The problem

Early in my design career I ran into a problem while staging a space with mid century furniture. I knew every piece was a showstopper but yet, it didn’t feel right. Everything felt cold, the room felt like a massive void with furniture in it, and the pieces just felt like they were all floating on their own. The first realtor showing was within days and I hadn’t planned for any snags. What was missing? What hadn’t I thought of?

Then, it came to me: I needed a rug.

The solution

I desperately needed a rug that would pull everything together and I needed it FAST. I hit the nearest Homesense and got lucky. I found a beautiful wool rug that was neutral but had lots of texture and a simple criss cross thread pattern. I brought the rug back to the space, pulled a leg of every chair onto the rug and it clicked. Somehow the space felt instantly warm and cozy. The harsh lines of my vintage pieces were softened by the textures of the rug. I added some throw cushions to pull the colours together and I was done.

The North rug from EQ3 is a great example of something that adds texture but is still modern.

When it comes to styling mid-mod furniture, a common occurrence is that the overall space feels cold and unwelcoming. Without texture, the minimalist features of the furniture tends to make spaces feel a bit stark, like an office, which is what a lot of classic mid-century furniture was designed for.

View more of The Treehouse project here.

It makes sense that the mid-century era is also known for its bold fabric choices with lots of colour, pattern, and textures. This is what is needed to make a space feel like it's lived in and comfortable. If you look at photos of the iconic Eames house (check out this LA Times story here, they draped all of their spaces in rugs, throws, and cushions. Compared to other well known architect homes like Neutra and Mies, the Eames house oozes with character and warmth, less commonly found in homes of this iconic era.

Today, I see rugs as an integral part of any room design. There are endless options to choose from so I am breaking down four things to look for in a rug that will pull your space together.

1. Texture

Soft lines are important for melding hardlined furniture together. Look for natural textiles such as sisal, jute, and wool.

If you are going towards a more traditional route like a Persian style rug then look for something with a low pile height to keep the lines clean.

We want to keep shag rugs in the 70s for a little longer, too much pile height will let your rug take over the space and you want the mid-century pieces to shine instead.

2. Style Direction

When you are furnishing a space, often you may have a few styles of furniture that you want to pull together. If that side table you inherited from your grandmother isn’t working with your minimal modern space, try pulling it together with a compromising rug.

Rugs have a way of dictating the style direction of a space. Here are four styles of rug that all work with the same furniture and result in very different overall spaces.

3. Size

The size of your rug should actually be number 1 on our list. If your rug isn’t sized right, none of these other factors will help pull your space together.

You should look for the biggest size rug your room can handle.

There’s more to discuss here but for a quick rule:

For the living room, the minimum size should have the front legs of all seating on the rug.
For the dining room, the minimum size should allow all of the chairs to be on the rug when people are seated at the table.

4. Colour

When you are trying to pull together a space, colour is really important. You want to pick something that ties in elements of your space.

This might mean a few things but usually it means sticking within the colour palette of the rest of the pieces in your room.

View more of the Vintage Haven project here.

If you are trying to warm up your space, avoid light blues and blue-greys, these will only enhance the harsh lines.

If you are trying to minimize an overwhelming floor colour, choose something on the opposite side of the colour wheel (ie: blue for red/orange floors, green for pink floors).

4 things to look for when choosing a rug to pull your space together