When Autumn begins to slide into Winter and we start thinking warm thoughts about hot chocolate, hibernation and hygge (remember that?), it’s time to get serious about getting cosy. Let’s face it, we’re going to be spending a lot of hours inside so it’s time to rug up – quite literally.
“A rug is a great place to start when adding layers to your home to make it all nice and cosy for winter,” says Jodi Hall, west elm‘s national visual manager. “It’s also an easy reference when deciding on other pieces, like cushions and throws. Just work with the colours of your rug and you can’t go wrong.”
Choosing a rug can feel a bit daunting, but it needn’t. Start by deciding what floor plan is best for your space. For instance, if you’re looking for a living room rug there are two tried-and-tested layouts. The first is referred to as the ‘classic’, and it’s where you have a sofa or armchairs against a wall. Here, you want the rug to be big enough to fit under the front legs of the furniture, but not stretch as far as the wall. The second is known as the ‘floating’ layout, where your furniture is in the centre of the room. For this, choose a rug large enough to fit under all four legs of each piece of furniture.
“Both these layouts work because the furniture is connected to the rug in the right proportions to the room,” explains Jodi. “So everything is visually anchored and balanced. Bedrooms often stump people, but I like to use a large rug under the bottom two thirds of the bed. It always looks good.”
Next things to consider are colour and pattern. If the room already has lots going on, a solid colour or neutral rug will bring things down to earth. But if your sofa and other pieces are quite simple, a patterned rug will make them pop. “For foolproof colour coordination, match the secondary colour in the rug to your sofa or other key pieces of furniture,” says Jodi.
At west elm, a couple of great neutral choices are the bestselling Vines Wool Rug, made of 100 percent wool and handcrafted in India, which has a subtle but sophisticated colour variation; and the Hand-Loomed Shine Rug that has a subtle shimmer. While both are neutral, they have another element of interest so never look flat or dull.
But if you’re set on something rich and sumptuous that will withstand the test of time, west elm’s Souk Wool Rug is a winner. A modern interpretation of a traditional Moroccan Berber, the classic charcoal and white colourway easily fits into any decorating style. It’s an all-round box ticker.
Whatever style, size, colour or pattern you lean towards, think of a rug as more than just a beautifully textured and insulating home warmer, but a piece of art for your floor. Each tuft, knot and loop are like paintbrush strokes coming together to form a rich masterpiece – but a masterpiece you can sink your toes into while binging on Netflix until Spring rolls around again!
Shop west elm rugs online or in store.
