Printed Area Rugs

How a Printed Area Rug Can Highlight Your Room Decor

A printed area rug can highlight your room’s decor by reinforcing the room’s theme, complementing the color scheme, and establishing the tone. A rug doesn’t have to detract from your decor; it should add to it by working together to create a unified vision.

Decorating With a Printed Area Rug

When you’re decorating with a printed area rug, you’re not limited to a particular style or color palette. Printed rugs come in what you normally think of as prints (animal prints included) and also come in other designs that are printed onto the rug. Whatever look you’re hoping to achieve, there’s a printed area rug out there that’s just right for you.

Choosing Which Printed Area Rug is Right for You

As you try to find the rug that’s perfect for you, think through these key areas. 

Position: First, determine your room’s layout and how the rug fits into it. There are many ways to do a room’s layout, so take these guidelines as ideas to get you started. 

Living Room: Printed area rugs can be the perfect piece to go with your main seating area. You have the choice of layering the rug with the furniture by placing it under the front legs or all the way under the seats (or not overlapping them at all). 

Dining Room: When it comes to your dining room, you’ll likely center your rug beneath the table. Be sure to leave about two-three feet of excess on the sides so the chairs can comfortably be pushed in or pulled out.

Bedroom: A common layout in bedrooms is to place your rug directly under the bed either all the way under it or under the bottom two-thirds of it. If your bed is off-center with the room, you may want to center a rug in the middle of the room itself to serve as a focal point and path to the bed.

Kitchen: 2x3 and 3x5 printed area rugs are ideal in front of kitchen sinks or stovetops. If you have a galley kitchen or a kitchen with an island, try styling it with a printed runner rug in front of the sink.

Bathroom: Similar to the kitchen, you can place a small printed rug in front of any sinks you have, but they also go well in front of tubs or showers. Runners are also fitting for double vanities or narrow pathways. 

Size/Shape: Now that the layout is settled, it’s time to finalize the size and shape of your printed area rug. The most common shapes are round, rectangular, and runner, and these shapes work well in a majority of rooms. Otherwise, consider another shape for uniquely shaped rooms or just to make a statement. 

Pattern: Printed area rugs come in all sorts of different designs. Some will specifically refer to animal prints like cow hide, zebra prints, cheetah prints, deer prints, and other animal prints. However, printing itself also refers to a specific finish of rug, so you’ll find designs that are oriental, persian, abstract, and so on. Be sure to choose a pattern that connects thematically to the rest of the room and isn’t too busy or too basic for the space. 

Color: Pattern is a big part of defining the rug’s style, but so is the color palette. Each interior design style has their own colors associated with it, and they each use color differently depending on what tone they want to strike. For example, a deep burgundy conveys a different mood than a rusted red. Choose a palette that fits the mood of the rest of the room and makes your room feel like you to make your home a reflection of you and your style.

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