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Area rugs are a great way to design your floor space. Area rugs can make a room look bigger while giving you the comfort of wall-to-wall carpet.
They make it easy for you to redecorate. You can store them away for the season or switch them out when you get bored.
You might also love the idea of using washable area rugs to upgrade your space if you love keeping your floors clean.
Read on for ideas on how to make your room feel bigger with rugs.
How to Make Your Room Feel Bigger with Rugs – 10 Easy Tips
Making your room feel bigger depends on how your space is arranged to function as you wish. Area rugs help you visually organize your space.
For example, that’s why a rug for a reading corner is visually appealing and makes great use of a small corner.
Tip 1: Color and Pattern
The common concept is true: light colors can make rooms feel bigger than dark colors. That’s because light colors help bounce the light around your room and create a more visually open space. You will particularly appreciate this light-bouncing in rooms that don’t have windows.
The best light-bouncing abilities are with white and off-white area rugs. You can still benefit from using lighter-colored area rugs to expand the feel of your space.
Patterns make rooms feel fun and add texture that you can repeat in your home decor. Choose oversized patterns for small rooms with sparse furniture. If you have a lot of items, try plain or intricate details on the area rug.
Tip 2: Size it right
You won’t want an area rug that’s too small. Larger area rugs are more expensive, and one of the reasons is that they tend to be better at dressing up a room.
It’s easier to get one too small rather than too large.
If you happened to choose a rug that’s too small, or just couldn’t resist a good deal on a cute rug, you can still use it! Choose to do a mix and match area rug look by placing them next to each other. That can be so Swedish style.
Do remember to tape down the rugs with velcro rug tape or good-quality carpet tape to prevent any added tripping.
Tip 3: Leave space around the rug
When you’re choosing the size of the area rug, make sure there are about 8 inches (20 cm) of space from the walls.
If at all possible, you want the area rug to be at the center of the room. This is a special spot for area rugs to expand the space.
Tip 4: Do Furniture legs go on or off the rug?
There are 3 variations for this:
one is that the furniture should all be on the rug
another variation to the decor is having only the front legs on the rug
you can also choose to have no furniture on the rug so that only the coffee table is on the rug
For dining areas, you will need room for the chairs to be able to slide out while on the rug.
Tip 5: For high traffic areas
This is essential when choosing runner rugs for high-traffic areas.
Make sure it’s wide enough that people can usually walk on them with both feet. It’s unusual to have one foot on the rug and one foot on the bare floor.
Tip 6: Use area rugs to divide up an open concept room
This is especially true with multi-use rooms like the recently common areas, living/dining room open concepts.
This trick is also super useful for bachelor pads that also combine the living/dining experience.
Use another rug for your reading corner.
Use a different area rug for each of these area purposes and you get the benefit of the feeling of different rooms.
Tip 7: Choose the right size for bedrooms
There are two choices for this.
If you want to go big and classic, choose an area rug that is 1 foot (30 cm) wider on the sides and bottom of a queen or twin bed.
For king-size beds, choose an area rug that is 1.5 feet (46 cm) wider on the sides and bottom of the bed.
A runner rug by the bed
Another variation is to choose a runner rug or small rug that extends from the base of your nightstand along the side of your bed. No furniture legs on it — this is just for the comfort of your feet when you step in and out of bed.
Tip 8: Clean it regularly
Some types of rugs can’t be cleaned, which would make Tip #8 more serious. These include jute and sisal rugs. You can still tap dust off of them. Take it outside on a clothesline and give it a few whacks. Spot clean with damp microfiber cloths.
With polyester area rugs, you can clean them yourself with a carpet cleaner.
You might prefer to clean rugs yourself if you have kids and pets. This means using natural cleaners and knowing what kind of cleaners you are willing to use on your rugs.
You can use a carpet cleaner on most rugs that can get wet. You can clean most wool rugs with a carpet cleaner, as well. Always test a less conspicuous area first.
You can substitute the cleaner solution with hydrogen peroxide if you’re worried about chemicals.
Hydrogen peroxide is a green cleaner because it’s good for the environment. It breaks down to water and oxygen, so it’s safe around kids and pets.
Tip 9: Gather fewer stains with Easy-to-Clean Rugs
To build on the tip above, it’s nice to put some thought as to where the rug will be. If it’s going to be the focal point of your room, you will like it to avoid stains.
Choose rug material that is easy-to-clean in the stain-prone areas of your home, like the hallway and the dining room.
There are machine washable cotton rugs that are easy to clean.
These handmade rugs are made of cotton and are easy to maintain with machine washing. They have a versatile design for areas like the living room, dining room, kitchen, and entryway.
Like most machine-washable rugs, you will need to keep them down on hardwood floors with a non-slip rug pad and carpet tape.
The living room can also be an area for many spills if you’ve got kids and pets.
You may also want to consider inexpensive rugs to make them easy to replace.
For some areas of the home, like by the fireplace, you may want to look for specifically flame retardant rugs.
Tip 10: Keep rugs from sliding and curling
Rugs that creep and curl will make your room feel smaller fast. Adjusting them repeatedly is not on anyone’s favorite activity list.
Loose rugs are also a health and falling hazard.
You can seal rugs down to the floor with a simple solution like removable rug tape.
Use rug pads for area rugs that have trouble staying flat in the middle, too.
Persistent curling carpets can get resolved with corner rug grippers. The triangle shape helps stop it from curling.
You can combine rug pads and rug tape to double secure your rug to the hard floor.
Bonus Tip 11: Flatten curly, wrinkled rugs
You don’t need to keep using a curly, wrinkly rug with this trick.
Layout the rug. Then grab your clothes steamer and run it over the wrinkles. Check a corner to make sure your rug will stand up to steam. You can also check the tags first. For example, don’t steam on a viscose rug.
If you have a rug material that does not stand well to heat, roll the carpet in the opposite direction. Then let it sit out. Use a hairdryer at a low setting to heat the area. Do not overheat. Use your palm to flatten the warm, wrinkled areas.
How to make a bedroom look bigger?
You can make a bedroom look bigger with rugs by choosing one that extends beyond the edges of your bed by at least 1 foot (30 cm). This means for twin-size and queen-size beds, choose rugs that are 5′ x 8′ or 6′ x 9′.
For king beds, it’s better to leave up 1.5 feet (46 cm) around the sides and bottom edges. Small bedrooms could look larger with rugs that are 6′ x 9′ or 8′ x 10′.
Alternatively, you can choose to use small runner rugs on one or both sides of the bed. The rug should start several inches away from the base of your nightstand and run along the bed until almost the end. This will keep your feet nice and comfortable when stepping in and out of bed.
The best light-bouncing abilities are with white and off-white area rugs. You can still benefit from using lighter-colored area rugs to expand the feel of your space.
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