Rugs can be tricky accents in a home. Mixing patterns, finding the right material for your lifestyle, and making it all fit in a budget can make rug shopping a daunting task. After some hard-learned lessons (and going through too many rugs to count thanks to the lifestyle of a big and messy family), I’ve finally found what works for our family. We need rugs that are beautiful and comfortable without breaking the bank AND that are able to be cleaned. **Literally as I’m writing this, my very independent 3 year old just spilled half a gallon of milk within splashing distance of two area rugs, Lord have mercy.** So because of THAT, today, I’m spilling all the tea (and milk, apparently) on rugs (figuratively AND literally speaking, I guess).
MUDROOM
Let’s start by the mudroom and work our way through. Being a high traffic area, the mudroom sees a lot of, well, mud (duh). This area of our home can also be closed off to keep our dog contained, so there is the risk of accidents if she’s left too long as well. All of these factors go into the decision making process when shopping for rugs, which is why for the runner shown here, affordability and durability were top priority. You will see a lot of the same brand, Loloi, throughout this post. They have a huge spectrum of rugs and are a leader in the fashionable home marketplace. The olive green rug I have here has a depth of color and rich pattern that mimics a much more expensive vintage rug, but because it is a vintage reproduction, I got this exact rug for a mere $65. It’s durable enough that if it does get stained, I can run over it with my carpet shampooer (I love this thing and think it’s must have for any home with carpet or rugs) and it can withstand the cleaning.
HOME OFFICE
Adjacent to the mudroom is my home office, so I had to consider the rugs being in the same general space when selecting my rugs in here. I wanted to do something a little different, so I went with a layered rug placing a round vintage looking rug on top of a slightly larger round jute rug. I love the texture that the jute adds to the vintage and I think it gives just enough of a border of contrast that the two vintage looking rugs exist really nicely in the same space. For this space, the layering certainly added a little bit of cost, but I still came in under $200 for this look which I love.
KITCHEN
Next, we make our way into the kitchen. Our kitchen is slightly L-shaped and for a long time I had only one runner along the main galley area, but recently I decided that the prep sink area should have some runner love too. In an effort to not have TOO many different looks, I grabbed two of the same runner in different lengths to accommodate which areas they would be in. Both are the Jules Oriental Terracotta Rug by Chris Loves Julis x Loloi from Wayfair. The prep sink area didn’t need to be quite as long, so I have the 12′ runner in the galley and the 7.5′ runner by the prep sink. From certain angles, you can see both rugs at the same time, so the matching pattern was the right choice for us in this setting. Again, these rugs are polyester material, so they can be cleaned a little more aggressively than a wool or natural fiber rug. The 7′ rug came in under $100 and the 12′ came in at $139.
DINING ROOM
The dining room rug was one I agonized over for literally years. I formerly had a beautiful, custom wool rug under the dining table (that was my first mistake). A pricey rug in an eating area is a risky move to begin with, but at the time we had two dogs that were pretty prone to accidents and it didn’t take long for the rug to become ruined by their whoopsies. Our dining room sat rug-less for several years, but I recently pulled the trigger on a new rug – this gorgeous Turner Rug – because I felt that adding some definition to the space would help to breakup our otherwise completely open “great room” feel of our floor plan. I am so happy with the result. For the first (and only) time, you’re seeing a geometric pattern appear in my rugs and it was not only beautiful but important to have a pattern that was NOT vintage looking. We are already pushing the envelope on ornately patterned rugs, so adding a subtle geometric pattern provides a good contrast in a space where you can actually see 4 rugs all within eyeshot. The size we needed for the space was 10×14′ and I think it fits the table and chairs really nicely. Being a Polypropylene rug, it can also be cleaned – again, a MUST for us. This large rug came in under $500, which I promise is incredibly affordable for a large area rug.
FOYER
Our foyer rug has seen a couple different versions. The first rug I loved, but again, it fell victim to the dogs and dirt dilemma. A few rugs in between were just the wrong color or a low quality material that led to their ultimate demise. Now I’ve settled on this lovely sage area rug – Rosemary Oriental again by Chris Loves Julia x Loloi – with a very subtle pattern. I like that this rug takes on different shades in different light and in our home, desaturated green is just another neutral, so it works in a way that is so subtle it almost disappears. Remember, there are actually 4 rugs that are visible from this location, so we needed to work with a lot of other more dominant patterns and colors, which is why a soft and subtle pattern and color work well here. Dark enough to conceal dirt, light enough to pop off our deep wood floors.
By the way, are you noticing a theme of the brands I’ve chosen? PAY ATTENTION!
Because I’ve got a lot of different rugs in the same area, choosing them from the same line brings automatic cohesiveness to the space. The colors are all from similar dye lots, the patterns were literally developed to work together, and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of mixing patterns.
The brand I chose most often throughout the house is from the collaboration between Chris Loves Julia and Loloi, found on Wayfair.
LIVING ROOM
In our living room, I wanted to bring in some color, but color works best in my home when it’s a desaturated tone. Nothing too deep or punchy, but almost pastel in its color saturation. That’s why I went with this beautiful Anastasia rug and it has definitely stood the test of time and high traffic. Again, a synthetic rug means I can go over it with the carpet shampooer and not risk damaging it, and it responds very well to regular cleanings. The colors are beautiful and while this was the most expensive rug, it also seems to me the most important rug in our home because it is in the heart of where we spend all of our time and where it needs to blend with the majority of our other decor pieces (furniture, accents, etc.). I can use the rug as my inspiration for so many different decorating possibilities and I love that versatility. Right now it is 20% off in a variety of sizes (I think this would be a gorgeous runner as well).
PRIMARY BATH
Last but certainly not least, I love our primary bath mats. We have separate vanities and in the past I had two runners along each vanity, but more recently I moved to an area rug and it makes the space feel so much more like a ROOM than before. I got a coordinating mat for in front of the bath tub and what I LOVE about these particular rugs is that they have the look of vintage but the durability of bath mats as they are water resistant. We can stand on them straight out of the shower or bath and not worry about what our wet feet might be doing to the rug fibers. Since our bathroom is so WHITE, I thought a little color was important to make it feel more awake and alive, and these rugs do a great job of bringing in that nice, soft color.
DON’T FORGET
Whenever you’re putting an area rug or runner in a space, you will want to put a rug pad underneath. The only exceptions for this in my home are in my office (since I already layered two rugs), and the bathrooms. Good rug pads can definitely add to the expense but they make the rug stay in place better, and add a nice thickness under foot. This is the pad I use for the best grip on hard surfaces. Also, sometimes new rugs have to relax after being rolled up tightly in a warehouse. Give them time and patience but these adhesive rug weights can’t hurt either. And last but CERTAINLY not least, invest in a good carpet shampooer if you have kids, pets or any other stain-causing culprits in your home. I love mine and use it about once a quarter or as needed.
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