Buying a Rug: Practical Tips to Help You Make the Right Choice - The Rolla Daily News (2024)

Rugs are a great way to enhance your home’s appearance. There are many different types, ranging from elaborate, handmade Persian ones to simpler machine-made carpets. If you are interested in buying yourself a rug, then there are a few things that you need to know. Taking time to research rugs will help you to find one that’s right for you.

This post will explore this topic in more detail and tell you some practical tips that you can use to make the right choice as it relates to buying new floor furnishings for your home.

Rug Size

The very first thing you need to think about if you are interested in buying a new rug is size. Rugs come in many different shapes and sizes. If you buy a rug that’s either too big or too small for your house, it will make it look strange and ruin its appearance.

A rug that’s perfectly sized can change your home’s aesthetic for the better, on the other hand. Whether you need 8×10 area rugs or smaller ones, make sure that the rug you buy sits neatly under your couches and furniture, but doesn’t touch the corners and walls of the room that it is placed in. It needs to sit comfortably in the middle of the room. There are lots of guides and tutorials available for free online that you can use to get a better understanding of how to buy a rug that fits.

The shape of the rug that you buy is also a consideration that you need to make. Most people’s idea of the perfect rug is one that is rectangular or square in shape. There are many attractive rugs that are woven into other shapes, however. You need to find the shape that’s right for your home. If you are not confident about buying a rug or simply don’t know what will look good in your house, you may want to consider enlisting a professional interior designer’s support.

If you cannot afford one, an alternative is to turn to Reddit, the internet’s largest forum. On Reddit, you can find people who are knowledgeable about interior design. They will be able to tell you what will look good in your home. You can post on Reddit and get advice for free, which is why it’s such a useful resource.

Choose Material

If you are going to buy a rug, you need to spend some time thinking about the material you want it to be made out of. A lot of people buy synthetic rugs, mainly because they are low maintenance and tend to be a lot more affordable than ones made from natural materials, i.e., wool or silk. Cotton rugs are also a possibility, though can be much more expensive than synthetic ones. There aren’t many downsides to synthetic rugs, beyond the fact they deteriorate a lot faster than ones made from natural ones. Natural rugs tend to develop a patina with age, whereas synthetic ones just develop wear.

People interested in buying themselves natural rugs need to be aware of the fact that rugs made from living fibers like wool and silk can end up having their homes targeted by clothes moths. Clothes moths are a type of insect that intentionally targets living fibers, lays eggs in them, and then destroys them. If you end up with a clothes moth infestation in your home, anything made from a natural fabric is at risk. Clothes moths can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage, so do everything you can to prevent them from infesting your home if you own natural rugs (or want to buy some).

Room Placement

Once you have thought about size and material type, you then need to give some consideration to the room in which you are going to place your rug. A lot of people make the mistake of blowing thousands of dollars on expensive Persian rugs, and then placing them in rooms with a lot of foot traffic. If you are buying an antique rug, the last thing you want to do is put it somewhere where people are going to tread all over it. Antique rugs are typically placed in rooms where they don’t get a lot of wear, i.e., bedrooms or sitting rooms used exclusively by family members, not guests.

If you are going to buy a synthetic rug, you don’t need to worry as much about room placement. Still, you should limit the amount of walking that’s done on your rug if you want it to last a long time. Something else to note is that if you put a rug in a room with heavy foot traffic, try to ask everybody to take their shoes off. Having people walk all over your rug with their shoes on is a surefire way to ruin it. Stains and dirt will accumulate if people walk on your rug with their shoes on, and wear will be more pronounced.

Proper Maintenance

Finally, think about maintenance. Synthetic rugs are a lot easier to maintain than ones made from natural materials. Rugs that are made from natural materials need to be deep cleaned on a regular basis. They also need to be shaken regularly to remove dirt and dust from them. If you have a natural rug, after cleaning, you should leave it to dry in the sun. The best time to do this is during the summer. Make sure that you do not leave your rug outside in the early hours of the morning, otherwise, dew could accumulate, and a rug could get wet. If your rug gets wet and it does not dry properly, it could rot.

You do not necessarily have to clean your rug yourself. You can send it off to a professional cleaning service. The downside to professional cleaning services is that they can be very expensive. If you’re on a tight budget, the chances are you will not be able to afford the help of a cleaning service. Some cleaning services charge hundreds of dollars. Synthetic rugs just need to be vacuumed and occasionally shampooed.

Rugs are a great addition to your home. They can transform your home’s appearance for the better. Some natural rugs can actually retain their value (and even increase in value), making them investments. Use the guidance given here to get the rug that’s right for you.

Buying a Rug: Practical Tips to Help You Make the Right Choice - The Rolla Daily News (2024)

FAQs

What are the two most important factors when purchasing an area rug? ›

With that in mind, there are three things you need to consider when purchasing an area rug in order to find the perfect fit.
  • Colour.
  • Texture.
  • Size.

How do I choose a statement rug? ›

A Quick Guide to Using a Rug as a Statement Piece
  1. First things first: consider the size of your room.
  2. Be intentional about your new rug's color scheme and pattern.
  3. Pick the right statement rug pattern.
  4. Pick the right statement rug color.
  5. Choose furniture and design details that complement your rug.
Dec 9, 2019

What do I need to know about buying a rug? ›

Determining the Size, Colour and Type of the Perfect Rug for You
  1. What Size Rug do I Buy? ...
  2. What Design do I Want? ...
  3. What Colour Rug or Runner do I Need? ...
  4. What if I Have more than One Rug in the Same Area? ...
  5. How do I Know what Quality I Need? ...
  6. Will the Type of Floor i Have Effect my Choice? ...
  7. How Easy is it to Clean my Rug?

What shape rug is best? ›

You need to know the size of your furniture so you can find the correct rug shape that is big enough for the furniture to fit comfortably onto. If you have a rectangular table, choosing a rectangular area rug is going to be best for the space. Alternatively, if you have a circular table, invest in a circular rug!

How do you know if a rug is expensive? ›

The number of knots in a square inch of weaving is one factor, but it is not the only factor that determines a rug's value by far. Higher density rugs do tend to bring higher prices, but that is because the higher KPSI / knots per square inch allows the weaver the ability to incorporate finer detail into their designs.

What is considered a good rug? ›

A good, high-quality rug is characterized by knots per square inch, weaving method, and material. Of all the high-quality rugs for sale, hand-knotted wool rugs are considered the best.

What makes a fine high quality rug? ›

High-quality rugs begin with the finest artisan materials. Wool is the classic choice for fine rugs. Modern rugs are available with many different fiber blends, yet wool remains the gold standard. Hand-woven rugs from Iran and other parts of Asia are still made using the best available wool.

What to look for when buying a used rug? ›

4 Tips For Buying Used Rugs
  • Look for obvious signs of distress. Used rugs that have been in high-traffic areas can show signs of fading and thinning. ...
  • Don't be afraid of a little wear and tear. ...
  • Look for high-quality fibers. ...
  • Figure out your budget.
Jun 21, 2017

How do you determine the value of a rug? ›

A rug's value is determined by a number of factors, including how it was made, the quality of its materials, its country of origin, its dyes, and its size.

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