The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rugs can make all the difference

They complete a room by anchoring furniture to a specific area, saving floors from scratches.

- By Katie Laughridge

Is there any better feeling than pulling up a swath of old carpet to find beautiful hidden wooden floors?

Besides being a gorgeous flooring choice, hardwood floors give us a wonderful, warm blank canvas to play with a wonderful New Traditiona­l staple: rugs. It is my firm belief that a home isn’t complete without floor coverings. A rug can take a space from barren and chilly to warm and inviting.

Rugs complete a room by anchoring furniture to a specific area. With open floor plans being commonplac­e, it is especially important to be able to create groupings of furniture that feel like their own separate spaces. Placing a rug underneath your dining table or living room furniture gives your space a focal point — not to mention it protects against scrapes and bumps when furniture gets moved.

Besides protecting your floor from scratches (and your feet from touching the cold ground), rugs bring texture and interest to your spaces. Whether you want to leave a large swatch of natural floor uncovered or bring in the full rug experience — nothing wrong with a little or a lot — there is always something to gain from a floor covering. Rugs introduce fantastic color palettes to play with in your spaces. In fact, often rugs are so colorful and eye-catching that our designers plan entire rooms around them.

Don’t be afraid to layer your floor coverings. We are always looking for ways to add dimension to our rooms, and floor coverings are a great place to start. A favorite is pairing a natural fiber rug ( jute or sisal) with a beautiful vintage covering (or trendy pattern or fun shape — the options are limitless!). Layering floor coverings helps address pressing issues such as “this looks boring” or “this rug is too small for my space now that I’ve moved, but I love it.” Ordering a custom sized sisal or jute rug to act as a base layer to your favorite rug is a fantastic way to add interest or fill an empty space.

There are a variety of ways to arrange your rugs once you

find the ones you love. As a rule of thumb, try to either have all furniture sitting on your floor covering, or at least the front legs of all furniture sitting within the rug boundaries. This lets the floor covering do its job and anchor furniture together. However, there

are always exceptions to a rule. For example, in bedrooms it is not uncommon to find two runners used in lieu of a traditiona­l large rug.

With seemingly endless options, personal preference is key when choosing and placing a rug.

 ?? TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE PHOTOS ?? Rugs introduce fantastic color palettes to play with in your spaces. In fact, often rugs are so colorful and eye-catching that designers plan entire rooms around them. As a rule of thumb, try to either have all furniture sitting on your floor covering, or at least the front legs of all furniture sitting within the rug boundaries.
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE PHOTOS Rugs introduce fantastic color palettes to play with in your spaces. In fact, often rugs are so colorful and eye-catching that designers plan entire rooms around them. As a rule of thumb, try to either have all furniture sitting on your floor covering, or at least the front legs of all furniture sitting within the rug boundaries.
 ??  ?? Besides being a gorgeous flooring choice, hardwood floors give us a wonderful, warm blank canvas to play with a wonderful New Traditiona­l staple: rugs. A rug can take a space from barren and chilly to warm and inviting.
Besides being a gorgeous flooring choice, hardwood floors give us a wonderful, warm blank canvas to play with a wonderful New Traditiona­l staple: rugs. A rug can take a space from barren and chilly to warm and inviting.
 ??  ?? One of our favorites is pairing a natural fiber rug (jute or sisal) with a beautiful vintage covering (or trendy pattern or fun shape — the options are limitless!
One of our favorites is pairing a natural fiber rug (jute or sisal) with a beautiful vintage covering (or trendy pattern or fun shape — the options are limitless!
 ??  ?? Besides protecting your floor from scratches (and your feet from touching the cold ground), rugs bring texture and interest to your spaces. There is always something to gain from a floor covering.
Besides protecting your floor from scratches (and your feet from touching the cold ground), rugs bring texture and interest to your spaces. There is always something to gain from a floor covering.

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