Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Area Rugs Do's and Don'ts

Now that we are completely aware that rugs are the cheapest yet best decorations that we can put in the small areas of our home, we should move to the next step which is knowing the do’s and don’ts in using area rugs. But first, let us define the purposes of our rugs.

What are the purposes of rugs?
Our rugs, aside from giving a touch of colour to a pale room (or give a feel of cosiness in a room made with hard materials), also helps us to define spaces. A rug acts like an area that groups the furniture that belongs together. The piece of art that is lying on the floor unifies the furnishings that are placed upon it. It helps the people distinguish which place is which: it separates the dining room from the living room and the living room to the other areas of your home.

Besides defining space, area rugs also help creating an illusion that your room is big and spacious. When put together with the proper furniture, a rug will definitely give the feel that one is staying in an expansive room.

Lastly, rugs make the areas in your home look “complete.” Through coordinating the colours of your rug, furniture and wall, the decorations in your room will appear as if it has been already given the final touch.

Needless to say, area rugs really do a lot of things in our room without us even noticing it. Now that we know how much rags beautify our spaces, let us take the time to know the do’s and don’ts in using area rugs.


Area Rugs Do’s

Use the appropriate size – How would we know if the rugs that we have on hand is perfect for our area? This may appear hard but it is actually easy; to know if the rug has the appropriate size for our area, we should look at it after we have already placed the furnishings on top of the rug. If it looks like it is awkwardly placed, then the rug is too small or maybe, the furniture that you have is too big for it. There is actually no ideal size for rug – However, in the living room, the perfect rug should cover at least 2 front legs of your chairs. Nevertheless, the other smaller pieces of furniture that you have like coffee table and vases should be placed upon the rug. In the dining room, the rug should be large enough that when the chairs are pulled out from the table, they are still covered by the rug.

Cover fully the heavy traffic areas of your house – Living room and dining room are the most common heavy-traffic areas of our house. When people walk in those places, they shouldn't have one foot on the rug while the other foot is off it. In our previous blog post, we have mentioned that wool rugs are the perfect rugs for high-traffic areas.

Check the cleaning instructions – Rugs that have natural fibres may appear to be inexpensive at first. However, they cannot be cleaned. If unfortunately, you have soiled them, you are left with no choice but to replace them. Carefully weigh the types of rugs that you would like to use in your home, while of course, not disregarding your budget before you go ahead and buy a piece or two.

Match the shape of the rug with the furniture on top of it – People assume that oval rugs go well with almost everything – this is not always true. The rule of thumb when choosing a rug is to match its shape with the furniture that you are planning to place on top of it. For example, if your dining table is rectangle, then it is best for you to buy a rectangular-shaped rug as well to complement your table.

Area Rugs Don’ts:
Clash colours – The purpose of your rug is to complement your furnishings and not destroy it. If you are not sure of what is the best rug to buy, you can opt to choose safe colours that are one shade lighter or darker than your furniture.

Be afraid of using patterned rugs – How would you know if a pattern is good for your furniture? The pattern of the rug doesn't necessarily have to be the same as your furniture. You can just pick a furniture and see the dominant colour that it has and make sure that the patterned rug has that colour too.

Leave your living room and dining room looking bare – As mentioned earlier, rugs make the room look complete and “finished.” Since the living room and dining room are the heavy traffic areas of your house, then you might as well avoid the mistake of leaving it bare-looking. Make sure that your dining room and living room are presentable to your family and future guests as well.

In order for our rugs to meet its purpose, we should also be knowledgeable enough in placing them in the proper areas.



Monday, December 2, 2013

Tips on How to Decorate Your Home Using Shaggy Rugs


Shaggy rugs are soft, textured and chunky home accessories that you can use to decorate your house. Instead of having a regular rug, why not choose a shaggy rug that can definitely change the mood of your home? The use of rugs as home décor has, once again, gained popularity. Our modern ways of living has not changed the way we feel about having a cosy home. Shaggy rugs are the most commonly used rugs at home today. From the living room, to the bathroom, people prefer the feel of shaggy rugs against one’s skin over other rugs. 

Shaggy rugs can be made from various materials such as cotton, wool, nylon and many others. They are also known to be durable and most ideal to be placed in areas of the home where there is much foot traffic. If you are thinking of decorating your home using shaggy rugs, here are some tips that you can take note of.


Shaggy Rugs with Playful Hues.  These types of rugs are best placed in the children’s room to make it look more fun and youthful. On the other hand, you can also place them in an all-white or all-black room to add a hint of colour and make the room look more interesting. 


Shaggy Rugs with Animal Print. Ideal for rooms with not much colour, animal print shaggy rugs are central pieces in themselves. They tend to attract attention and are usually placed in the living room or bedroom. These rugs add greatly to the personality and feel of a room.


Shaggy Rugs with a Solid Colour. Best placed in monochromatic rooms – either to match a theme or to stand out from it – shaggy rugs with a solid colour are the easiest ones to place anywhere around the house. If you are going for a formal look, it is recommended that you purchase a rug with a neutral hue, so it can fit almost anywhere. 


Shaggy rugs come in different sizes, shapes, materials and hues. All you need to do is to ensure that your choice would fit the look that you are going for. Keep in mind that it’s all a matter of styling and matching colours – if you are not confident with your choice, try seeking the help of a friend or looking for ideas through magazines and other resources. At Fantastic Rugs, we offer a variety of stylish, affordable and high quality shaggy rugs that you can choose from.