One of the greatest influences of personal style in your home is the floor you’re standing on. With ninety percent of your furnishings sitting on the floor, flooring has a big impact on the overall look of your space, including material and color. Your rug selection plays a significant role, as well and should complement your flooring in style, tone, and pattern to help further your design scheme.
That’s not to say that your rug and flooring have to match (contrast can play a strong role in your overall scheme), but they should relate in some way. Alternatively, a rug can serve to distract from a floor you would love to change but might not be able to right away.
Pairing Your Floor and Rug
Your rug and floor combination is based entirely on your style. Depending on the intended effect for your space, the possibilities are endless. My typical approach to color and pattern pairing is to create a smooth flow from flooring to rug pattern for a uniform look. If your rug contains at least one color that ties into your floor material, you’ll be pretty safe with the pairing. That said, the suggestions for each type of flooring below are purely subjective.
Rugs for Concrete Floors
Concrete floors provide a neutral base that pairs well with every rug and decor style, and color combination. The modern, industrial vibe contrasts really well with richly patterned rugs in deep tones for a strong, sophisticated look.
Rugs for Hardwood Floors
Photo by: @jcdesign1.1
The more details there are in your wood floors, including color, texture, grain, and knots, the more organic, rustic, or traditional your space will look.
Typically, your wood floors are laid in the direction of your room’s length. If your rug shape follows this direction, you’ll create a cohesive flow through the space.
For the main rooms, try to stick to a theme or stylistic thread. Home offices, kids’ rooms, and nurseries, on the other hand, offer an opportunity to break the rules and reflect the personalities of whomever will be occupying them.
Rugs for Marble Floors
Photo by: @yewphotography
Marble floors look and feel rich, formal, and elegant, but at the same time look cold, hard, and reflective. If the marble is polished, it can be slippery. A soft, warm rug creates a sweet place to land and offers a beautiful textural contrast to the floor.
If you choose a rug that contrasts with the floor, like a bold color or pattern, look for a common color in your rug that ties in with the marble color.
Another option is to coordinate your rug with your furniture. This will unify everything that sits atop the rug, creating an island of cozy while making the space feel pulled together.
Rug for Tumbled Stone Floors
Photo by: @thevintagepalm
A stone floor adds a rich, textural, and aged elegance to a space. For the best effect, the rug selected should continue that elegant vibe that the stone flooring creates rather than fight against it.
Rugs for Tile Floors
Photo by: @craven_haven
When selecting a rug for a tile floor, it’s important to consider the tile style and color. If your tile is contemporary, most likely your interior style is, too, and so the pattern of your rug should complement that.
Black and white base tones in your flooring will be complemented best by a rug with cool base tones. Creamy, warm tones in your flooring will be complemented by a rug with creamy, warm tones.
Remember that contrast works to complement, too. Modern with a touch of antique and ornate often works quite well.
Rugs for Laminate, Vinyl, Cork, and Linoleum Floors
Photo by: @xomyhome
Laminate, vinyl, cork, and linoleum are great flooring options because of their long wear and cleanability. The colors and patterns as well as price points and quality levels available in these flooring options are endless. This enables the consumer to find the color, pattern, and material that perfectly fleshes out their style while serving their wear and cleanability needs.
How to Pair Your Rug and Floor Color
Rugs for Black or Dark Brown Floors
Darker wood floors—in either real wood, engineered laminate wood floors, or the latest vinyl floors that mimic real wood—pair well with intricately patterned rugs such as kilim, Moroccan, Persian, and Turkish with rich, moody colors like scarlet red, hazel brown, or charcoal.
Rugs for Red or Reddish Brown Floors
Photo by: @liz_kamarul
Flooring with red and red-brown tones pairs well with a rug that carries these same tones. That is not to say that your rug and floor must match. Some contrast will complement your space and furnishings. But keeping a common thread, like a bit of red or red-brown tones in the rug, will unite the two and work well to unify the space.
Rugs for Natural or Medium Brown Floors
Photo by: @sylviatribel
Flooring with gold and warm tones pairs nicely with cool-toned colors, like blue, which lies opposite on the color wheel.
High-contrast black and white, blue tones, and a wide range of yellows and oranges also pair well, leaving many options to select from. This is where personal style and taste come in. Let your rug pattern and color selection reference both your style and the elements you’ve filled your home with.
Rugs for Blonde or Light Brown Floors
Photo by: @xomyhome
Blonde and light floors create a warm-neutral base for a calming interior color scheme. Golden blonde floors pair beautifully with grey, taupe, and caramel tones, and also look gorgeous against deep, rich blue and green colored rugs. They can also play off of lighter tones in a wide spectrum of colors.
Rugs for Ash or Grey Floors
Photo by: @ryansecret
Grey floors seem to be the ultimate neutral, often selected for their calming effect on a space. The cool neutral tone pairs best with a cool neutral palette highlighted with pops of warm color, like caramel, bright pinks, yellows, deep oranges, as well as graphic black and white. Grey and cream are also an elegant combination.
Rugs for White or Beige Floors
Photo by: @caitlyn.neier
White and beige floors provide a blank slate for an interior space, ready for you to impart the textures and tones that you like best. Start by narrowing down your favorite furnishings, deciding what you want to highlight, then look to tie these colors or patterns into your rug selection.
A darker rug on top of a light floor works well to create an island or focal point for your furniture on top. On the other hand, less contrast between the floor and rug keeps your eye flowing, making the room look larger.
More Tips for Choosing Flooring
When choosing your flooring, here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Find the best-wearing and most realistic-looking material that fits your budget.
- Consider what the floor will sound like against hard-heeled shoes, as some flooring can be terribly noisy underfoot.
- Check how slippery the flooring may be when dry or wet.
- Consider the floor’s color and pattern and how adaptable they are to changing trends and your evolving style. Always opt for timelessness.
- Think about the visual flow from one space to another. Take a walk around the house to determine which direction you should lay the flooring. Consider the house as a whole rather than each room as separate spaces.
READERS: What type of floor do you have and how did you choose the right rug for you? Tell us in the comments section below!
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37 Comments
Have small 1,000 sq Foyt house. Have accent rug in living room and same rug color rug in hall. Is it ok to have the same rugs ? I think it looks good because it’s a small house. Son thinks the rugs should be different . Thoughts
Hi Lynette. The rugs could be the same but I would consider the two spaces individually. Because the home is small, aim for the two rugs to play off of each other, carrying the style of the house from living area thru to hallway. Coordinate the rugs with your flooring for a softer contrast and to make the spaces feel larger while keeping the pattern scale small.
Thoughts on rugs for terrazzo floors?
Hi Vanessa. To advise on which style of rug for your terrazzo floor, I’d have to know the architecture if our home and/or your interior style. I would guess that your architecture leans modern so your style and furnishings would influence your rug choice. I’d be sure to carry some of the terrazzo color(s) into the rug you choose to be sure they play off of each other nicely.
We have a camper that is very depressing and cold in its grey color scheme . I am thinking perhaps a bright colored easy care not too expensive runner (since we dont live in it) might cheer up the “living space” when we are using it.
We do not “do” rough camping..
Any suggestions?
Hi Judy. Depending on the interior of your camper, I’d go with a warmly patterned rug ranging from soft coral tones to rich burgundy, This whole range works well with greys, off-whites and wood tones.
I have a light beige carpet that I know will show every mark soon. I’d like to put a rug under the dining table. Is this a good idea and what kind of rug ? Thank you.
White tiled spanish porcelain floor.
Looking for a 8×10 carpet to keep the flow looking bigger.
Hi Angelea. If you want to keep the flow looking bigger, keep the rug in the some tone as your floor, mostly white. You can do traditional ornate patterns, Moroccan themes, just about anything that plays off your furnishings’ scheme while staying tone-on tone with your white tile floors.
I was watching Southern Charm on Bravo. I saw the cutest pink rug in the kitchen of one of the cast members (Naomi) I think. Is that one of your rugs?
Hi Nancy, I don’t think we’ve seen that episode. If you have a screenshot of the rug, we’d be happy to take a look!
I am looking for a washable rug with orange / rust colors – either in a design or no design.
Round; 9 x 12. Would this rug help keep my room warm?
Thank you for your time,
* Dahlia
Hi Dahlia, here are a few rug recommendations, all of these are available in 9×12 and round:
https://ruggable.com/products/kamran-coral-rug
https://ruggable.com/products/celestine-coral-rug
https://ruggable.com/products/hudson-stripe-rust-orange-rug
https://ruggable.com/products/suku-terracotta-rug
See more orange rugs here: https://ruggable.com/collections/orange-rugs
Hope this helps!
Hi, my house is almost ready and my walls are light grey , open concept kitchen white cabinets. Also a sun room and breakfast nook… help please… my furniture is white leather, I liked the cosmic rug and silver .. should everything match?? Also need for entrance way.. I have a blind dog and one that just started walking again after being paralyzed in his hind legs so he needs the carpet so he doesn’t slip.. thank you..
Hey Eileen,
Congratulations on getting to enjoy your fresh home! I’d get some soft color into the mix and bring in some warm tones like light oak and straw colors….they’re a warm accent to whites and greys, as are corals. The Kamran Coral Rug and Hendesi Heriz Cream Rug both have warm tones in them and would look great.
Hi their
I live in a house full of carpet. I like it however, some throw rugs would would perk it up. The problem is : how do you make the rugs stay where you want them? I don’t want to set furniture on top of them. I want to see the beauty of them. I like to take them up and shake them, but I don’t want to trip over them. I have also used sticky backings, screwed rug threw the carpet to the floor, non slip pads. IDEAS?
We’re looking for moth-resistant, wall-to-wall (nylon?, synthetic?), easy to care for, carpet for the living room, bedroom and den. Any suggestion is very much appreciated.
Hello,
I live in an apartment that has this mustardly, old looking carpet throughout. How do I take this into consideration when picking out an 8×10 livingroom accent rug.
I have picked out a new couch which is medium purple. I have chosen acessories in colors of black, gold/yellow and teals. I’m 64 years old, and first time creating a space I actually will enjoy spending time in. Picking washable rug color is what has me stumped. Something with black in it? With what other colors? So lost.
Really would appreciate, probably some real saving. Thanks.
Hi Karen,
I lean towards a bit of calm in a space, so personally I’d look for a rug in warm neutrals or with gold colors in the background for a smooth transition from carpet to rug. You can stop there, or if you’re into pattern and color, find a pattern with some of the colors on your list: black, teal, lavender, gold, and off-white to pull everything together.
Hi – The apt I’m buying has wood floors except for the small foyer, small kitchen and long hallway which are tiled in shiny white, doctors’ office tiles, a shocking choice to me! I could replace that all with wood (the contractors’ suggestion, but seems so conventional to me), or cover the long hall with a pretty runner and use a bright color linoleum or vinyl on the kitchen floor. Thinking of red walls for the foyer. Other wall colors will be neutrals with personality. The whole place is around 900 sq’, 2 bedrooms. Thanks for your thoughts. I love the info on this blog! Debby
Hey Deborah,
I would swap out the shiny tiles in the foyer, hallway, and kitchen. The hallway should match the living area wood floors, so pay attention to the direction the flooring flows from the living area to the hallway. The foyer could go wood, as well, since wood and a warm red paint are a good pairing. Warm reds with a more orange than blue base will complement the wood. A brightly checkered linoleum would be fun in the kitchen and also transition well from the wood floors. I’d add the pretty runner to the hallway and a smaller area rug to the foyer.
where are OUTDOOR rugs? those need washability most of all!
Hi, Nancy!
You can check out our Outdoor Rugs collection here: https://myruggable.com/outdoor ✨
i live in a nyc apt the kitchen is very small need a rug at most 2’/6′ but you never offer this size – the 7′ would extend out of the kitchen — i am certain i am not the only one looking for this size
Hi, Nicholas!
Thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, we don’t have any other sizes planned for now BUT our Product Development & Design teams are always looking for feedback to guide what we come up with next! We’d love it if you could complete this short survey to help us out: https://myruggable.com/survey ✨
Wish there was a way to share this………would love to???????
Hi there, Marilynn!
At the very bottom of the article, and right above where Cynthia Granado’s short About Me begins, there is a “Share” button towards the right side! You can click on this then select where you would like to share it – Facebook, Twitter, etc.!
We hope this helps.😊
We have an ugly light brown carpet that I want to put a rug on top of to give some color to my dining room. Is it ok to put a rug on ugly carpet. We are planning on replacing the carpet but are holding off to do all the floors at once with a medium hardwood.
Hi! I have a smallish kitchen with white cabinets and stainless steel appliances. the floor has large white tiles. the countertops are a busy white quartz, the walls have soft grey subway tile. the biggest problem is I have is 3 constantly shedding white dogs. any suggestions?
I have purchased several rugs, however my last purchase was a runner rug and cushioned pad for my kitchen. It has not worked well at all. The rug and pad does not adhere to the tile floor and the whole thing moved constantly and I have to reposition it all the time. My other rugs are perfect on natural wood floor, but I am very dissapointed with my kitchen runner. No matter what I do it does not stick to the tile floor.
Hi, Betsy!
Thank you for reaching out and bringing this to our attention!
We are terribly sorry to hear you are having this issue. We kindly ask you to please reach out to our dedicated Customer Care team at support@ruggable.com for assistance.
I have white marble floors with gray feathering. It is beautiful but I am struggling with rugs. I have gray and black furniture with blue accents. I need entry way runner and a large rug for my living area.
can your rugs be ordered to size and cut and edge finished to fill a large room about 30ft x20ft with 3 sided cut out for tiled hearth under wood burning stove and another cutout under bar area.
Thank you for your interest, Amy!
Unfortunately, we don’t have any other sizes planned for now BUT our Product Development & Design teams are always looking for feedback to guide what we come up with next! We will be sure to pass along your feedback and interest in custom sizes to our team.😊
Hi, our dogs have trashed our carpet, thinking of installing wood floors. Problem being our furniture (includes some builtins) are in the dark tones and my kitchen cabinets are in cherry. What color flooring could I use? Walls are mostly taupe.
I am wondering about suggestions for washing ,rinsing and drying? I am not about to go to a commercial place and do not have big enuf machine at home. Your rugs are really beautiful! Thanks, Laura
Hey there, Laura! For washing, we recommend you machine-wash your Rug Covers cold using a mild, nonbleach detergent and with the design side facing outwards. Dry it on low heat, or hang and air-dry if needed. We’ve also linked our wash and care instructions for you here: https://myruggable.com/wash-and-care-instructions
You can also check out our washing machine size guide! This guide shows the minimum size washer required for our various sizes/styles and it also has a guide to help you determine the size of your own washer, if needed. You can check it out here: https://myruggable.com/washing-machine-guide