Tropical Runner Rugs

How a Tropical Runner Rugs Can Highlight Your Room Decor

A tropical runner rug can highlight your room’s decor by complimenting your color scheme and establishing a theme. Whether you’re going full-in on a tropical design or you just want simple references to tropical territories, decorating with a tropical runner area rug is a surefire way to add in style and to do it your way. 

Decorating With a Tropical Runner Rug

When you’re looking to pair a tropical runner rug with other decorations, there are a few ways you can go about it. One easy and natural way is to take the color scheme of the rug and use accents and decor that fall into that same color scheme (although the shades don’t have to be identical to one another--just the same tone and family). The other way you can decorate alongside your tropical runner rug is to look at the imagery and pattern of your rug and use similar shapes and items around the room. For example, if your rug has palm leaves in it, you can include palm leaves in your greenery or in the wall art. 

Choosing Which Tropical Runner Rug is Right for You

Because there are so many options for tropical runner area rugs, you may be wondering how to start your search. Well, here are some key areas to think through that will help steer you in the right direction. 

Position: You likely have a position in mind for your tropical runner rug, but consider these typical and non-typical ways to decorate with a runner. 

• Living Room: In small living rooms, you can place a runner rug in front of your main sofa. Or, if you have a small path behind your sofa, use a runner there to make that path something special. 
• Bedroom: If your bed is pushed off to one side of the room (or not), you can place a runner rug along one side of the bed. This is especially handy if you want a subtle touch of tropical design versus a large tropical area rug that could dominate the room. 
• Kitchen: In galley kitchens or kitchens with an island, a tropical runner area rug can fit in naturally in a narrow path or in front of a sink where you often stand still for long periods of time. 
• Bathroom: If you have a double vanity or a narrow path, you can fill that space with a tropical runner in your bathroom. 
• Entryway: In narrow entryways, a tropical runner rug can establish a path when it’s centered in the room and leads your guests further in. 

Size: Tropical runner rugs come in a variety of sizes, with some being wider and/or longer than others. Take a good look at your space and choose a rug that scales correctly to the room--that is, the rug is balanced with the other items and the size of the room itself so that it doesn’t look too large or too small. Fortunately, scale often is easy to discern by eye since you can see when something is out of balance. 

Pattern: Tropical design rug runners come in a variety of patterns, with some showing off traditional palm leaves and others displaying jungle scenes, floral arrangements, and other motifs. The density of the pattern, how small or large the details are, and what makes up the pattern are three factors to consider when it comes to choosing a rug that not only fits your style, but also strikes whatever tone you’re going for. If you’re going for minimalist and modern, choose a pattern that is more streamlined. If you want something that leans fully into the tropical theme, select a rug that loudly and proudly shows off those images. 

Color: Some people want that loud and proud tropical vibe, while others want a simple touch. Pattern plays into that, but so does the color scheme. Rugs that use primarily neutral tones like beige can fit in with more subdued and subtle design. However, rugs that use bright greens, pinks, and blues can fit in with rooms that really blend into the theme. Whichever way you’re going, think about the colors in the rug and how it sets the mood.

Ideas and Advice

Check out our latest how to's + design tips to find the perfect rug for your space.

Rug Buying Guide

How to Clean a Rug

How to Keep Rugs from Sliding