5 Reasons People Avoid Buying Area Rugs And Tips To Ease The Anxiety

In today's featured video, you'll learn why many people have anxiety about buying an area rug?  Interior Designer, Pamela O'brien reveals some interesting reasons why, but even better, she offers some rug buying tips to alleviate the anxiety and ensure you pick the perfect rug.

Pamela O'brien:  Buying Guide: Area Rugs

Hi I'm Pamela O'brien with Pamela Hope Designs.  I do interior design in Houston, TX.  One of my favorite things to do with my clients is to help them buy rugs. I think a lot of clients are a little afraid of the rug buying process.  For a couple of reasons...

One reason is that a rug may represent what, to a client, is a lot of costs.  Secondly, might be commitment.  If I buy this rug, I'm going to have to love it for a really long time.  Like a marriage right?  Am I marrying my rug.  Third would be the uncertainty of the style.  There's so many rugs.  There's so many price points. There's so many types.  Which one is right for me.  And lastly, I think it might be the maintenance and the lifestyle.  

A good way to start the rug purchasing would be to figure out the right size.  8x10 would be the most common size by far.  One size up would be 9x12.  That's actually a really good size for most people's rooms. Entry ways look great often with a 4x6.   Runners come in about 2-3 feet wide; by 8 to even 12 feet long; and those will fit most hallways.

When you're trying to find the size rug for your room; for example, maybe under a dining table, here is how you can do the math.  Measure the table and add 1 1/2 feet per side, so that you can comfortably move your chairs on and off, without tripping over the rug.

In living rooms and family rooms, where we have seating; often people buy a rug that is too small.  I think there is a couple of reasons for that.  One is where use to, in show rooms, seeing lots of small seating with lots of small rugs.  That's really so the showroom can represent a lot of rugs in a lot of styles.  So you'll have an easier time purchasing.  But when it comes time to purchasing for your room, I think you're going to be happier with a larger rug where the first foot or so of the furniture can actually sit on the rug.  It will feel warmer, cozier, more welcoming.  You will really enjoy having a nice soft rug under your feet, and contrary to popular belief, the right size rug will make the room feel larger not small.

Now, the equally important style and lifestyle portion of selecting a rug.  An easy answer is always a beautiful neutral rug.  This has a very simple striped tone on tone.  It's very soft.  It will feel really good under  foot.  You can probably put this in almost any room.  

If you want a little bit more going on, one thing that we have in the market today are some very bold patterns, but in somewhat soft muted colors; and a lot of nice neutral combinations.  This rug has a lot of impact, but still there's a little bit of a quietness to it that might make it work in your house.

Lastly, you can go for fun.  You can go for big pop and big color.  This is a lot of fun and you might change it out more frequently because it is more of a commitment and it's a very strong style.  But you can enjoy it and you can change them out as you change your color pallet.

Neutral rugs or really any color in a heavy texture is a wonderful look, but you need to keep in mind these are much harder to clean.  It's a lot more work to vacuum something like this, and you may find that things like pet hair and even little toys and things will get caught down in here.  So think about that when making your rug purchase.  

And lastly, people worry a lot about staining.  Today's carpets and fabrics are much better in stain resistance area. You don't have nearly as much to worry about as you think.  You want to blot out stains as soon as you can, but keep in mind, the busier the rug, the less any stain will show; if it shows at all. So, whenever you're ready to buy rug for your spaces, keep in mind size, style, color, and your lifestyle and you're sure to find the perfect style for all of your rooms.  Or you can call me, Pam O'brien with Pamela Hope Designs.

Now you see, you don't have to stress out about buying a rug.  Just put a little forethought into what you like and need and you will reduce the chances of buyers remorse.  Besides, a good rug dealer will offer a good return policy with hassle free returns.  Find out the return policy before purchasing a rug and this will help to eliminate a lot of anxiety right up front.