How to Rug Right

July 27, 2023

Finding the perfect rug for your space may not be quite as easy it seems. Rugs are a brilliant way to bring personality and art into your space, but how do you choose what to invest in?

Making your rug work for you

We often use a rug to pull a room scheme together. It can help link furniture and art, colour and texture, not to mention being useful for sound absorption and comfort. At times we might use a particular statement rug as the starting point of a scheme. Other times, we’ll build our room design and use the rug to tie together all the elements we plan on incorporating.

What's your rug 'why'?

Is your hope that the rug will make your space feel warmer? Do you plan for it to be the statement focus of the room? Perhaps you need it to help to reduce noise or to pull together the colours and patterns you’ve included in your room scheme?

Zone in on what is most important to you and use that to guide your research.

Now for where?

Will the rug be in a room with direct sunlight? Do you plan to use it in a kitchen with dogs and the risk of spills and stains? Maybe it will be added to hardwood floors in order to bring comfort and luxury? Once you know where you’ll use the rug, it will help you to pinpoint which materials you should use. Some fibres are designed to be stain resistant, others fade less, or if you want luxury and comfort, you would be looking for a deep pile finish.

What about budget?

The pricing scale is broad, from affordable and off the shelf to hand-knotted and high end. Be clear on your own budget before you go falling in love with something that’s outside of what you can afford. If you have a lower budget, stay clear of hand-knotted, vintage and bespoke designs. If you can stretch your budget, try and invest in the best materials you can to extend the life of your rug. Investing more up front can be a smart way to spend less in the long run.

Our Rug Heroes

We’ve sourced and worked with many rug collections throughout our client projects and there are a few that really stand out to us as Rug Heroes – from quality to creativity. materials to ethics, here are a few of our gold star rug favourites.

A Rum Fellow

We are smitten with all things A Rum Fellow who make the most beautiful flat weave designs that are truly innovative, injecting bright colours as well as the most incredible texture and design combinations. We just can’t get enough of their pieces. Plus it’s not only the designs that are inspiring: the A Rum Fellow team invest a great deal back into Guatemala where they support women in finding jobs and
getting back into the work place.

William Yeoward

We adore William Yeoward’s designs which offer something more affordable as well as designs that incorporate stain protection and sustainable fibres. Offering indoor and outdoor rug collections, pieces are usually made of wool and viscose and manage to achieve luxury levels at a lower price. The nature inspired designs are to die for – our favourite are the designs that use inky blue hues that look like you’ve just dropped into the deep ocean. Dreamy and quite the piece of art to add to any room scheme.

Jennifer Manners

Our favourite champion of the colourful rug, Jennifer’s collection makes just the right impact in any room and features elegant, clever designs that really shine. Each piece is designed by Jennifer and combines art and colour beautifully to set the tone for the room scheme The collection really showcases a love of travel and culture and uses hand carded wools and silks as well as a knot-by-knot process which means that each rug is completely unique. We love that Jennifer is at the forefront of research for new working practices and materials as part of her dedication to sustainability and environmental consciousness.

The Rug Company

How could you we talk Heroes without mentioning the monarch of all rug designers, The Rug Company? With eternally impeccable craftsmanship each of their rugs is handmade in Nepal and uses only the finest raw materials. Using silk, wool and cotton as well as sustainable fibres such as bamboo and banana leaf, each rug is a combination of conscience and quality. As far as design goes, we have long been lovers of The Rug Company’s statement pieces. From collaborations with Paul Smith and Kelly Wearstler to stand out own designs, The Rug Company manage to create a piece of art every time, a rug that is truly worth investing in.