Infloormation

Steps to Selecting the Right Area Rug

Part Two: Shopping for the Right Rug

Now that you have determined the size, material and colors for your rug (see Steps to Selecting the Right Area Rug Part One), it’s time to start shopping.  It’s important to find a trustworthy store, like us for your rug purchase. In the rug industry, there are often less than reputable operations, and what may look like a bargain could be anything but. Unless you are a rug expert, the best option is to rely on a store with a good reputation.

Have you determined your budget? A room-sized rug can vary in price from a few hundred dollars to well into the thousands. Are you looking for an heirloom or just something soft for your feet or the children’s play space? Budget accordingly! Whatever your budget, we can help you find the right rug for your situation.

Once you get here, take your time. We are here to be both knowledgeable and helpful, but there are many choices of rugs to choose from. Be sure to describe your specifications to us, so we can help point you in the right direction more quickly and easily. Once you narrow your choices to one or two,  make sure you see a rug that is hanging vertically on the floor before you make a final decision on it. Rugs look very different upright than when horizontal!

If you are anxious to get started, click here to look at our selection of area rugs online.

Before you begin the shopping process, here are some tips and hints on how to select the right area rug.

Before You Start Shopping:

Are you excited about shopping for a new area rug, but not sure where to begin? Here are some straightforward suggestions to get you started.

The more closely you can define what you want before you ever head out the door, the easier the process of selecting your new area rug will become. We’re going to look at three key areas to consider: size, material type, and style.

Size depends upon the total space available in a room and the purpose of the rug. For example, a dining room rug should extend at least two feet beyond the edge of the table on any side with chairs, to enable diners to push away without dropping off the rug. Living room spaces need a rug that frames the furniture and connects it together – it’s best to have the rug encompass all the furniture in the grouping. Be sure to take a look at the total size of the room – rugs that come too close to the walls on all sides makes rooms feel smaller.

Rugs are available in a variety of materials. Think of the rug’s purpose when choosing. If the space experiences a lot of foot traffic, choose a durable material such as nylon or wool. For a rug that will probably take quite a bit of abuse, consider an indoor-outdoor rug, which is designed to be tough and can be rinsed off with a hose.

Finally – what look do you want your rug to achieve? Will it bring color and pattern to a room that you want to liven up? Will it soften a hard surface while staying unobtrusive? Do you need more light in a darker space, or a darker rug to anchor the room? Stand and look at the rug’s future location, and think about what color or colors will enrich the feel of the space. Do you have a chair or an accessory with a color you would like to see more of in the room? Pull that color out through your rug choice.

With a couple of photos of the space and some color samples such as throw pillows or paint chips, you’re ready to start your rug search.

To browse and shop for rugs on our website, please click here!

From the Modernworks collection from Shaw Living, “Biometric” is a fun and somewhat whimsical area rug (despite its serious name) that is our inspirational product for today. If you like this rug, but have a hard time visualizing, try it on with our virtual room designer. With all of the colors in this area rug, you can instantly give life and personality to a room that lacks color and pattern!

This rug comes in the following sizes:

5′5″ x 7′9″

7′9″ x 10′ x 10″

Available colors:

Beige

Navy

Construction:

Woven: Shaw Living’s WOVEN rugs are created on automated weaving looms in which multiple colors of yarn are sewn into a backing material. The rugs’ elaborate designs are created by the placement of the different colors of yarn.

Purchase Options:

Catalog

Online

Warranty:

This rug comes with a one year warranty against manufacturing defects of area rug products.

Do you have more questions? Call us today at 877.525.0066 or contact us online and we’ll be happy to talk to you more about this rug or any of your other flooring needs.

If you read our last post, you know that you can now buy area rugs online from Pierceflooring.com. To make your shopping experience even easier, we want to make sure that you are aware of how you can use our virtual room designer tool to preview area rugs in some  room scenes.

It’s easy to do!

1. Click here to start the virtual room designer tool or go to www.pierceflooring.com and choose “virtual room designer” under “design center”.
2. Select a room type by clicking on one of the images. You can choose from a variety of rooms including kitchens, baths and living rooms.
3. Once you have selected your room type, choose  the room scene that most closely reflects your style. Rooms that have area rug options will be indicated.
4. From here, change any attributes that are available such as floors or walls to show the flooring type you have or wish to purchase.
5. Then, select “area rugs” under “select area” to start trying out different area rug options. Choose the most appropriate size from the selections available.

This will give you an idea of what shape area rug you may want as well as style and color. You can then save your selections to your workbook to show others and get additional opinions or save it until you are ready to place your order online. If you have any questions, leave us a comment or call us at 1-877-525-0066. We look forward to serving you and your area rug needs!

At Pierce Flooring and Design we are proud to announce that you can now purchase area rugs directly from our website!

Here’s how: Just visit our website or click here to go directly to our area rug product catalog.

From there you can:

• Find a rug quickly by choosing from Brand, Collection or Product or browse all selections
• Check the box to view only rugs that are available online if only interested in those available online
• View available sizes
• View and select a color

If you see something you like and are interested further you can:

• Zoom in to see a larger image of the rug (when available)
• View the rug in a room scene
• Ask us a question about the rug
• View product specifications from the manufacturer

Ready to purchase?

• Find the area rug, size and color you are interested in
• Add it to your cart
• Fill out your shipping information
• Pay with Paypal or major credit card

That’s it! Your area rug will soon be on its way to your door!

If  you found somethings you like,but aren’t quite ready to purchase you can save the rugs you like into you own workbook that you can access later and share with others.

It couldn’t be easier to buy an area rug online. With the tools available on our website you can preview the rugs in a room scene to get an idea of what they will look like. You can even upload your own photo of a room in your home so you can view what the area rug will look like in your room in your home!

Karastan’s shopping wisdom on material choices. Here’s what you need to know!

The type of fiber used in a rug plays a key role in how it feels and how well it performs. Basically, there are two fiber types: natural and man-made. Natural fibers include: wool, silk, cotton, jute, coir, and sisal. Man-made fibers include: nylon, polypropylene, acrylic and viscose.

Let’s take a closer look at each:

Wool: The most beautiful and luxurious choice of all, 100 percent New Zealand worsted wool is used in most Karastan rugs. Wool is a natural fiber that is highly regarded for its strength, durability, crush resistance, cleanability, comfort, and beauty. Visit Karastan Wools to learn more about this superior fiber.

Nylon: This man-made fiber provides a less expensive option than all-wool or silk versions. Karastan incorporates “Eversoft Nylon” in our Studio Collection. In addition, we use high-twist nylon in the luscious Aria Collection in combination with wool for an unusual effect. Look for an 80/20 wool-nylon blend in our handsome Vintage Road rugs as well.

Polypropylene: Polypropylene is a thermoplastic resin made from propylene gas. Rugs made of polypropylene are often heat-set to minimize luster and improve softness.

Silk: This is the most expensive rug fiber and even the smallest addition to the content can raise the price. It is also a natural fiber and adds high luster to the end product. Visit our Persian Renaissance collection for fine examples of silk used as accents. These rugs beautifully illustrate the dramatic effect silk adds to the design.

Viscose: Viscose is a shiny, silk-like fiber made from wood pulp. On its own, Viscose is susceptible to matting, but when used as an accent or in a blend, Viscose makes a wonderful substitute for higher-priced silk.

Cotton: Cotton is a strong, supple fiber that is used in the warp and weft (rug foundation) of many Karastan rugs. On its own, cotton soils easily and can shrink in washing. However, it makes an exceptional backing material because it helps rugs keep their shape and lie flat.

Jute, Coir, and Sisal: These fibers are derived from plants. Although aesthetically appealing, they have a coarse hand and are susceptible to stains. Karastan’s SisalWool rugs emulate the look of sisal, but with the soft feel and easy maintenance of wool.

The image shown above is from the English Manor Collection – Windsor.

When shopping for area rugs there are many different sizes to choose from. How do you know what size is right for your space? Here are some recommendations and considerations when choosing the right size area rug.

Dining Room / Breakfast Room

In this case, the most important thing to remember is that you want the area rug to be large enough that when people get out of their chairs, the chair legs are still on the area rug. Plan to add 4 feet to the length and width of the table to determine the minimum size rug for these areas.

Living Room / Family Room

In rooms where you have sofas, chairs and/or coffee tables you have some options when it comes to area rug sizes. One school of thought is that all of the furniture should sit on top of the area rug. Another way to address these rooms is to have the rug inside the seating area. (i.e. in front of the sofa and not under it) In this case, you want to make sure that all 4 legs of the coffee table are on the area rug and the length of the area rug is approximately the length of the furniture. Whether the feet of the sofa or chairs are on the rug is personal preference. Typically, 4×6 or 6×9 area rugs work well in these situations.

Bedrooms

Again, two ways to approach using area rugs in a bedroom. You can use one large rug that fits under the bed or you can use several different rugs. Keep in mind that if you use one large rug under the bed, the only thing you will see is the pattern on the edge. If there is a detailed pattern in the center of the rug it will be lost under the bed. Several different rugs can be scattered at the foot of the bed and along the sides.

Entire Room

When selecting an area rug to cover an entire room you will want to make sure to leave at least 8″ of the floor showing around the perimeter. You can use more than one rug in a room as a room separator.

For more considerations, come in or call your Pierce Flooring Representative today. To visit the area rug section of our website – click here.

Reader Question:

Is rug padding necessary for all area rugs?

Answer:

Area rug pads have many different functions. You might think they are only there to make the rugs more comfortable to walk on. Their most important role is for the protection of the floors and for your protection. They protect the floor from the rough backing on the area rug as well as color transfer and staining and they keep you from slipping on hard surfaces. If you’ve ever stepped on a rug over a hardwood floor with no padding you will never wonder about the function of area rug padding again! Other reasons to use area rug pads include keeping rugs in place when there is no furniture to weigh down the rugs, wrinkle prevention, easier vacuuming and they can actually extend the life of your rug by preventing wear.

When shopping for area rug pads, be sure to tell your Pierce Flooring representative what type of floor your area rug will be on top of, what type of rug you have, the size of the rug and if the rug is indoors or outdoors. If you are looking for added comfort as well as protection, be sure to mention that, too.