As the winter chill kicks in, there’s nothing more enticing than stepping onto a deliciously soft, warm floor rug. What could be nicer when the weather outside is miserable than snuggling up with a book and digging your toes into luscious layers of deep pile wool?
Above:
Claudia Kogachi
Nanny, 2020
Wool, mohair, acrylic yarn
2140 x 1520mm
Courtesy of the artist and Visions, Auckland
Featured Image:
Designer Rugs
09 300 6116
designerrugs.nz
The fresh, clean, minimalist look of bare wood or tiles works well in summer. But when you’re looking for the cosy factor, nothing beats a rug to add warmth to a room. The feeling of softness and warmth adds comfort. However, there are many other reasons they’ve become one of the most popular furnishing accessories in our homes.
In addition, a rug can provide greater insulation stopping draughts, especially if it has a pad underneath.
Rugs are a clever way to anchor a room to create a more intimate space. Whether you have hard floors or carpets, it makes sense to start with the rug, building on the colour and texture to pull everything else together. And the good thing is, you’re not stuck with the look.
Because you can change them or move them from room to room with ease, your home can take on a whole new look by swapping out different rugs. If you’ve been stuck, staring at your same furniture for ages, there’s no better way to spruce up a space with a new floor rug and today, there are loads to choose from to fit your aesthetic — from the classic to the contemporary.
If you’ve spent a lot on beautiful hardwood floors, rugs can save you a lot of angst especially if you have children, pets or just lots of visitors. Lay them down in heavy traffic areas to protect your floors from wear and tear. While it might be a little late because the damage is already done, rugs are a lot more cost-effective than refinishing the entire floor and a great way to disguise any problem areas.
Rugs can also significantly reduce the noise in your own space. Hard surfaces don’t absorb sound in the same way as soft materials. Which makes rugs ideal for apartment living as they soften the impact of sound travelling to anybody who lives on the floor below. Put a rug on the floor and see how that echo effect disappears.
It’s important to select the right size for a rug. In a living room, the rug should be large enough that all the elements — the sofas, chairs and the coffee tables — sit on the rug or at least adjoin it to feel as if it is part of the space. Without it, furniture often feels like it is floating. In feng shui, a rug slows down the energy in a home, reducing the chaos of activity to make you feel calmer.
If you’re buying for a dining room, make the rug big enough so you can slide the chairs out without catching on the end of the rug.
And don’t be afraid of large patterns on your floor. You can pick up on the colours in smaller patterns in your cushions. If bold colour is not your thing, go for texture.
Finally, rugs don’t have to just go on the floor. If you’ve fallen in love with a beautiful ethnic rug on your travels and it has special value, you could even consider hanging it as a focal point on the wall or above your bed.
