How to Coordinate Rugs Throughout Your Home: Beginner's Guide

Whether you have a cool industrial loft space, a studio apartment, or a modern home with an open floor plan, these free-flowing layouts all pose the same design dilemma when it comes to choosing rugs. How does one mix and match different rug styles without creating visual chaos and maintaining cohesiveness?!

While open floor plans maximize square footage and offer the light, bright, and airy aesthetic, they make it virtually impossible to give each room its own signature style. Instead, all rooms exist in the same area and therefore should complement one another, starting with the rugs.

So if you're dealing with this dilemma, read ahead - we have some simple, non-scary tips for you.

1. Vary scale

To create subtle contrast, vary the scale of the print from rug to rug. In the above bedrooms, for example, the two rugs share a color palette, but switch it up when it comes to repeat and scale. This visual variation keeps things interesting and cohesive at the same time.

2. Go tonal

For a foolproof rug aesthetic, work within a consistent color scheme, but choose mixed patterns for a sense of complementary separation. The first is a grounded, centered design, while the second is less patterned.

3. Coordinate colors

Always work within a coordinated palette to tie disparate rug styles together. But you don’t have to go with a monochrome color scheme — choose shades that play well with each other and complement the surrounding tones in the furniture and decor.

4. Contrast texture

You can also create balance and contrast via texture in addition to color palette.

5. Mix old and new

When in doubt, juxtapose a modern clean rug with a vintage beauty, like in the above home. Not only do the colors harmonize with each other, but the mix of minimalistic with old-world designs keeps things feeling fresh and interesting.

6. Go distressed

When in doubt, pair a graphic, modern print with its polar opposite: distressed and abstract. The stark contrast in patterns feels interesting, while the neutral color scheme unifies the two rooms.

-Raph