A rug can easily transform your living space from looking bare and empty to looking put together and cozy within seconds of laying it.
Many interior designs claim that the living room or bedroom is not complete without a rug, but is this true? And does every room in your home need a rug?
The truth is, many benefits come with having a rug in various rooms in your house, especially in the living room as it will fill the empty floor space that isn’t covered by your couch or other furniture and make everything work in harmony.
However, not every room in your home will need a rug, and sometimes placing one in a certain room can make it look smaller or ruin the aesthetic.
Continue reading to find out the benefits of having a rug in a room and also some scenarios of when a room does not need a rug.
Benefits Of Having A Rug In A Room
Covers Imperfections
Let’s say you’ve just moved home that has some major imperfections like cracked tiles or stained carpets, but you haven’t got the finances to replace them just yet. Then a rug can be super handy and a budget-friendly solution to hide these problems.
Protects Your Floors
A rug is useful for protecting tiles or wooden flooring in your home that receives heavy traffic or a lot of wear and tear. For example, placing a large rug under your dining table and chairs will prevent scratches or marks on the floor every time you pull the chairs in and out.
If you have a light-colored carpet in your home and you’ve got young children or pets, then having rugs dotted around will also help protect parts of your carpet from stains or accidents.
Controls Sound
Large rooms or ones that have hardwood or tired flooring can often echo sound all around the house and placing a large thick rug can muffle the sound.
If you live in a rented property, you don’t always have the flexibility to make permanent changes to the place such as changing the wall color or switching out the flooring.
So if your home currently has some debatable colored carpet or flooring that you're dying to hide, then using a large rug to hide the entire floor will be an easy solution.
Warmth
Rooms that have wooden or tiled flooring can often feel cold, especially when walking barefoot, and adding a rug can immediately add warmth and comfort to a room. A thick rug can retain heat and help a room feel warmer, saving you on your energy bills.
Completes The Room
Sometimes all a room needs is a beautiful rug to bring it all together, as it can balance out the space that is mostly filled by furniture or decorations on the wall.
A rug is also a great addition to an open-plan living space that you want to be separated without having a wall or partition to mark off the area.
Brings Life To A Dull Room
If you’re someone who places it safe when it comes to decorating or color in their home and opts for neutral furniture along with the wallpaper and flooring, then a rug can be a great way to add life and vibrancy into a room without having to go crazy with decorating.
Those with dark flooring or dark wall colors in their home may find that a light-colored rug will immediately brighten up a room and break up the darkness, making it look cozier rather than a dungeon.
Anchors The Furniture In Your Room
Sometimes furniture in your bedroom or living room can often seem like it’s floating with no real conviction that it’s supposed to be there. A rug will make a room look cohesive and put together, especially if you place them under large pieces of furniture like a couch or a bed.
A rug will also fill that space which is very customary in between couches and the TV in the living room.
If you are going to put a rug in your living room or bedroom, ensure it’s large enough that it has equal space on each side but also covers a good amount of the floor so it doesn’t look tiny under large pieces of furniture.
Increases The Safety In Your Home
Rugs are a great way to provide a soft landing for little ones if you haven’t got carpet in your home.
Toddlers and young kids are often running around, slipping and falling on their hands and knees and a rug will help minimize the risks of crying outbursts as soon as they hit the ground.
When Does A Room Not Need A Rug?
When It’s A Kitchen
Personally, we think putting a rug in the kitchen is a recipe for disaster, not only are you risking dropping food over your rug and ruining it, but you’ll also make it more difficult to clean your kitchen floor quickly without having to take up the rug and the rug gripper each time.
However, if you have an open kitchen dining area, then you may want to fill any large spaces such as where the dining table sits with a rug underneath to bring the room together and make it more homely.
If You Have Carpet
This isn’t a strict rule as such, but generally, rooms with carpets don’t usually require a rug in them, especially if the carpet is soft and long.
You can place a rug in a room that has a short-pile or looped carpet as this will make the room look flat and adding a different textured or colored rug will bring life and dimension to the room.
If you are going to put a rug in a room with carpet, then make sure to use a contrasting colored rug that has stand-out patterns or textures that won’t clash with the carpet.
