Why am I finding you again and again either buying rugs that are too small or placing them all the way under a large piece of furniture (sofa or bed usually) or both?!
WANNA KNOW WHY THIS DRIVES ME MAD?!
It totally makes your room feel busy and small. Is that what you want?
HOW CAN I CONVINCE YOU TO STOP BUYING SMALL RUGS AND PUTTING THEM IN THE WRONG PLACE?
Do I need to show you some stunning room with a perfectly sized and placed area rug like this one?
DID THAT CONVINCE YOU YET?
GOOD.
There are reasons why this room is so fabulous. One of the main reasons is this properly sized and placed rug.
Here are your AREA RUG RECOVERY MISSION guidelines.
SIZE TOTALLY MATTERS
- Try measuring out either 9’ x 12’ or 10’ x 14’ for your living room or bedroom. Only rarely is a living room petite enough to need an 8’ x 10’.
- You want a minimum of 12” of wood floor showing on all sides, more is ok when you follow these tips.
- The rug can be either A) under the sofa. B) Half under the sofa. C) The front legs of sofa are on it. D) The rug can run directly in front of the sofa only if the rug has another item like a chair at least halfway on it. Do not leave your rug totally disconnected from any furniture at all.
- Or in the bedroom, the edge of the rug can be anywhere from a couple inches up 18” max away from the front of the nightstands.
KNOW WHEN TO WALK ON THE RUG
If it’s a walkway through the living room, then you typically do not want to be walking on the rug, see above for ideas.
But once you are with in the seating area you always want to be able to walk on the rug. If you are walking half on and half off the rug in the seating area this the sign you have placed it totally wrong.
And most importantly when you get out of bed you want your little toes to able to walk on the rug. No one wants to hit the bare wood floor in the morning, burr. Also, this means both sides of the bed. Don’t cheap out on a small rug and gyp your partner out of their side of the rug. Totally not cool. Bad decorating karma!
GET THIS FOUNDATION PIECE RIGHT
Before you move on to other decorating projects, ask yourself can the rugs you currently have be moved so their placement is more appealing? See tips above.
And can you move a smaller rug into a smaller room, to make way for a correctly sized rug in your living room?
I see this problem 100% of the time.
BUT WHAT DO I DO, I HAVE WALL TO WALL CARPET?!
This is not ideal, but here’s how to make livable. Buy a KILIM style rug (thin woven style rug) or check out outdoor rugs as well. Place the rug under the furniture grouping in the living room or bedroom as you normally would with hardwood floors.
IT’S TIME TO UP YOUR DECORATING GAME.
Don’t just sit there wishing your home looked like the ones you see in the design magazines, get up and do something about it.
Get SMART about your DESIGN DECISIONS.
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Happy decorating,
xx J