Rug Buying Guide
By Alex Rees
It’s all subjective; that's the joy of it! For this buying guide I wanted to present some tips and guidance to help you through what should be a fun, enjoyable process, and hopefully help to remove some of the stress and anxiety that can creep in as we sometimes feel the pressure to make a good decision.
There are all kinds of rules about furnishing, most of which are flexible/breakable for the right rug. So here are some of the most common topics we find ourselves discussing with our customers, plus a few top-tips from the team!
These tips won’t all be relevant, so decide what feels right to you when reading.
Size Matters
When choosing a one-of-a-kind rug it’s a great first step to know what size, or range of sizes, is required. Once you know this, it’s easy to browse our website or in-store by the appropriate size.
If possible, try and allow some flexibility, as this will open up more options to you. See our Measuring Guide here for more information on getting the size right.
Tip: Measure well before starting the hunt.
Which Style?
It’s worth thinking about how formal/relaxed you want the room to feel, then focussing on the styles that will fit with that. For example, if it’s a formal drawing or dining room, then something fairly classical and refined might work better. Equally, if you’re furnishing a family room or snug, you might want to look at more vibrant colours, and less formal styles including kilims (flat-weaves) contemporary, village and tribal. We have collections such as Ghazni Kazak and Sultanabad that cross over really well if you’re going for a ‘modern classic’ feel.
Tip: Decide how formal/relaxed you want the room to feel.
Perfection & Pre-Conceived Ideas
There isn’t the perfect rug for a room, instead there will be many rugs out there that can work really well, each one bringing its own qualities to bear. Because all our rugs are handmade and therefore one-of-a-kind, there’s a joyous element of fate, or chance, involved.
We often experience clients who have seen a rug in a magazine feature, or have even imagined the perfect rug in their mind's eye before setting about finding it. There’s nothing wrong with this as a starting point, but we do find that these people are often the ones still searching for the perfect rug many months or even years later.
Tip: Be open to styles you might not have thought about.
Feeling It
When you look at a rug in a room you should feel something, and hopefully something good. Not just a clinical assessment of the rug’s compatibility with its surroundings, which colours tie in with what etc, you should also really want to smile!
Tip: Buy something you love, you’ll make it work in the room.
Small, Dark Spaces
In my personal experience, it’s vibrant colour that lifts a room, and trying to lighten up a dark space with a light rug does not often have the desired effect. You can go for warm and rich, without going too heavily traditional, so consider looking for a rug that glows with vibrancy and jewel colours.
I’m a big fan of going bigger in small spaces, to make the room feel calmer and looking less ‘bitty’.
Tip: Go big and inject colour.
Team Top Tips
Graham's Top Tip
If you can, start furnishing the room by choosing the rug. There are almost unlimited choices, and every possible shade imaginable in the world of furnishing paints and fabrices, but with handmade rugs it's more limited. So it's much easier to start a room with a rug you love, that looks great in the space. From there you can easily pick out tones for the rest of the room, as most rugs will have many secondary colours to work with.
You can choose whether the rug is to be the main statement feature, with other furnishings playing second fiddle, or a softer look to leave space for other pieces to do the talking.
Top Tip: Start with the rug!
Emily's Top Tip
If you’re planning to visit our showroom, bring paint samples and fabric swatches with you. It can really help to put all of your colours and textures together and see what works and what doesn’t.
Finally - be brave! You’ll never regret buying a rug you truly love.
Top Tip: Bring paint samples, fabric swatches and anything else that might help with you!
The Rugs of Petworth Team