A room with ugly flooring, whether it's stained carpet or worn wood, can seem like a daunting challenge – especially for a renter. Take a tip from Riki & Allen's Texas-Modern Remodel and layer mismatched area rugs to cover a large room. After the jump, we'll point you in the direction of a few affordable rugs and offer tips for putting it all together…
DIY:
• To create the bohemian look of layered rugs as we see in Riki & Allen's dining area, look for inexpensive rugs in coordinating colors. In a very large room it may make the most sense to buy a few large rugs, even if it means shopping for remnants or picking up vintage rugs from flea markets. Use the large rugs to cover wide swaths of the room and fill in with smaller rugs.
• In this Home Hack from 2010 — How To Create a Quick, Cheap Rug — we see how to create one big rug out a number of low-cost rag rugs, like the one from Kmart below. By using cotton yarn and a large needle, we can sew the rugs together ... and in the process create a cute design with the stitches. Stitching together ten 20" x 40" rugs would give you a rug that's more than 8' x 16"!
• You can use the incredibly affordable ERSLEV rug from IKEA (only $40!), along with the post showing you How to Make a Striped Rug, to create affordable one-of-a-kind rug..
Buy:
• 4' x 6' Natural/Rust Reversible Printed Rug from World Market, $59.99
• 4'11" x 6'7" ERSLEV Flatwoven Rug from IKEA, $39.99
• 20" x 40" Essential Home Multi-Colored Rag Rug from K-Mart, $3.99
• 2' x 3' Yacht Stripe Navy Woven Cotton Rug from Dash & Albert, $30
• 4' x 6' Ikat Rug from Urban Outfitters, $59.00
Images: 1. Riki & Allen's Texas-Modern Remodel; All others as credited above
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moving into a new, carpeted, apartment next week and i sorely needed this post!
Do not try this at home...
And know how to check for bedbugs on any thrifted furniture item! Ask The Google if unsure...
thanks but no thanks
the inspiration was here for any interested parties in the house tour - enough with the recycling posts already - think FRESH
hey, i will cut...a rug. jk!
what about nice clean carpet showroom samples...
i have the yet unrealized idea to go to flooring centers and ask if they have sample books of discontinued items, think kind of like flor tiles. buy a roll of carpet padding, they're cheap. glue samples to padding. cut out if stained. duct tape new padding in place if removing carpet tile damags the padding.
I like the idea of putting several different small area rugs side by side to create a larger more interesting one. Of course, the person has to have a good eye for these things. You can't just pick and choose any rug. I don't mean to throw big names out there, but West Elm has a good example of this in their latest catalog.
Also, I sorta did this too. Well, I bought two of the same 2x3 rugs (because I really needed a 30"x50" rug) to cover the ugly part where the tile where the entrance door to the apt. is and the parquet floor to the rest of the apartment meet. The rugs are patterned so it was very easy to pull off--same color, same pattern, same size. They aren't stitched though.
I solved the problem by purchasing a 10' x 12' semi-antique persian rug on eBay last week and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.
Have a nice *trip.*
I love everything about this room except for the floor. The idea is brilliant, but looks a bit too shabby for this particular place.
Wasn't this part of the addition to their home that they planned out? Why would they deliberately put in floors they didn't like? Maybe I'm not remembering correctly and at was already there.
Anyway, I've been trying to do this in my kitchen/eating area. Not a good look.
Funny, this was the ONLY element of this house tour I really had a problem with. I, personally, though it looked silly and detracted from the amazing "other stuff" (architecture, decor) going on in the rest of the room.
Cover an ugly floor with ugly rugs.
I also don't agree with this approach to floorcovering. Frankly, it's ugly. If you're going to attempt to combine rugs into a bigger floorcovering, you should use multiple copies of the same rug. However, this approach only works with fringeless, thick pile rugs, with a concealed edge binding, and a limited number of rug designs where the pattern continues across the multiple rugs to create a cohesive whole. Otherwise you're creating an ugly patchwork floor and setting yourself up for a trip hazard.
With the existence of Craigslist, ebay and other online rug sources purchasing an appropriately sized rug is easy and inexpensive. Stitching together disparate rugs to create a larger area rug is time consuming, unnecessary and if you don't know what you're doing, dangerous as well. .
Layered rugs can look amazing, as in yurt homes in central Asia and Mongolia. Granted, in that setting the rugs tend to be full of vibrant color and pattern and have interesting "patina" from years of use. But in an otherwise ordinary north American home? I don't get it; the rugs look out of place and sloppy. Why not spend the same amount of money on new flooring or an appropriately-sized area rug?
glad to see 85 likes vs. our 17 cmmnts
(ps: i should pick less at other remarks tho & bugger off to Scraps, always xcited to c this; a rug showroom window i passed recently featured a large area rug made from carpet sample tiles, all simple patterned shades of green, truly lovely.)
i like it. the whole vibe is very north african, i think the rugs are in tune with the (equally lovely) lanterns.
and definitely much nicer, more attractive, and more original than some fugly wall-to-wall. and easier to clean, no doubt!
I LOVE the layered rugs look! Nothing feels so luxe and generous as layered rugs and kilims underfoot, esp if they are lovely exotic eastern rugs... I've gotten some lovely ones lately from ebay, at great prices! Why pay more for mass produced cr*p??