Rugs, Rugs, Rugs

Hi Guys,

When it comes to carpet and rugs, I have a love/hate relationship. I grew up in a beautiful old home in Iowa that had polished hard wood floors. I can remember my grandma running the polisher around the rooms to make the floors shine. My mom purchased inexpensive throw rugs and scattered them around the house. By the time I was in high school, wall to wall carpeting was all the rage, so my parents carpeted the whole down stairs. The carpeting was wool and very expensive and lasted for years and years, but for some reason, it just never did anything for me. I preferred the shiny hard wood with the scatter rugs.

Hall Rug

When my husband and I moved out to Massachusetts, we lived in our share of apartments, some carpeted, some not. By the time we could afford to buy our own home, I knew that I wanted hard wood floors and beautiful area rugs. We purchased beautiful Oriental rugs for the living room, dining room, and front hall. They were wonderful.

In 1995 we moved into this house. It was built and decorated in 1968. There was wall to wall avocado green shag carpet in the living room, gold shag carpet in the bedrooms, and orange shag carpet in the family room. To our delight, under the dreadful carpeting were beautiful hard wood floors. I was beyond thrilled. We put down our oriental rugs which lasted several years.

Living Room Rug

When we decided to add two sweet puppies to the family, I had to rethink my use of expensive area rugs. Our dogs seemed to think that rugs were for wee wee, vomit, and every other disgusting bodily function you can think of. Yes, they had been trained to go to the door when they had to go potty, but sometimes accidents happened. We decided to see what the rooms were like without rugs, so we took them up and I  loved the look. The rooms seemed much more open and airy. I don't have to worry about accidents, and they are so easy to keep clean. It actually took me back to my childhood with bare floors and just some scatter rugs.

Front Hall Rug

Now, I'm not suggesting that you get rid of your rugs. Rugs add warmth and beauty to a room. They can also anchor a room. I still have a few rugs. I needed some color in the living room, so I added a rug under the coffee table in front of the sofa. I also put down rugs in front of the doors so people can wipe their feet. I put a round rug in the square space at the end of the hall because it just looked empty without anything there. The rug fit the bill. I painted a floor cloth and put it in front of the sink in the kitchen.

Kitchen Rug

It's up to you to decide what kind of rugs you like. There are no right or wrong choices. If your room looks like it needs more warmth, then try adding a medium to dark rug. You may want to carpet your bedroom if you like walking around in your bare feet. If you need more color or need to add a color to unify a room, try adding a rug in a coordinating color.

One more thing, Oriental rugs can bridge the gap between contemporary and traditional.

That's my tip (or story) for today.

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