My name is Karen Beckhart of Beckhart Interiors, The Key to Professional Home Staging and Redesign, and I will continue to be your guide on this journey of setting up your home.
Trinidad Realty has helped you find this lovely new home and surely you are anxious to jump in and begin decorating. I suggest taking your time. Focus on your main living spaces. Decorating it just so, helps you show off your home’s lovely features. Whether your home is a small apartment or a luxury ranch with many acres, attention is in the details.
Beckhart Interiors can help you with those details. This week, I said that I would like to focus on how to choose a sofa and an area rug. After doing thorough research, I think today’s topic will be solely on the importance of the area rug. There is much to cover – excuse the pun – for this is the piece that will anchor the room and define the space. Therefore, I would like to give it more importance than previously suggested.
First, you need to take a look at the shape of the room. Is it a square, a rectangle, L-shaped, a bowling alley, or does it have a pre-existing angle? Most living spaces these days have wood or tile flooring. They are beautiful and functional, but not very cozy. An area rug, will give warmth, color, and help define the space. Second, think of what shape you like. Does a square, round, oval, hearth, rectangle or runner shape serve you best in this space?
As with last week’s wall options, mark the space with painters tape and take a step back to see if you like the look. Mark out a 5 x 7 and an 8 x 10 to see which size is better for your space. Take in mind the traffic that will flow in that room. Does your family need to walk over the rug to get from point A to point B? If the children will be running on it to and fro, you may want to consider a smaller size to encourage the running around, instead of through, the space. If you have a cat that scratches or a dog that likes to chew, it would be good to avoid rugs with a looped pile.
We no longer need to be so traditional in thought. Meaning, furniture does not need to flank the walls anymore. Floating furniture in the center of the room is trendy and keeps the space airy and light. Furniture can be placed entirely on or off the rug. Play around with the space. Remember this home is your new blank canvas.
Rug pads provide extra cushy padding underfoot and prevent the rugs from sliding to and fro. They also have the added benefit of extending the life of your rug. They can even make a less expensive rug feel and look more luxurious!
As a last comment on area rugs, if you have an open-plan living area or a large room that are popular in today’s homes, you can use rugs to create separate activity zones, like say a reading zone and a seating area within your living room, that are subtly differentiated.
See, there really was a lot of information to cover for an area rug! Follow me next week through Trinidad Realty and see some more great tips from Beckhart Interiors. Remember, your new home is the stage so to speak, make sure that you present it according to the function of that room. I promise we will take a look at how to choose that sofa style! Above all else, enjoy the process!
Beckhart Interiors
(210) 882-0311
beckhartinteriors@gmail.com
