How to Choose a Rug Colour

When it comes to interior design, a rug can define or change the atmosphere of a room instantly. That’s why choosing a rug, especially an area rug, requires careful consideration. One of the most important elements of a rug is its colour, making ‘what colour rug should I get?’ one of the most common interior questions.

So, for those of you who are struggling with how to choose a rug colour that’s timeless, practical and looks good, we’re going to share our top pieces of advice.

How to Choose a Rug Colour

Room Size

The size of the room you are working with is a design feature that can impact what colour rug you should choose. Appreciating the relationship between room colour and room size will help you better understand how to choose a rug colour.

For a smaller room, you can create the illusion of more space by choosing a light coloured rug. Rugs with natural hues work great for this. They’re also a timeless choice and complement both modern and boho interiors. If you want to make your space feel bigger, we recommend exploring cream or beige coloured rugs.

On the other hand, for a large, open-plan room, you can use a dark rug to serve as a focal point and help to add definition to your space. Creating living spaces that are more open and sociable is a growing trend, and dark, rich colour palettes are also increasing in popularity. Blue is the colour of the moment, so browsing some of our stunning, blue rugs is a great starting point.

Atmosphere

The colour of your rug will influence the overall atmosphere of your room, especially if you’re using an area rug to fill your floor space. The dominant colours in a room can dictate how you feel when using that room, so the atmosphere is important to consider if you do need help with area rug colour options.

To make a living room feel cosy, dark and natural colours work nicely. Natural hues are calming, and dark colours help to make a space feel more intimate.

If you want to achieve a room that feels light and airy, light and natural coloured rugs will do the trick.

For a sunny and bright room, like a conservatory, cool coloured rugs will add a feeling of serenity to your space. Pastel blue and sage green rugs would help to create a calm environment. On the other hand, rugs that are yellow, orange or red instantly add warmth to space.

Multi-coloured, patterned rugs work perfectly for art-deco living spaces. Vibrant, colourful rugs are unique and full of character and will create an atmosphere that feels uplifting and fun.

Personal Style

We want to stress the importance of personal style when it comes to how to choose a rug colour. Design features, like rugs, showcase your personality and character, so don’t let the pressure to stick to trends influence your decisions too heavily.

Interior design trends, including popular colour palettes, come and go. So, when you’re coming to a decision on what colour rug you want in your home, think about your personal style, and whether or not your affinity for a trend will be short-lived!

Thinking about your personal style is a great place to start if you need some help with area rug colour choices. Area rugs are designed to dominate a space, and they are a powerful tool in dictating the overall style of a room. So, be sure to choose a colour that really speaks to you.

If you’re decorating a child’s bedroom or playroom, it’s definitely worth getting their input as to what colours they want in their space. This way, you’ll be sure they really enjoy spending time in their room. Kids’ style preferences will change more often as they grow, so opting for a colourful, small rug for their room is a good idea.

Existing Colours

A common piece of advice from interior designers is to ‘start with the rug’ to help you anchor your room’s overall style, theme and décor. If you’re in a position to do this, it’s definitely worth a try! However, most people already have furniture, décor and painted walls that they can’t switch out. So, when it comes to how to choose a rug colour, it makes sense to consider the existing colour palette in the room you’re working in.

There’s no point wasting time trying to perfectly match up your rug colour to the colours in your room. In fact, if you try too hard to do that, you’re probably going to be left with a space that feels artificial. Instead, focus on finding a rug that shares similar hues with your current interior design pieces. 

‘Should rugs match wall colours?’. It’s a frequent question, and we would say they certainly don’t have to! If your rug is the same colour as your walls, it will be distracting, and the impact of your rug will be lost. However, choosing a rug that complements or shares similar hues with your walls will create a solid foundation for your room’s overall style. You can find some of our favourite interior colour combinations here.

If your room’s design is muted and monochrome, you could choose a bright, bold rug to act as a feature. Or, you could choose a grey or black rug to complement the existing colours.

Likewise, if your room has pops of colour, you could choose a neutral rug as to not distract from your décor. Alternatively, you could find a rug that features similar colours as your upholstered furniture, soft furnishings, artwork or other decorative pieces.

We hope that this guide has helped you to feel inspired and confident with how to choose a rug colour! Take a look at our collection of rugs, and be sure to find a colour you love.

Or, for even more interior insight, check out our rug colour guide and our other blog posts.