Choosing a rug for your living room can either bring the whole room together or leave it looking slightly odd. Due to this, the decision is far from an easy one, with there being what seems like an endless amount of questions to ask yourself. In this day and age, rugs come in a variety of sizes, styles, colors, shapes, and materials, making the decision even harder.
This article provides you with our expert rug cleaning team's advice on what to consider before you set your eyes on what you think is the perfect rug for your living room.
Style, Color & Vibe
If you are planning on adding a rug to your living room, then you should already have a good idea of the style it needs to be in order to be a nice match. The colors in your living room, whether that be the walls or furniture, should play a big role in helping decide the color of your rug. This does not mean you have to match the rug perfectly with the same tone of color on your walls but understand the overall vibe you are aiming to achieve.
Are you trying to create a cozy living space where you can spend lounging in the evenings? Or, do you want a living room that sparks energy into your day-to-day life? These are typical questions to consider before buying a rug.
Another important question to ask yourself would be, will there be furniture on top of the rug? While shaggy rugs are great at creating a cozy room, they do not provide even surfaces for coffee tables and other typical light living room furniture to be placed on. Therefore, choosing a suitable rug for your living room is essential.
Rug Size, Shape & Materials
Finding the right-sized rug for your living room is unquestionably the most important step. Choosing a rug that is too small for your room can instantly make the room feel ‘off’ and make furniture look out of proportion. Also, if you have nice floors, chances are you do not want the rug to cover them up entirely, so you will want to leave a border around the outside. With that being said, your personal preference is always key. Style the room and buy a rug that suits your needs.
Of course, rectangular rugs are by far the most common, but circular rugs should not be forgotten. When used well, circular rugs are great at creating dynamic spaces in living rooms and are great when partnered with L-shaped and curved sofas.
There is a variety of different materials in which you can buy your rug. Each material offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to understand each one.
Synthetic Fibers
- Polypropylene – This artificial fiber is incredibly resistant to both staining and wear, making it great for a household with kids. However, it is flammable and also struggles to return to its original shape when furniture is placed on top.
- Polyester – This is also a man-made fiber that is reluctant to lose its color and dries very quickly. While it is resistant to water-based stains, oil-based stains can be tricky to remove from these rugs.
Natural Fibers
- Wool – Cozy living rooms often have wool rugs, as they are great at insulating rooms. While wool rugs do not fare well against acid spills, they are generally quite easy to clean and are fire-resistant.
- Wool-Mix – A wool mix often includes both wool and man-made fibers. This mixture of fibers limits the amount of shedding that wool rugs are prone to and helps the rug maintain its shape. These rugs tend to be cheaper than wool rugs, but are not as durable.
- Juta – This natural fiber is the softest of them all, making it the least durable. Juta rugs tend to work well in neutral and rustic-styled living rooms.
- Sisal – Unlike the previous fiber, Sisal is very hard-wearing, which is excellent for living rooms where plenty of footfall takes place. Unfortunately, it stains very easily and is difficult to clean.
What Are The Rug Cleaning Requirements?
Rug cleaning is a task that you are bound to do yourself or have done by a carpet cleaning company at some point in the future. So, it is worth deciding on the rug's material, as we previously discussed. If your rug is likely to suffer from multiple spillages and stains, you will want a resistant material you can easily clean. However, if this is not likely to be the case, then you can treat yourself to a nicer material that is more difficult to clean and employ one of the many carpet cleaning services that exist.
Rugs are susceptible to stains and can also be damaged through heavy footfall, furniture being placed on them, and general wear and tear. If your rug is likely to be damaged, then you do not want to find yourself paying for carpet repair regularly to keep it looking in good condition.
Leading Carpet Cleaning Services
Choosing the perfect rug for your living room is no easy task, but hopefully, with the help of our advice, this decision will be a little easier. If you are wondering what carpet cleaning services are in your area, simply head to your web browser and search "carpet cleaning services near me."
Steve’s Carpet Care & Restoration has been in the industry for over 40 years providing expert carpet cleaning, large area rug cleaning, and carpet repair. If you require our services today, then do not hesitate to contact us at (303) 530-4900.