Tips On Selecting Indoor & Outdoor Area Rugs – by Carmen Whitlock

Making Your House Your Home, June 2014

An area rug can serve to warm-up a tile or hardwood floor area, anchor a seating area, establish a dining or play area, and add character to nearly any indoor or outdoor space.

Synthetic area rugs can be quite affordable, sisal rugs can be bordered for interest and hemp rugs are great for making a statement. Whether you choose to go with a machine-made or a hand-knotted wool rug, you’ll have many color, size, pattern options in many price ranges. And, braided rugs are not just available in round shapes anymore like they were years ago and are now quite popular.

It’s best to know the general size of rug or rugs needed. If you know that your dining table is 4′ x 6′ it’s a good rule of thumb to add a minimum of 2 feet on each side for chairs to push back. That calculates to the need for an 8′ X 10′ rug which happens to be a standard size.

Often, one must be a bit creative in deciding on the placement and size of an area rug and opt to have one custom-made. While not necessarily more expensive per square foot, they do generally have a 6-month production lead time.

If you need coordinating rugs, I recommend finding a rug within a color family. For instance, an entry rug, a great room rug and a dining area rug may all be viewed at one time in an open floor plan.

This time of year, we are all planning on spending more time outdoors—an outdoor area rug is a wonderful way to brighten-up a patio or deck space as well as make it more inviting. Most outdoor rugs are made of a washable fiber and can actually be hosed-down, when needed. At the end of the season, clean your outdoor rugs thoroughly, allow them to dry completely and then roll them up and store them indoors.

Indoor rugs should be placed on pads to help with longevity and should be vacuumed or otherwise cleaned often. There are several thicknesses of pad options available just as you would find in wall to wall carpeting pads.

Seeing and touching sample rugs is well worth your time and effort. At Eleglance Home Décor, we have samples and rugs from several companies and are here to help you make your indoor and outdoor space your home for the summer months ahead!

Carmen Whitlock is an Interior Designer and owner of Eleglance Home Decor located at 110 N. 5th street in Jacksonville. Contact her at 541-702-2170 or eleglance@charter.net.

Posted May 30, 2014