As warmer months set in, the interior designer in each of us tends to gravitate towards bringing bright colors into our homes—think yellows, tangerines, lavenders, light blues, and lots of greens! And one easy way to inject a pop of color into our homes? Colorful rugs!
Adding a colorful area rug to your room is the easiest way to liven up your space, draw attention, and showcase your personal style all at the same time. But with such a bold and striking rug color choice, it’s important to make sure that you create a balance with the rest of your room’s design elements and furniture.
If you’re looking to add a multicolored area rug to your space, here are some key design tips to consider:
1. Plan ahead.
Bold and colorful area rugs usually feature whimsical and eclectic designs that are sure to add a wow factor into any room. But before you buy that brightly colored rug, think about the space you’re putting it in. What dominant colors are already in there? What’s the color of your wall or your biggest furniture? Which section of the room do you want to highlight? These are the important questions that will help guide your rug color and design choices.
2. Decide what vibe you want the room to exude.
As each rug color exudes a different vibe, decide what kind of mood you want your space to radiate. Richer-hued rugs, like red and burgundy and brown and taupe can give your room a more intimate feel while lighter and brighter colors, like yellows and oranges, can instantly brighten the mood of a room and make small spaces appear larger.
3. Keep the other colors in the room neutral.
Colorful rug patterns are fun to look at, but they can also make a room look busy. To balance out your space visually, keep the bigger elements in your room—like large furniture and walls—neutral. This will keep the room from looking cluttered. In the living room, for example, opt for a sofa in white, cream, gray, or other neutral hues if you want to place a bright-colored rug underneath. In the kitchen, a colorful rug will pop against white or cream walls and kitchen cabinets.
4. Match one of the colors of the rug with other decor elements.
When picking out the rest of your decor, get your inspiration from the colors of your rug’s pattern. Matching your room’s accessories to your rug’s color palette will allow all your design elements to blend cohesively.
5. Use storage bins to keep other colorful things out of sight.
Adding colorful rugs in kids’ bedrooms and playrooms is always a good idea. Not only does it stimulate your kids’ imagination and creativity, but it also makes the room look more fun and inviting. Just remember that most of your children’s things—toys, books, and artworks—tend to be on the colorful side, too. To keep too many colors from clashing, use neutral-colored storage bins to keep the room organized.
6. You can use colorful rugs in other places in your house, too.
Kids’ rooms aren’t the only places to put your colorful rugs in. Small or narrow spaces where there’s not much room to decorate or put accessories in, like the entryway, mudroom, hallway, and laundry area, could also benefit from a colorful rug.
7. If you are to use colorful rugs in the bedroom, go for warmer colors.
Colorful rugs can energize any room—which may not be the vibe you’re looking for in a room that’s meant for rest and relaxation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use bold rug colors in your bedroom. For best results, opt for calming colors like blues and greens, or rich, warm colors like browns and burgundies.
8. Have fun with it!
At the end of the day, playing with colors is all about personal style and preference. So forget trends and hard rules, and choose a colorful rug that speaks to you. As they always say, there’s no mistake in art!
READERS: What are your favorite ways to style your colorful rugs? Share them with us in the comments section below!
Comment
Thanks! I just bought the cosima teal rug for my living room. I have a light beige couch, white curtains with a subtle pattern to them. After I set up the rug I’ll be buying pillows and decor above my mantle place. Any suggestions or pictures of this rug in that type of space? I also have dark wood floors, then mantle is white and the light fixture is matching wood to the floor with silver accents