How to pick the perfect rug for your home decor and where to find inexpensive rugs
Welp, I decided I wanted to torture myself again. I wasted spent so much time scouring the internet, looking on Pinterest for inspiration, sending one of my friends 524,652 text messages, changing my mind 524,651 times and, at one point, considered selling the house….all for a rug. A stinking rug.
In my defense, I am the most indecisive person and I suffer from commitment issues with my home decor. Purchasing something big for the home isn’t a day at the park for me.
Rugs can be an investment and the wrong rug can ruin a space. Side note, I am cheap so I try to find the best rug for the least amount of money. It makes things more entertaining.
I put myself through this painful process again for the sake of my living room. We originally had an indoor/outdoor rug in here and while I love the idea of being able to hose down the rug if need be, let’s be honest, I am not dragging the sucker outside to hose it down.
I wanted something a little softer on the feet. And like I just said, I have commitment issues. The fact that the outdoor rug was in our living room for 5 years is a record for me.
I learned a few new tips and used some old tried and true decorating techniques to find this rug. Want to learn some new (and old) tricks? No? Too bad…
But first…remember in my decorating 101 post, I told you to start with a rug when you begin designing a room. That’s still true. But if you are replacing a rug or getting a rug after everything else has been purchased, some of the tips below will be really helpful for you.
(This post contains affiliate links. You can see my disclosure policy here)
How to choose what size rug you should get?
The most important thing in picking an area rug is making sure you pick the size correctly. We’ve all been there, myself included.
You find the perfect rug but the size you need for your space is $466,577 dollars. OK maybe not that much. You get my point. And then you look at the rug one size smaller and it’s only $20. It feels that way sometimes, am I right?
Before you buy that dinky too small for your space rug, stop! Don’t do it. You’ll regret it. Now, if the smaller rug is the only way you can afford that amazing rug you want, get it. And then get yourself a large inexpensive jute rug to layer underneath your pretty rug you just bought.
Too small of a rug can make your room look smaller and choppier. It’s the #1 mistake interior designers see. I’m not one of them but that’s the rumor on the streets Pinterest
In your family/living room you want to make sure the front legs of most, if not all, of your furniture is on the rug. Sometimes the way your space is laid out, this might not work as you can see in my living room. I got both couches on the rug but I didn’t want the rug to go all of the way to the fireplace.
In your dining room, make sure when you pull the chairs out the chairs are still on the rug. You don’t want Uncle Joe to be sitting lopsided at Thanksgiving dinner because the back two legs of his chair aren’t on the rug.
So please… go big or go home.
Will your rug be decorative or will it be put to work?
I’m definitely a non practical decorator. Just ask my husband, it drives him nuts. I usually choose style over function when it comes to decorating
I’m slowly trying to merge function and style these days. That’s what all of the cool kids are doing these days. I was forced to find a rug that was functional for our living room. I found so many beautiful rugs that I loved. But they were mostly white or cream. That is never a good idea with three kids and a large dog/pony.
The beautiful cream and pink rug will have to wait until these kids move out of here. I knew I needed a darker rug or one with lots of pattern to hide any messes.
(While I love my new rug, I’m secretly scared it has more cream in it than I anticipated. I’ll update this post later on to let you know if the kids destroyed it)
What color rug should you get?
Always consider your surroundings when deciding on what color rug you should get. I’ll be honest, this tip annoyed me. For a hot second, I thought I would go bold and get a colorful rug. It was pretty, budget friendly and came recommended by one of my favorite bloggers. The dog could roll around in mud and then roll around on the rug and I’d likely have no idea. I had it in my cart and was about to hit checkout when I remembered my floors are Brazilian cherry. A red/raspberry colored rug on red floors is a no beuno in my books.
Ugh
Same thing with that pretty gray rug, I didn’t want a gray couch on a gray rug. I also was worried about getting a solid navy rug. I didn’t want my rug and couch combo to look too “heavy”.
I had myself in a real pickle. I couldn’t do too light, too dark or anything with alot of red. That’s when pattern becomes your best friend. I found a rug that is not too light (fingers crossed), not too dark and has a good amount of pattern to hopefully hide paw prints. And it looks good with my red floors.
One more thing about the color of your floor. In this case, it’s not the color but the material. Yes you can place a rug over wall to wall carpet.
I did it in our old house and so can you. It helps define your space and adds interest and texture. Try to find a rug with a different pile than your carpet. A jute rug would look great over carpet. If you are adding a rug over carpet in an area where there is a door, make sure the door can clear both the carpet and rug.
Make a quick mood board with apps on your phone.
Seeing everything all in one place helps me so much.
Where to find inexpensive area rugs
Like I said above, I am cheap. I have one fancy 100% wool rug in my house and holy moly guacamole does that rug shed. It’s like tumbleweeds are blowing through my house. Here’s the culprit.
She’s pretty and so soft under my feet though, especially when I am doing the dishes. You can find it here. I use this rug tape to keep this rug and my entryway rug from moving all over the place.
There are so many inexpensive and beautiful rugs out there that don’t shed like a polar bear. Yes, I know they are not 100% wool but I also won’t have to vacuum every 5 seconds.
(PS…I just did a whole round up of affordable area rugs in this post)
I purchased my new rug on Wayfair. If you see a rug you like on Wayfair, google it. You might find it cheaper on one of it’s cousin’s website (Joss and Main, All Modern and Birch Lane)
I normally am a huge fan of Amazon for my home decor (rugs included). I purchased most of my rugs in my home from Amazon. I linked them below. You can see my home decor finds on Amazon here.
Nordstrom Rack has a great selection of rugs at a great price
My favorite store will have a 50% off rug sale once (or twice) a year.
Urban Outfitters has a great selection too. I just learned of this last year myself.
eSaleRugs and RugsUSA are also great places to find affordable rugs.
Aldi and Sam’s Club, if you have them near you, have great rugs in store. I found the rug on my screened in porch at Aldi for an amazing price.
The other day, my husband asked why I felt the need to buy yet another rug. I was completely baffled. I don’t have a rug problem…or do I??
It wasn’t until half way through writing this post that it occurred to me that I do have a problem. Most of these rugs were purchased in the past year. Keep in mind we just moved here two years ago and our previous house had carpet until right before we moved. I really was starting from scratch with rugs. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthdays to me!
- Office Rug (See my office here)
- Striped rug in my front room
- Dining room rug (More about my dining room makeover here)
- Kitchen runner
- Front Porch… This rug is a hot item, if you see it and want it, get it! It goes in and out of stock. This rug is a good back up too. (See my front porch here)
- Screened in porch I actually found this rug at Aldi and I love it. (More about my screened in porch here)
- Entryway rug (See my vintage inspired rug roundup post here)
I guess my husband has a point (whoops)
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