Area Rugs
From Floor Coverings
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How do area rugs help my floor?
Area Rugs were created for reasons of appearance and practicality in connection with room and floor decor. They provide literal warmth to a cold hardwood floor and they add a symbolic warmth to an otherwise “cold” appearance of a room. Area rugs in place also have the beneficial effect of absorbing noise, reducing that hollow sound and feeling in a room. Besides adding character, color and coziness to a room, an area rug can also serve the purpose of covering up an unattractive feature that cannot be removed, like some type of flaw in the flooring or an unsightly stain on the carpet.
What were the first area rugs made of?
The first area rugs were made out of wool and cotton, but today’s home decorators can choose from a variety of both natural and synthetic fibers. There are five main things to consider when deciding which fiber is the best choice for your room, and those are location, traffic, texture, maintenance and cost.
If you are interested in purchasing an area rug made with natural fibers, your choices are wool, cotton, jute, sisal and blends of these fibers. Area rugs constructed with synthetic fibers generally consist of acrylic, polypropylene/olefin and nylon. The cost of natural fibers are usually somewhat higher than synthetic fibers. If cost is an important factor, polypropylene is generally the least expensive of all fibers.
Where should I put my area rugs?
If the location of your area rug is going to be where there is lots of sunlight, you might consider acrylic instead of jute. Acrylic is extremely resistant to the fading effects of sunlight, whereas jute has a tendency to fade or turn dark when exposed to direct sunlight. If the location of your area rug ends up being in a place where there is a great deal of moisture, like a bathroom floor, acrylic, polypropylene or sisal may work well. Acrylic resists mildew very nicely, polypropylene repels water and the fiber in sisal is amazingly colorfast. On the other hand, jute tends to disintegrate if it repeatedly gets wet.
Are area rugs ok for high traffic areas?
Area rugs placed in high traffic areas should be made with nylon, wool or sisal. These fibers are very durable when exposed to heavy traffic and sisal resists static too. Wool and nylon are both easy to clean if the traffic situation makes them get dirty more often. Stain-resistant fibers include acrylic and polypropylene, with the latter being the most stain-resistant fiber available. If texture is important to you, cotton is softer than wool, but less durable. Jute is the softest natural fiber, but again, not as durable as some fibers.
The two main styles of area rugs are center medallions and repetitive patterns. An area rug with a central medallion on it will work well if you wish the rug itself to be one of the main focal points in the room. However, if you want to highlight some other feature in the room, like a piece of antique furniture or a fireplace, then you might want to choose an area rug with a repetitive pattern. But if there is a great deal of busy patterns already in the room, a solid area rug or a subtle pattern might be a better choice.
Now take a look at your room and consider what you are trying to achieve. Does the room need to appear larger or would you prefer a smaller, cozier appearance? Try selecting lighter colors to make the room look bigger and darker colors to minimize its appearance. Otherwise, pick out a couple of colors or maybe just one color that presently exists in the furniture or drapes and match your area rug with that color.
What sizes do area rugs come in?
Area rugs come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Rectangle, oval, round and octagonal are the most common shapes. The most common size for a room size rug is 8’x11’ and common sizes for area rugs are 4’x6’ and 6’x9’. When choosing the best size area rug, consider not only the size of the room, but the size of the furniture that they will placed near or under. Area rugs in front of the sofa should be approximately the same length as the sofa. When the legs of your coffee table stick out way past the area rug, the rug is too small.
When looking for high quality in an area rug, you might ask the salesman about line count and stitches count. The higher these numbers are the better the quality and density of the rug. These factors will contribute to a longer lasting area rug.
