Tuesday, October 5, 2010

What influenced your choice of area rug?

There are a few factors that influence your decision to buy the area rug that you did:

  • Size of room 
  • colour of room
  • budget 
  • colour preference
  • the mood you were in when you went shopping
  • the reason for buying the rug
  • where you are using the rug
When you start looking for a rug knowing what size you need for the room is a must. It saves a lot of running around, returning of original rug bought and the headache of having to choice another rug.

The colour and design of the room you are needing the rug for aids in the colour and design of the area rug you choose.

Before you start to narrow down the style and size of rug you want first go window shopping for the size of rug you need. Try to go to 3-5 different rug galleries to get an idea of what you will be looking at for budget. Some times we go shopping with a maximum budget number in our heads and when we start looking at the rugs we like we get sticker shocked or cannot find a rug to fit our budgets that fits our needs for the rug.

Colour preference can be a big hurdle to overcome, especially when there are two opinions involved. If you and your partners taste differ drastically, then one of you will always be unhappy about the rug purchased. Do a Internet search of different types of rugs and see if you can settle on a design and colour palette before going shopping. Or go window shopping to discover what you like in an area rug. Just because you love the colours teal and dark brown together doesn't mean you may like them in an area rug based on the type of weave or design. With so many different choices you may find that what you buy a rug that is completely different from your usual style.

We all know of the shopping Murphy's law, when you are needing a particular item say like red high heels we know there are times we can look in a hundred stores and not find a pair we like, same goes for area rugs. Or when you aren't in the mood to shop or in a bad mood, our shopping habits change. If you are armed with the size and colour and if you know what type of rug you want then it helps when you go to purchase a rug, no matter what mood you are in. Being prepared helps any stress from building up and clouding your decision making.

 When you need an area rug there is a definite purpose for it. Buying an area rug isn't usually an impulse buy, it is an invest to protect your floors, to brighten up a kitchen, for the back door, to keep your feet warmer in the colder months. Depending on what room you are using the rug in can determine what type of rug you buy. You wouldn't buy a Silk area rug to be used at your front door, you need a rug that can stand up to a lot of use such as a synthetic or a even certain wool rugs can work well.

Another and probably just as important as budget when it comes to buying an area rug is children and pets. they also play a huge part in the type of rug you buy. You may not want a viscose rug when you have small children or a puppy. Viscose works best in low used room like a bedroom. A Synthetic rug such as a polypropylene or olefin or nylon rug, you should be able to see the pattern on the back of the rug, can stand up to just about everything children and pets can throw at it.

There would be a lot less rugs thrown out and less angry rug owners if rugs came with a label saying where certain rugs worked best. I could write for days about all the different types of rugs and the more appropriate rooms they work best in, but I am keeping this to why we buy the rugs we do.

No matter why we are buying an area rug, remember that it needs to be cleaned professionally at least once a year, you need to vacuum the entire rug often to avoid moths, the rug getting too dirty and to keep your rug looking ts best for years, and any rug can add texture, colour, warmth, or be a piece of floor art.

Why did you buy your rug? Was it just because you needed one or did you fall in love with your rug and had to have it? Please share you reasons and stories about your favorite rug or your story of woe of buying a rug that didn't work well in your home.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary, your source for area rug buying.