Last call, Gentle Readers! This Tuesday, November 11 (Veterans Day) at 7:00, the writer Jason Reynolds and I will be having a conversation at Politics & Prose Union Market about my new book*, working together, and all things home.
You may have heard me say, Gentle Readers, that unless your rugs are crawling up the baseboards, they’re not too big.
This is true. Rugs are often too small. Especially in dining rooms, where you need to make sure chairs don’t catch their back legs when you push away from the table.
But there are so many other things to know! Let’s count that little tip as #1: When in doubt, go larger on your rug. Here are 4 more:
#2: Wool rugs resist stains better than cotton. That’s the understatement of the century, actually. Cotton rugs are sponges. They start out looking so fresh and pretty — especially in an informal country house — but they hold onto every little smudge, smear, and drip.
If you insist on having a cotton rug, put it somewhere far away from doors to the outside…somewhere you’re bound to be in bare feet, in other words. And far away from play-dough, dogs, and red wine. Wool rugs, on the other hand, wear like iron.
#3: Not all grassy fibers are created equal. They each have their pros and cons.
Seagrass resists stains superbly, so they’re great for foyers and mudrooms. They do NOT prevent water from seeping through to the floor, though, so please keep that in mind. Their texture is kind of rope-y, so some people don’t like to walk on seagrass rugs in bare feet. I kind of like it, but that’s me.
Sisal is scratchy, so it, too, isn’t super popular in shoe- (and sock-) free households. It’s pretty stain-resistant, though, and I really like it as a first layer under another rug. You may already know that layering is a great way to rescue a too-small rug, which can look terribly lonely in the center of a large room.
Jute is not stain-resistant, but it’s silky and soft. I like it for bedrooms — it’s lovely underfoot.
#4. Leave about 2-3″ of floor showing around the edge of the room if you’re custom-cutting a broadloom rug. (The floor you see between the rug and the baseboard is called the reveal.)
You may be asking, “Why/when do you even do this?” Well, if you want to fill a room cozily without the commitment of a wall-to-wall carpet, custom cutting is a great solution. Cutting a carpet around a hearth and spreading it into all corners of a room makes the space feel larger, too.
#5. Rugs with gigantic, decentralized designs are difficult to work with. Especially if they’re bold in color or very contrasty — a huge black-and-white floral pattern, for example. These rugs absolutely dominate a room. They throw off the scale. They compete with artwork. They’re loud. They’re obnoxious, and they’re often ugly.
Before you declare me judgmental (which, lbh, I absolutely am), please know that I have made this mistake myself, in my own house. If you’re searching for a rug online, please make sure you see installation shots of any serious candidates to make sure the design and scale are inoffensive.
#Bonus: Antique/vintage rugs are perfect in every way. Seriously. They give you lots of colors to work with, they hide stains, they stand up to pets, they last forever, they look great in any room, they work in traditional AND contemporary settings…I could go on. (I just WENT on.) So.
I hope this is helpful, Gentle Readers. May all of your rug selections be both practical and beautiful. And maybe even fun.
My Neighbor Saw Me Naked, and Other Reasons You Need Drapes: The Essential Decorating Handbook, is available wherever books are sold.
