feel comfortable and welcoming. Imagine the space without it and you’ll see what I mean – it could just feel like an extended hallway.
An animal hide can be a great way to add softness and natural shapes. This open-plan living space has a front door and stairs leading off it, so it needs this rug to make it feel comfortable and welcoming. Imagine the space without it and you’ll see what I mean – it could just feel like an extended hallway.
Be bold with green
This rug is practically a wall-to-wall carpet, but it doesn’t feel as formal. It’s an inspired shade, lifting the neutrals into a more vibrant palette. This is a city home where outside space and greenery is at a premium. The lush rug colour echoes the foliage outside, helping the two spaces connect.
This rug is practically a wall-to-wall carpet, but it doesn’t feel as formal. It’s an inspired shade, lifting the neutrals into a more vibrant palette. This is a city home where outside space and greenery is at a premium. The lush rug colour echoes the foliage outside, helping the two spaces connect.
Frame two sofas
This bright number unites two sofas and a coffee table into one neat, happy space. If you ensure your rug is large enough for two sofas to sit on, it makes your seating area feel complete, rather than bitty. The direction of the colour blocks is also important: it chops up the long, skinny room and prevents it feeling like an over-long corridor.
Show us your favourite rug in the Comments.
This bright number unites two sofas and a coffee table into one neat, happy space. If you ensure your rug is large enough for two sofas to sit on, it makes your seating area feel complete, rather than bitty. The direction of the colour blocks is also important: it chops up the long, skinny room and prevents it feeling like an over-long corridor.
Show us your favourite rug in the Comments.
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