Local designers give advice on adding pattern, color and texture for a stylish space.
Section by Somer Tejwani
A surefire way to change the aesthetic of any room is with the simple addition of a rug, which quickly and easily introduces pattern, color and texture to the space. For some help narrowing down the selection, two local home furnishing wizards offer their top tips for designing with rugs.
“A rug can easily be the common thread tying together a room with the most eclectic mix of furniture,” says Monarch Beach resident Gregory Roberts, lead designer at Room & Board in South Coast Plaza Village. In fact, a rug can be used to define a seating area, creating a sense of space. “At least have the entire front legs of your furnishings in a seating conversation area sitting on the rug. It becomes the unifying element,” says designer John Wallace Benecke of Laguna Beach’s JWB Interiors.
For those with an open floor plan looking to separate one space from the next or create intimacy between spaces, a rug can help define without closing off any adjoining areas. “A rug will visually ground the area and create a boundary that says, ‘This is the dining room,’ or ‘This is the living room,’ ” Gregory says.
PATTERN AND COLOR
Once the area is chosen, Gregory recommends considering the desired mood of the room and your personality, which he says should be reflected in the space. For a formal and elegant dining area, Gregory advises choosing a more traditional-patterned rug with rich, saturated colors to match the mood. In a bedroom, to create a tranquil master retreat for someone who isn’t a morning person, he suggests a super-plush, light-toned rug to ease them into the day, whereas an extroverted, life-of-the-party type may want a rug with a bold pattern, color or both for an entertaining area.
“Think of your rug as you would a fabric—it can add complementary color, texture and warmth to a room’s decor,” John says. “A room with soft, neutral, solid colors can look beautiful on a rug in an Oriental or Persian style with very soft and warm looking tones.” On the other hand, a room with dark colors in its decor can come alive with a rug that has a strong burst of color such as tangerine for brown furnishings and light lime green or pink for black furnishings, he says. If a rug has multiple colors, choose the hues within it that you like the most and bring them into your space via paint, pillows or decorative trays, Gregory says.
AN INVESTMENT
Since rug prices can vary greatly, Gregory says to consider how long you are planning to live in your home before investing in floor coverings for the space. If you just purchased your dream home and are set on living in it for a while, he says don’t hesitate to buy a rug that is more expensive, but still within your means. For example, a rug with neutral tones can grow with you and any possible changes you may make to the home or furnishings.
If you’re only planning on staying in a space short term or if your taste changes often, he says not to spend too much on a rug so you can feel better about changing it when the time comes. Gregory adds, “There are plenty of great rugs you can purchase that are quite inexpensive, will make your space look great and will get you by for a shorter duration.”
BE FLOORED
Area shops offer a wide range of rugs to enhance the design in any room.
Rugs add color, pattern and texture to change the look and feel of a room—whether it’s a bold design to liven up an entertaining space or a soft hue to make a bedroom retreat more tranquil—and local design shops have just what you need to change a room’s mood.
