Home decor tips

by Outrageous Rugs
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Outrageous Rugs 7126 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA, 92121 | www.outrageousrugs.com | 800.689.1290
We’ve compiled many of our home decor tips and made them available right here in one convenient spot
for you. In this white paper, you will find:
• what to do before choosing a rug,
• tips on choosing the right rug shape,
• general guidelines to follow for choosing rugs,
• tips to provide the illusion of a larger space,
• rug maintenance tips, and
• stain removal tips for various types of rugs fibers.
We hope you enjoy these home decorating tips and find them useful.
Getting Started
Before you head to the rug store, take a measuring tape and measure the dimensions of the room you
want to outfit with a rug. Consider the location of doors and how they open.
Remember that as a general rule of thumb, you will want to leave about 18 inches of bare floor around the
perimeter of your rug. If your room is small, you can bend this rule a bit. The important part is getting the
proportions correct.
Because rugs create an optical illusion regarding
the size of a room, make this work in your favor by
opting for a larger size. Although it may sound
counterintuitive, an undersized rug makes a room
appear small and disconnected. The larger rug will
unify the furniture and make the room appear larger
than it actually is.
Remember that these are just general rules and
they may need to be bent or even broken from time
to time, particularly if you have an unusual room
layout or unusual furniture arrangement. Ultimately,
if something looks good to you, go for it.
Remember to bring in some photos of the space you’re buying a rug for. If you can, it’s also a good idea
to bring in color swatches of the furniture in your room. Now that everyone has a camera on their phone,
bringing in photos is easier than ever.
Aside from color, design and texture are two things you have to consider when purchasing a rug. Let your
own personal style and the decor of the room you’re decorating be your guide as to what style of rug you
want to go with, whether you go for a traditional or contemporary rug. Transitional designs are almost
always a good choice, as they tend to work in most interiors, whether they are traditional or contemporary
rooms.
And while color and design may play a large part in choosing which rug is right for you, the aesthetics of
texture should also be considered. A shag rug looks much different than a flat rug. A textured rug is not
only visually appealing, they offset the solid surface of your floor, drawing your eyes into the dimensions
of the rug.

Also, you’ll need to consider how the rug is going to feel on your feet. You’re the one that will be walking
on it on an almost daily basis, so let your tootsies have a say.
General Guidelines to Follow
Decorating your room with an area rug is not quite as easy as it sounds. It’s not just grabbing a rug that
you like at the rug store and throwing on the floor at home and being done with it. Many factors can
enhance or ruin the beauty of a rug when it is placed inside a particular room, and these can diminish the
value of your newly purchased area rug and make a once great space less pleasant.
Before you set out to look for the area rug of your choice, heed these tips of styling a room using area
rugs.
Don’t use a teeny-weeny rug in a room meant for seating.
If you place a very small rug inside your living room just enough to fit a coffee table on, you’re missing out
on the essence of a rug’s beauty.
Do use the rug to unify the contents of a room.
The best way to use an area rug is to allow the front legs of your furniture to sit on the rug. This includes
the sofa, coffee table and side tables. It makes every piece of furniture truly a part of the room.
Do match your rug with existing large furniture.
It’s good practice to buy a rug with the same color scheme as the other items in your room. Otherwise,
your area rug is going to stand out like the proverbial sore thumb.
Don’t let hardwood floors stay bare.
Wood may look good at the office, but it looks dull and boring in your living room. Give a homey feel to
your house by putting a woolly rug down on that bare floor.
Do choose flat area rugs for dining and kitchen areas.
Spills are common in eating and cooking areas, so putting a shag or wool rug in one of these areas is just
asking for trouble. Use flatter rug styles such as kilim or dhurrie rugs to help avoid spills and make it
easier to clean them when they inevitably do happen.
Choosing the shape of your rug
Choosing a rug involves taking a lot of details into consideration. You need to pick the right colors to
match your room’s furniture and walls and find the rug material that not only fits the feel of the room but
also makes you comfortable as your feet caress the rug’s fibers.
Another rug element you need to consider is the shape. Rugs and carpets come in various shapes, but
not all shapes are going to complement the style and appearance of the space you are decorating.
Here are the most common rug shapes and their most typical uses for each shape:

 Rectangle is the most common and the most flexible rug shape because it can fit in practically
any type of room. Just measure the size of your space so that all you need to worry about is the
rug size.
 Squares are similar to rectangles, although they’re best used in grouping furniture together or
setting up an area for conversations.
 Round rugs are typically used in entranceways or under the dining table. You may also put a
circular rug under some pieces of furniture that you want to group together. An alternative to a
round rug is an octagonal rug (i.e. a rug with 8 sides), although this is somewhat tricky to
decorate and pair up inside a room.
 Runners are elongated rectangular rugs usually found in hallways. You can place runners in a
long pathway or staircase to function as an accent to the direction of foot traffic.
Of course, you can go crazy with rug shapes! Just be careful not to go overboard, because it might
muddle up the theme of the room.
If you just cannot find the size, shape and texture you are looking for there is always the option of custom.
We do our own hand weaving in India and Nepal. There are also a number of machine made in the USA
options.
Tips to Provide the Illusion of a Bigger Space
Do you feel like any rooms in your home look smaller than you want them to look? Space limitation is a
problem that many homeowners face, especially if they spend a lot of time in a particular room that they
deem to be too small.
While one option is to remove the clutter and other unnecessary items in the room, some people cannot
do away with the objects (furniture, desks, home furnishings, appliances, or gadgets).
So, here’s another option: put a rug on the floor to increase space.
Now, that may seem counterintuitive, as putting a rug in a room often makes it cozier and more snug --
which is the exact opposite of what you’re going for here -- however, certain rugs can create the illusion of
a wider interior room space. You just need to know what to look for to achieve this.
Follow these tips to get the desired effect:
1. Choose a rug with small repetitive patterns.
A repetitive rug design fools the human eye into thinking that the pattern is repeating endlessly. As a
result, the room where you place a rug with repeating patterns will appear larger. Choose a pattern that is
distinct and recognizable, and make sure that the design is repeating throughout the rug.
2. Choose light colored rugs.
Light colors can make any room appear wider, and that holds true for rugs, too. Aside from painting your
room walls in light colors, you can enhance the room space by putting a rug in light or bright colors: white,
soft blue, cream, or pastel colors.

3. Avoid extra large rugs that cover the entire floor of the room.
A hard, smooth floor gives the illusion of a large space, so putting a huge rug in the room may defeat your
intentions. Use the rug as a centerpiece of the room instead of a wall-to-wall cover. When people enter
the room, their eyes should focus on the rug (or any centerpiece on it) and on nothing else. In relation to
this, try to make the center area of the room floor vacant.
Cleaning and Maintenance
With regular maintenance and care, you can extend the life of your rug and keep it looking like it did when
you first purchased it.
Regular vacuuming will get out that deeply embedded dirt and debris, but you have to consider the type of
rug you have to know how often to vacuum.
Regular Pile
Vacuum once per week, especially in the first month.
Looped or Braided
If your rug has a loop or braid texture, vacuum it without the beater bar engaged. If you cannot disengage
the beater bar on your vacuum, then vacuum it on the highest possible setting.
Shag
Shake these rugs outside to loosen dirt and debris and then carefully use a handheld attachment to
vacuum them.
Cleaning Based on Fiber
Even though we try our best to keep them clean, the fact that rugs sit on the floor means they’re
eventually going to have something spilled on them. That can almost be guaranteed. But, rugs can
cleaned, especially if you catch the stain right after the spill happens. You just have to know what you’re
doing and consider what it is made of.
Natural Fibers
Cotton
Small cotton rugs can be machine washed in warm water using a mild detergent. For larger ones, treat
them with a dry cleaning powder.
Sisal
Use a dry cloth to blot up as much of the stain as you can and then use water mixed with pure vinegar to
treat the stain. Wring out the cloth each time prior to applying the water/vinegar solution because
excessive moisture is not good for sisal rugs.

Wool
Like your pet, wool rugs shed and this is completely normal. Vacuum them weekly and use a common
wool cleaning detergent to clean them. You can create your own wool cleaning detergent by taking a
teaspoon of neutral detergent and a teaspoon of pure white vinegar combined in a quart of warm water. If
you are cleaning a liquid stain, absorb as much of the stain as possible before applying the cleaning
solution.
Jute
Try to limit the amount of moisture you use when treating a stain in a rug made of jute. Treat stains by
dabbing a small amount of club soda or a cloth dampened with a mild soap. Never steam clean these
rugs.
Synthetic Fibers
Polypropylene and Polyester
The good news if you own a rug made of these synthetic fibers is that they are two of the most stain
resistant fibers around. They resist moisture damage comparatively well. Follow wool cleaning instructions
to treat stains on either of these types of rugs.
Viscose
This type of fiber does not handle heavy foot traffic or moisture well, so it’s best not to put one in a high
traffic area. Professionally clean these rugs or use a spot cleaner with little moisture.
Acrylic
You can either use a common cleaning detergent on these types of rugs or, similar to wool rugs, you can
create one yourself by combining a teaspoon of neutral detergent and a teaspoon of pure white vinegar
with a quart of warm water. If you are treating a liquid stain, absorb as much of it as possible prior to
applying to cleaning solution.
Rug Pads
To help with vacuuming and also to keep everyone safer, consider using a rug pad on the back of your
rugs to help prevent sliding, buckling and wrinkling. Rug pads also help premature aging of your rug.
Basically, the rug pad grips both the rug and the floor it’s sitting on to make it more secure.
We hope you enjoy these home decor tips and are able to use them. Please don’t hesitate to come visit
us in person for any questions you have about interior design. We are always happy to help. And don’t
forget to bring photos and color swatches of your space and the furniture in it.

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