Area rugs

[teachermom2834]

I am so not a home decorator-

We are trying to move from the phase in life where we aren’t just trying to keep our head above water but actually fix things up and invest in higher quality items that will enhance our enjoyment of our home and will last. We are finally renovating our basement bedroom/bathroom and hopefully making it a warm and comfortable place when adult kiddos return home for visits (or if they need to return here to live for any reason)

That said, I am looking for a nice area rug to put down over a vinyl plank floor. I come from the Big Lots/Walmart school of shopping and I’m still always looking to be frugal. But- it would be nice to make this room as warm and comfy as possible. I’d be willing to spend a little extra for something that looks really nice/feels nice underfoot. 
 

Am I looking for a certain fiber? A certain pile height or thickness? Where should I be shopping? We have the big box stores but I am willing to order online.

These questions seem so silly but moving past the stage of surviving on hand me downs to actually trying to invest in something you enjoy can be very confusing!

[MercyA]

No specific recommendations, but I love, love, love my Hook and Loom rugs. The flat weave cotton ones are washable! 

[Ottakee]

I have always heard that a good pad under it really helps any carpet.  

I am the Walmart/big lots type spender too....only if the thrift stores don't have it.

 

My DD and sil just got a nice rug from Home Depot that was nicer than Walmart but similar price.   Also, our local carpet store will sell you remnents of higher quality carpet and Bind the edges and turn it into a nice area rug, even in a custom size.

[aggie96]

My favorite "less expensive" brand of rug is Safavieh. I have several. I think they are reasonably priced vs quality. I have ordered rugs from Overstock many times over several years. The experience has always been good, BUT I have never had to return one after I opened/unrolled it. Therefore, I cannot speak to how well that experience would go. Amazon and Home Depot (and possibly others) carry this brand, also. I just like the wide selection at Overstock. I have a couple of other brands, also, but Safavieh has been spot on every time. The rugs look like the pics and description given.

As an example, I have this rug in a 10x14. https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Safavieh-Hudson-Quatrefoil-Glam-Shag-Grey-Ivory-Runner-Rug-23-x-8-Runner/9773461/product.html?option=14704230 

[prairiewindmomma]

Wayfair sells really nice rug pads. 
 

 

[aggie96]

I agree that rug pads can make a difference; however, I have gone without them (to save money) on "softer" flooring such as engineered wood, vinyl plank, and carpet. I now have tile as the main flooring throughout and could not do without the rug pads for sure. The decision to use a pad has depended on cost, damage to floor, how much use, type of rug and location for me.

[SanDiegoMom]

So I started with Target rugs, which I found too thin... now we have Home Depot rugs, which look great and are thick but shed enormously.  So every time I vacuum it fills the vacuum with fiber or whatnot.  So now I am looking to spend more money -- I am looking at Grandin Road rugs which look beautiful but are pricey -- 600-900 dollars for the size I am looking for. They are not supposed to shed.  But I have to save up for them so I cannot give a review! 

[prairiewindmomma]

I have not had good luck with rugs from Target or Home Depot.  I forgot to mention this earlier, but my trick is to go to Wayfair and find a rug on sale that at least 1000 people have reviewed on. I like their sort by size feature.  I bought a 9x12 rug from them three years ago for <$300.  There are great sales there if you watch closely!

[kbutton]

Rug pads: how do you know it won't damage your flooring? Years ago, my parents had non-skid rugs that left their bathroom floor discolored, and I have been paranoid ever since.

I am a rug shopping novice as well, but we were gifted a barely used rug from friends that moved and no longer had room in their house. I can say, confidently, that it needs a higher thread count. The sort of formal design on the rug always looks smooshed because the fibers don't stay upright. It also always looked smooshed unless we vacuum it every day, which is a pain. The suction on the vacuum is too strong, but if I ease off the suction, the fibers don't pull up. (Would a rug pad change this?) Having a gray background with smooshed fibers just makes the rug look like it's almost clean all the time--bleh. I keep it because the flooring that the previous owners installed is way too dark for the lighting of the house, and the rug brightens things up considerably. 

OP, thanks for starting this thread! 

[sassenach]

I've ordered from Rugs USA, Overstock, and Wayfair. Also got an unbelievable deal at Tuesday Mornings once. The best advice I've heard and followed is to buy the biggest rug you can fit into the space. Do not put a 5' x 7' rug in a 15' by 20' living room. I like buying online because you get reviews and can often learn how the rug will age.

[prairiewindmomma]

9 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Rug pads: how do you know it won't damage your flooring?

You really have to look to the materials involved.  Typically damage is caused by a rubberized backing A felt only pad will not damage your floor.

[gardenmom5]

I've purchased wool area rugs off ebay and amazon.  Handmade (low kpsi) from the middle east  (I wanted 'quieter' colors so they were replaced.), and machine made (higher kpsi, thicker pile, shed like crazy the first year.  are still shedding.)

stay away from polypropylene - it attracts dirt.

[Acadie]

4 hours ago, MercyA said:

No specific recommendations, but I love, love, love my Hook and Loom rugs. The flat weave cotton ones are washable! 

Mercy, these are really gorgeous, and I love that they're made of natural materials. Could you tell us how the cotton or wool ones feel to the touch? I'm looking for something to put in our basement where my teens often sit on the floor to watch TV and I spread out my mat to do yoga. Doesn't need to be super soft but hopefully not uncomfortably scratchy.

And if you've used a certain type of pad underneath I'd love to hear that too! 

[Katy]

It won't be a quick fix, but I highly recommend scouring estate sales.  I've had the best luck there finding Persian rugs. My favorite is the Ziegler or Mahal style.  They're wool, hand loomed, and if you catch them a couple of hours before the last day of the sale you might be able to snag a houseful of large wool vintage and antique rugs for $1000-1200.  You need to go before the end of the sale on the last day and ask the business owner what kind of discount you might get if you buy this, this, this, and this rug together.   It will be 80-95% less than retail, and you might end up with something somewhat valuable for far less than something new from a discount store.  Wool rugs age and fade in this beautiful way that can't be replicated in polyester.

You can also find nicer (wool, but newer) smaller rugs suitable for areas like kitchens.

[MercyA]

2 hours ago, Acadie said:

Mercy, these are really gorgeous, and I love that they're made of natural materials. Could you tell us how the cotton or wool ones feel to the touch? I'm looking for something to put in our basement where my teens often sit on the floor to watch TV and I spread out my mat to do yoga. Doesn't need to be super soft but hopefully not uncomfortably scratchy.

And if you've used a certain type of pad underneath I'd love to hear that too! 

I only have the flatweave cotton ones. They are not at all scratchy and I like the feel of them underfoot, but they are just kind of a textured, slightly-but-not-uncomfortably bumpy cotton, if that makes sense.You would probably want to try the loom-hooked ones, which they call "springy and plush". 🙂 My rugs cover the wood floor in my kitchen and I don't use a pad under them. Because they are in the kitchen, I wanted the flatweave machine-washable kind.

It helped us a lot to order swatches from Hook and Loom before deciding! (And the swatches make great mug rugs.)

[Jann in TX]

We went to a carpet store and purchased a remnant of a good quality carpet (soft)-- it was cut to size and bound.   We ended up with 2 rugs (12 X 17 and 12X 7) and added a nice pet proof-padding (regular carpet pad not special for area rugs) for total of $700.  In our case we were fine with a solid color.  We had a very nice Persian wool rug many years ago-- it was great (after the shedding year) but was also $$$$.

These we put over stained concrete and are so comfortable-- easy to vacuum and have stain protection too!  We needed to quiet the echo in our great room as well as a soft place for grand baby to play.  Very happy with our choice!

 

[MercyA]

7 hours ago, kbutton said:

 

7 hours ago, kbutton said:

Rug pads: how do you know it won't damage your flooring? Years ago, my parents had non-skid rugs that left their bathroom floor discolored, and I have been paranoid ever since.

 

7 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

You really have to look to the materials involved.  Typically damage is caused by a rubberized backing A felt only pad will not damage your floor.

 

Sorry for the wonky formatting.

Latex backing will absolutely damage floors. I have found that *natural* rubber, made without adhesives, does not. We use these rug pads on our vinyl and wood floors and they've been great: rugpadcorner.com

[J-rap]

If this is for kids' rooms and the basement, I don't think you need a nice wool rug.  We got a couple very decent and nice looking rugs for our new home on allmodern.com (I think they're a sub-company of Wayfair).  Our main one was $200 for a 7.6 X 10 rug.  It's had lots of wear by now including pets, and it still looks beautiful.  I just make sure a product has lots of excellent reviews.  

We actually have it on top of short carpet, secured with carpet tape.  But in our old home which was all hardwood floors, we used a carpet pad.  It didn't leave any permanent marks. 

I'd vote for the shorter pile...  They don't require as much maintenance and tend to look nicer, longer, between vacuums.  

I just looked at our main living room rug and it is tufted nylon.  (?)  Anyway, it looks really beautiful!