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Interior Design Tips on How to Choose a Rug Colour for a Living Room
Interior design is a tough thing to get right at the best of times, and when it comes to rugs the difficulty is even harder because there are so many options. When choosing the right colour for a living room rug there is extra pressure still, as this is usually the room in your home that has the most use.
It is a daunting process, with so many colours and patterns of rugs available, but the following criteria can help you come to the right decision:
- Taste: Your preferences should guide you most of all. If you hate the colour pink, for example, your living room rug choices are narrowed down straight away. Your sense of style is a very important part of how to choose rug colour for a living room area - or any other type of room, for that matter!
- Space: You need to pick a rug that compliments the size of the area you are trying to fill. Some colours create an enclosed and more cosy space, such as dark coloured reds, blacks or browns. So you may want light colours if the area is small to create a greater feeling of openness - or vice versa.
- Decor: The existing decoration in your living room is key to the atmosphere of the space, so you need to take note of things like wall colours, focal points created by furniture and your floors. For example, certain rugs help accent colours on a wood floor. Choosing a rug is about finding harmony.
Getting a high-quality rug is important, so you need a trustworthy supplier known for long-lasting products. Whether you want rugs for a living area, dining room or an open concept layout, you will see many exceptional rugs of various colours on our homepage. We will now explore how to choose rug colours for living rooms.
Professional Tips on How to Choose Rug Colours for a Living Room
The first thing you need to decide on is whether you want a solid colour rug or a coloured, patterned rug. Patterns can complicate matters as they usually feature more than one colour. So if you want a pattern, focus mainly on the dominant colour, such as a mostly red rug that has other colours as highlights.
Without getting too bogged down in the intricacies of colour theory, a key factor in interior design and visual arts is that different colours have different feelings. The following are some details on how different coloured rugs can impact a space:
Beige
Beige is an earthy tone often seen in area rugs, but it can also be a great choice for rugs in the living room. If you want a subtle living room rug, for example if you have bold walls or striking furniture, beige is a good choice. Beige also compliments wooden floors, particularly dark wood.
Black
Black is a bold choice for a living room, and as it’s such a dark colour you should reserve it for large living areas. However, a small black rug on a bright floor can provide good contrast. The dense, pit-like feel of a small black rug can create an intriguing focal point. Black matches all colours.
Blue
Blue is a tricky colour for home decor as there are many shades. If you go for a dark blue, this can draw the sense of light from the room, which may be great in daylight but not at night. To combat this consider a patterned rug with a dark and light blue, or another colour such as white.
Brown
Brown is another neutral, earthy colour choice that provides texture, especially with shaggy carpets. Wall colours are crucial to think about with brown, as you need a contrast otherwise the room can feel like a cardboard box - choose brighter or darker browns for peak visuals.
Green
Living rooms with green rugs can be quite bold, depending on the tone. So, if your living room has white or grey walls and furniture, green will pop quite nicely. Solid green can be a bit much for some, so a patterned rug (yellow and gold goes well with green) can help to take the edge off.
Grey
Grey rugs give you a silvery look, perfect for solid colours, patterns and different textures. Grey is so neutral that it can fit almost any living room without causing too much visual disruption. However, if you have a more traditional living room try a more vibrant, colourful or patterned rug.
Multicoloured
Using a multicoloured rug will give you a powerful visual, so it is best used in otherwise plain living rooms or those with a single tone. Multicoloured rugs go with white rooms by creating a focal point, but pick a small-to-medium size so as not to overwhelm the senses.
Orange
An orange living room rug will match a stone or tile floor, as it is a very warm colour. If you have a fireplace in your living room an orange rug can complement it nicely, mimicking the burning embers. Orange suits white floors and patterns with other colours can cool the tone down.
Pink
Pink is possibly the boldest solid colour you can choose, so if you go down this route a patterned rug with softer colours like white can help to dilute the strength of the visuals. Pink will match grey or white walls and furniture. A pink and black patterned rug is a good combo for floors too.
Purple
The colour purple is extremely intense! You can take some of the intensity out by simply opting for a patterned rug, dark yellows, golds, blues and even grey offset the striking look, to make it softer on the eye. A purple rug is also a visually interesting option for living rooms with wooden floors.
Red
Similar in intensity is red, so again a patterned rug choice is good in a living room. More traditional or period living rooms can benefit from red patterned rugs as they carry a regal quality. Red is known as an emotional colour and indicates wealth according to the Feng Shui design tradition.
White
A solid white rug is probably unsuitable for a living room, just from a cleanliness point of view. However, patterned white (or off-white ivory) is better and will work on darker floors or in rooms with darker walls - notably wood floors or dark red and blue wall tones. Avoid white if you have pets!
Yellow
Yellow is a bright colour that will highlight other colours quite well, as such it is not a popular solid colour rug choice. In living rooms, it may be better to pick another dominant colour and highlight it with yellow. However, textured rugs in shades of yellow offer a warm, straw-like feel.
Colour impacts the mind as a sound does, so when you walk into a living room your rug colour will legitimately say something and affect mood. Now you have a better idea of how to choose rug colours for living room areas you can start looking for a colour, pattern and texture that suits your taste, space and decor.
Buy High-Quality Living Room Rugs with Free UK Delivery
You can buy runners, natural fibre, wool rugs and many other styles in almost any colour and size from us. Take a look at our rug range on our homepage for more detail. We have been offering the best rugs and top customer care since 1997.
Rugs of any colour scheme can be difficult and expensive to ship, which is why we offer free UK delivery on all orders. Please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any trouble buying or questions about a specific product.