How to Position and Style a Rug In Any Room

Whether you’re in the market for a new rug or you want to update your home with your existing rugs, there are a few key points to consider when it comes to choosing the right rug for your space.

Size, material, color, and positioning are all important things to consider depending on what you’re trying to achieve (zoning, warmth, and floor protection) or the style of your home.

Before you make any decisions read our eight steps on how to position and style a rug.

1. Collect Visuals

Not sure where to start? Collect pictures of rooms that suit the look you’re going for and see what types of rugs feature in them. Then search for something similar in stores.

2. Arrange Your Dining Room

Furniture arrangements such as dining settings should always sit completely on the rug with some space around the perimeter for chairs to be pushed out.

3. Never Choose Form Over Function

Sure, you might love the look of an ivory or charcoal rug, but remember that both light and dark colors will show up dirt and wear and tear. Try to find a mid-toned rug to suit your scheme.

4. Consider Durability

Carpet Court ambassador Darren Palmer says to think about a rug’s durability. “Plush piles can be susceptible to crushing, so go for shorter and denser twist, loops or weaves in wool, SDN or natural fiber.”

5. Anchor Your Living Space

Unlike dining settings, living room furniture should be positioned half-on and half-off your rug. This pulls the look together rather than having floating pieces.

6. Put It Under the Bed

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If you have floor boards or tiles in the bedroom, place a large rug under the bed. The rule here is to have about 2/3 of the bed over the rug and the top third, the pillow end, on the floorboards.

7. Zone “Rooms” For an Open Plan

If you have an open-plan living and dining space, create two “rooms” with the living-room arrangement on one rug and the dining setting on the other. Keep the rugs the same size for visual balance.

8. Choose a Pattern

If you have kids, pets, or clumsy house guests, go for a patterned rug over a solid color. Patterns are more forgiving — they’ll disguise crumbs and stains until you get a chance to clean them. So as you can see figuring out how to style a rug for any room in your home is super easy with these eight tips.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, Woman’s World.