You don’t have to trawl the bazaars of Morocco and use all your best bartering skills to get a decent rug now, they have some pretty great (and not too pricey) ones online and in highstreet shops now too.
But as always with loads of choice comes a difficult decision process - What size do I need? What colours and patterns work well? What materials are hard-wearing? Don’t waste time worrying about it, we’ve got you covered with our guide to all things rug related.
Step 1 - Where will the rug go?
Different areas of your property will have different amounts of traffic. Entrances, hallways and stairs are always high traffic, foot of the bed or under the dining table will be lower traffic. If it’s oxford circus level traffic you’ll need a really hard-wearing flat weave material or if it’s more country lane levels, then you can go with something more soft and luxurious.
Step 2 - How big is your space?
Have you ever heard one of those stories of someone buying a dress online and when it turns up it’s for a doll? The last thing you want is your tenants to think that happened to you with a tiny rug.
Getting the right size for your space is key to the impact a rug can have (or not have) on a room. Our friends and all round interior design experts at roost - interior design told us:
“When it comes to rugs the larger the better. Ideally all the furniture should be completely contained within the rug — but this can be expensive! So we usually work to having just the front feet of the sofa/chair/bed on it. If the budget is tight, you can use carpet tiles as an area rug!”
Step 3: What’s your colour palette?
Rugs come in a dizzying array of patterns, colours and textures. So how can you be sure to pick the best one? Look at the room you need the rug for and think about the colour palette already there, the textures and materials being used and the overall vibe you’re going for.
If you’re looking for a scandi vibe with minimalist colour palettes of whites, creams and woods then natural materials with a woven texture will work great.
Want a more traditional style but still keeping things light? You might want to bring in some colour and pattern to create some extra interest, pulling tones from your accent colours.
Or flip the whole thing on its head and use the colour palette from a rug you absolutely love, to dictate the colours of the room. This works especially well when you've fallen in love with a statement rug.
Final Step: Install
You have the perfect rug for your space in the perfect size. Don't fall at the final hurdle, if you want the room to look absolutely amazing for those Rightmove or Airbnb photos make sure you roll out the rug well before photo day, otherwise it will still be curved where it’s been rolled up tight for so long. Lay it out nice and early so it can settle down and look its best.
Stop your new rug from bunching or shifting around by laying down a gripper sheet first. These are really inexpensive and just keep everything looking pristine. For an extra little bit of luxury you can get padded ones so it feels more comfortable under the foot.
Find your Perfect Rug
Now you know what you’re looking for, apart from Aladdin's cave, where are the best places to find the best rugs on the market? We recommend having a look at:
We hope that your tenants and guests appreciate your amazing rugs. We’d love to see what you chose, so please send us your photos to our instagram.
