One of the easiest and a quick way to pull a room together is with an area rug. A grasp of decor and an additional hint of color creates with the perfect rug creates a new kind of warmth and ambiance in whichever room you choose. With hundreds of shades and patterns to choose, this guide can help with staging a home you are ready to put on the market or add a personal touch in a home you just purchased.

ENTRYWAYS

This is the first step a guest takes into your home and we all know that first impressions do matter. With that being said, creating a warm and welcoming feeling into your home as soon as possible can be done with an area rug. This rug is a high traffic area so choosing a rug that is more durable is consequential. We also suggest a more laid back pattern with medium to dark shades. 

Rug Fact: Area rugs help to absorb sound waves and reduce echoing in a room. 

HALLWAYS

A runner is the hallway is an ideal move especially if you have hardwoods floors. The hallways throughout your home are the most traveled paths, so why not help protect them with a runner rug. The really fun part about adding rugs into the hallway is that you can really show your style and taste with patterns that may not fit into other rooms. Please keep in mind you still want the rug to match the surround wood or tile colors along with the wall colors. 

Side Note: Our real estate agents always suggest not laying a rug overtop already carpeted floor.

DINING ROOMS

When you envision a dining room, you see a rug underneath the set of table and chairs. A shag or plush rug or any type with longer strands is not as ideal as as flat weave, braided or even something washable. Remember, the dining room is a place for spills, so you may want to go with a pattern or something a little darker shades or textures to help hide unwanted stains. All in all the dining room area rug helps pull everything together and make the most formal room of the house welcoming. 

BEDROOMS

This is the room where we spend a lot of our lifetime, even if its just while we sleep. Area rugs capture heat and in a bedroom and as we mentioned before, it absorbs sounds. For a cozy and relaxing atmosphere, a plush or shag rug will be perfect. The best placement is jetting out from the footing of the bed only a foot or two symmetrically. If you want something to take up most of the room, see our sizing guide below to help you decide. 

CHOOSING A SIZE 

When deciding what size area rug to choose, you don't want to get a rug that is bigger then the room itself. A simple rule of thumb is to make sure the rug is showing 15-20 inches of flooring around the perimeter. Although placement matters for visual purposes, sizing is not something to worry about as much! A little tip from our Realtors: if you are placing a rug into a smaller sized room, specifically a living room, set the legs of the sofa partially or entirely on the rug. If the rug is placed out in the open on its own, the room can appear much smaller than it actually is. 

While the rooms we mention to do not limit where you can place area rugs, they are most definitely the top choices suggested by the agents at Lewith & Freeman. Too many different patterns and shades can become distracting, especially if the rooms have views into one another. Nevertheless, choose something that you love and shows your homes style.