How to Mix Rugs

Feb 8, 2020 kvalente

Homeowners love open floor plans but the lack of walls delineating space usually makes furniture layout and decorating a bit more challenging – lucky for you, we love a good challenge. Second to the paint color on the walls, an area rug is going to take up the most visual real estate in a room. That’s a lot of pressure to get it right – we have created a list of our favorite tips and tricks to help you create visually interesting area rug combinations. The key to mixing area rugs is balance, a balance between textures, color, pattern, and scale.

Use Matching Rugs

Using two of the same rugs is the easiest way to go. A natural fiber or solid color will blend into the background of the room and let the other pieces in the space be the visual focus. The key to keeping the rooms from feeling boring is to create visual interest on top of the rug – in your furnishings, you’ll want to mix in more texture, pattern, and color.

natural-fiber-matching-area-rugs-living-room

_{Image from Harte Brownlee & Associates}

Universal Mixing

Cowhides and natural fiber rugs mix really well with everything. Either can work in a variety of design styles and combine well with bright colors, neutral colors, bold patterns and subtle patterns. Both of these rugs are also great for layering. If you already own an area rug that’s a little too small for the room, layer it over a natural fiber rug. Or if you’ve got your heart set on a beautiful rug but it’s out of the budget, order it in a smaller size and layer it over a less expensive natural fiber rug.

_{Image from Park + Oak}

Mix Rugs with Different Textures

Combining textures is a great way to add visual interest to a space. Choose a rug with a bold pattern in one area and a highly textured rug in the other area. Linking the two rugs by color makes them feel unified without being repetitive. Here are a few examples:

textured-black-white-area-rugs-living-dining-design

_{Image from Dover Rug}

Play with Scale

Two patterned rugs can work well next to each other – the key to making that pairing successful is to vary the scale of the pattern. Pick one rug with a large scale pattern and opt for a small scale pattern for the other rug. The rugs can easily be tied together with one color in common.

_{Image from Overstock}

Think About Style

Using two rugs of a similar style is an easy connection between the two rugs. Within that framework, you can easily vary the color and/or pattern while maintaining a cohesive look.

_{Image from Domino}

We’ve given you several rules to consider and there is always more than one right answer when it comes to design. Any combination of area rugs will work well as long as they have an element in common – it could be color or style. Different scales keep the mix of multiple patterns from feeling overwhelming. When in doubt combine a bold rug with a natural fiber or solid color rug.

Here are some of our favorite combinations: