apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I didn't know that some people considered this taboo. We have always done this - sometime to cover ugly carpet, sometimes to divide space, and sometimes because we happened to have a rug.

I'm curious why it could be considered improper or wrong.

It's considered taboo because it's redundant to have carpet on carpet. Imagine painting faux marble on actual marble, I think it's the same logic at work. Personally I don't like it because I loathe wall to wall carpeting.

Oh wow! Awesome. Thank you!

I will reconsider my position...(thinking)...

It seems like it works best if there is a clear texture difference. My favorite juxtaposition is probably the 3rd example.

I just had a thought...what about a rug called an anti-rug, designed for carpeted apartments and it is actually a tapestry if you will of wood. So it is the reverse of a hardwood floor with a rug...hmmm...too weird?

I don't think wall-to-wall makes rugs redundant in a decor sense. I always hate it when I see furniture (especially a living room arrangement) floating in a sea of beige carpet.

Slowdown has it absolutely right: "I always hate it when I see furniture floating in a sea of beige carpet." This is exactly what my problem was before I added a rug. A carpet over wall to wall carpeting serves the same decor function it does over wood floor. And even in the comfort area, it can be an improvement - many area rugs have a nice soft texture whereas wall to wall carpeting, especially if it has been in the apartment for a while, may not feel as nice. May not be an improvement in terms of the temp, but otherwise it can be just as practical as it is pretty. I, for one, now have the desire to sit on the floor around the coffee table - which I never did without a rug.

Some of us renters just can't do anything about our wall-to-wall carpet. A rug adds a pop of color and can unify a room, regardless of what is underneath it.

I love our rug!

http://thewifeofanartist.blogspot.com/2009/07/head-cleared.html

If, whether by choice or circumstance, you happen to have wall-to-wall carpet, I think placing contrasting smaller rugs on top can have brilliant results (best illustrated in pic #2, IMO).

If it's 'redundant' to have carpet on carpet, is it also redundant to have sheets on sheets? ... draperies over sheers? ... runners on tablecloths? Okay, redundant maybe, in the strictest sense of the word, but certainly not taboo!

i agree with livc, one shouldn't be penalized for living in a wall-to-wall carpeted rental. one other plus is that it is easier to wash a rug (especially in a foyer) than it is to keep the carpet clean.

The artwork, furniture and rug on carpet reminds me of my grandparents house in the 70's. The room has a certain nostalgic comfort to it. I like it.

Never felt it taboo or redundant, especially if the area rug has enough contrast to off set the carpet itself.

About the only exception to this rug on carpet is if the room itself is quite small and you have to place the furniture nearly to the walls then you *could* get away w/out any but in most apartments or homes if sizeable rooms, an area rug to defin dining and/or living conversation areas are preferable.

The first pic is much my situation except I have a red oriantal that is too small for the space but does add a punch of color to the blue/gray wall to wall carpeting which I much prefer over the more typical beige but neither is my preference to hardwood floors and I am thinking a white shag would be fabulous for defining the living area in my place.

Ooops, I think I just did a run on sentence/paragraph. :-(

So here's my living room with and without some sheep skin in front of the couch...http://tiny.cc/t6IWo (original post: http://tiny.cc/LWqfv)

I have to say it looks better on the picture to have that added contrast and something grounding the space, but somehow I still shy away from it in real life.

Maybe its because when I tried a rug for a month, it always moved around and had waves and lumps in it and I was always straightening it out. It must not have been thick enough.

Any tips for keeping rugs from sliding and bunching on carpet?

I don't want to play devil's advocate, but I am alone in feeling there is a difference between carpeting and rugs? I don't think its redundant to put a decorative piece (rug) over flooring (carpet). To me, having wall to wall carpeting is like saying you have hardwood floors, or marble, or linoleum. Its what the floors are. Rugs then seem to be the decorative piece for floors, like a print or painting on the wall. In the case of redundancy, then you might as well say its also redundant to put a framed piece on the wall if its been painted or wallpapered.

I hope this isn't too much info but...

I had a red shag rug I loved over one apartment's carpet then another (first berber, second normal pile, both beige). One of my cats continually mistook it for a litter box. So sad. I'd love to get another one that is less... plush? But I don't know.

Posting just in case anyone's had the same issue. Or to just get sympathy :)

Maybe just a shout-out for wall-to-wall carpeting? Is it really so awful??

LOL I have to say I think the example of painting faux marble on marble has to be the silliest one I've ever heard. Sorry kevoncubine, it's nothing like that at all!

I've never thought of rug-on-carpet as taboo for the reasons everyone else said above - rugs unite a room, furniture on a sea of beige looks lost. I love wooden floors as much as anyone but even now I own my house I'm not going to rip out all my carpets, in some rooms they just work better. But I'm definitely going to stick rugs wherever I want too.

Since I have wall to wall carpeting, but would prefer hardwood....just can't afford it....I have a couple of throw rugs on the carpet to break it up a bit. I don't think it looks awful.

Carpet on carpet does look a bit odd, but I guess it's all up to what rug you put in, if it's something that is just as plain as the 'sea of beige carpet', then it might just add to the dullness. But if we use the rug as a "furniture" element, in that I mean - as a key visual color and space filling element such as a long chaise, or a prominent lounge suite.. like in images #2, I think it works best that way, where the rug actually does a great deal accentuating the elements of the room. Everything ties in so well, you don't immediately notice that all of it is happening over a beige carpet. Personally I don't like the orange-olive theme there, great furnishing and styling though. Anyways, I prefer hardwood as well, but it's pricey.

I don't get rugs on top of carpet - it seems pointless. If the carpet is bad, either move if you are renting or replace it if you own. It's like trying to hide where some paint has peeled off the wall - by trying to cover it up, more people will notice the default.