Decorating Tips: Area Rugs as Decor

Handmade Area Rugs are one of the most practical and essential elements of home decor. An area rug can transform the look of a room and provide practical benefits as well, warming, softening with texture, even absorbing harsh and ambient sounds.

Designers often recommend placing area rugs as "foundation" decor -- anchor-pieces to then provide a basis for appropriately harmonious furniture, complimentary paints, and culturally-matched decor.

Area rugs can just as successfully be added to existing decor, however, and can easily elevate a nondescript room to an entirely new level.

Do consider that cultural and regional themes should harmonize. If your home is dressed Asia-Modern, consider adding area rugs and other handmade textiles from such nations as Thailand, Bali, and India.

African themed homes will likewise be enhanced with area rugs and textiles from African nations, or even with bold-colored modernist area rugs from artisans in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.

Handmade Zapotec rugs from Mexico, hand-woven area rugs from Peru, and handmade tribal rugs from North America all tend to work beautifully in Spanish-Colonial, Farmhouse, Cottage, and Southwest themed homes.

Busy interiors are best matched with subdued area rugs featuring delicate and symmetrical patterns. Likewise, in rooms with already-defined focal points (such as standout works of art, or a dramatic fireplace), subtle, repetitively-patterned, non-competitive area rugs are preferred.

Simple interiors can be wonderfully dramatized with ornate and medallion style themes. Kashmiri area rugs, Persian area-rugs, and geometric Andean area rugs are examples of artistically complex styles well suited as focal points.

In terms of placement, large area rugs are ideally suited for living rooms, spacious bedrooms, and dining rooms, while smaller handmade rugs are perfect in entrances, hallways, and bathrooms.

If area rugs are placed under tables, keep in mind that the area rug should always be larger than the table itself, with an equal measure of border extending on all sides.

Remember to choose area rugs that match each room's "lifestyle." For example, sturdy fabrics and dark colors are ideal for high-traffic areas. On the other hand, light-toned area rugs cheer and brighten a room, while deeper shades tend to add more warmth and coziness.

Regular vacuuming of both the top and underside of each area rug will of course help maintain cleanliness and pile, and in the case of wool area rugs, will make the rug much less hospitable to wool moths.

Be sure to treat any spills quickly. Dry white paper towels are widely agreed to be the best clean-up method for liquid spills. Begin by blotting the edges of the spill, working gently toward the center. Next, take the area rug to a professional rug cleaner, who will help keep it properly cleaned and preserved.

Great handmade area rugs can last a lifetime and have traditionally been considered heirloom works of art in many cultures and countries. Today, so many stunning area rugs are readily available, from so many extraordinary artisans around the world. Many of our recommended area rug designers and artisans, and their collections, are profiled in the Area Rugs department at Novica.

Wherever you find it, we hope you discover a wonderful work of handmade art for your home. Enjoy the search!