Decorating basics: How to buy an area rug

Area rugs offer beauty and comfort. They also reduce sound and echoes in a room. A new rug will give your home a new look. Here are five points to consider when purchasing an area rug:

Capel's Cheyenne area rug

1. Size and shape.

The most common sizes are 2 feet x 3 feet, 4 feet by 6 feet, 5 feet by 8 feet, 6 feet by 9 feet and 8 feet by 10 feet. Larger sizes are also available. Shapes are rectangle, round, square, oval, octagon and runner.
If you want to cover the majority of the room, leave a 12-inch to 15-inch border of flooring exposed. Another way to look at size is that the rug should be 2 feet shorter than the smallest wall in the room. So in a 10-foot by 12-foot space, the rug should be no more than 8 feet wide. In a dining room, sit on a chair. You want the back legs of the chair to be on the rug with enough space to push back and get up from the table.

2. Color. The colors don’t have to match the other colors in the room perfectly. You can use color to make rooms seem larger or smaller. In a large room with high ceilings, use a darker color scheme to make the room seem smaller. In small room, light or pastel colors will make the room seem more spacious.

3. Pattern. The rug industry classifies pattern into three categories: curvilinear, geometric and pictorial. The first two refer to rugs with conventional motifs that are woven with curving lines (curvilinear) or straight lines (geometric). The third (a much smaller group) refers to rugs that portray people and/or animals.

4. Style. Styles range from floral to contemporary to traditional. They can also reflect a season or a theme (nautical, birds, water).

5. Design. Rugs are divided into three major designs:
All-over. The motifs are spread throughout the rug.
Medallion. A large centerpiece is the focal point of the design.
One-sided. The design is woven in one direction.

When you come to our store, we’ll be happy to help you find the perfect rug (or rugs) for your home. We carry animal skins, hand-knotted, hand-loomed, hand-tufted, hand-woven, loop, hooked and machine-woven rugs. Our design styles include braids, contemporary, juvenile, lodge, outdoor, traditional and transitional.

As for how much you should you spend, one rule of thumb says a living room rug should equal the cost of the sofa.

Learn more about area rugs here:
AreaRugFacts.com has a really good discussion on decorating with colors.
Capel Rugs
Glossary of rug terms
HGTV
Loloi
Surya
World Floor Covering Association