Area Rugs- the foundation of a room

There are a lot of foundational clothing items on the market these days- Spanx, seamless panties, and a zillion choices for bras.  The pieces you choose directly affect how the rest of your clothes will look on you.  You must choose wisely in order to look your best.  You can apply the same principle to area rug selection.  Choose wisely or risk ruining the whole vibe of your space.

Area rugs can be tricky.  People often make the mistake of purchasing rugs that are far too small for their space.  A couple of factors go into this mistake-

1. lack of understanding for a rug’s purpose

2. the cost of buying a rug. 

Let’s start with talking about an area rug’s purpose. A rug is the foundation of a room.  It’s the first thing you should select when creating a space. Why?, you ask. A rug’s pattern and color scheme is the basis for every other decision you make in a space. The colors in the rug are used as a basis for choosing color for your walls and fabrics, and your pattern will dictate the design style of the whole space.

A rug acts as an anchor for your seat grouping.  In large spaces, there are often multiple seat groupings.  Area rugs help define those seat groupings. 

 Remember earlier when I mentioned that people buy rugs that are too small?  This is where that becomes a problem.  If you are trying to tie together a conversation group of furniture that includes two sofas facing each other with a pair of chairs flanking one sofa, but your rug floats out in the middle under the coffee table, it is going to feel lost and will not be serving its purpose. 

Area rugs also serve as an element of warmth and provide sound absorption.  If you’ve ever walked around barefoot in a room with hardwood floors you know it can be chilly.  Rugs provide softness underfoot and feel warmer than the hard surface flooring.  You’ll notice a big difference in noise when a room with hard flooring has a rug in it.  Without a rug, every little noise carries and can create an echo.  Adding a rug allows the sound to be absorbed therefore making multiple conversations and activities tolerable within the same space.

Onto the second factor for making a rug misstep… price. Price of area rugs can be subjective.  I can’t tell you how much money you should spend on a rug, only you know where you are comfortable budget-wise.  Research the construction of the rug you are interested in buying.  That will tell you all you need to know about why it is priced the way it is.

The purpose and the size of the rug go hand in hand.  You know that a rug anchors a seat grouping and you now know that floating a rug in the center of your furniture is not the way to go.  So how should a rug interact with the furniture? In an ideal world, all four legs of your upholstered furniture pieces sit atop your area rug.  In instances that this is not possible- whether it be an oddly shaped room, budget constraints, etc- you can cheat by just having the front two feet on the area rug.

In dining rooms, you should allow 2 feet from the edge of the table to the edge of the area rug so the dining chair can be pulled out from the table without getting caught on the rug's edge. You don't want your guests to be fighting the rug while trying to enjoy a meal at your table!

What a difference this little change makes!  Take a look at the rugs in your space plan- how do they measure up?  Could you tweak the placement to create a more refined look?  Do they anchor your seat grouping and follow the rule of thumb for leg placement? If not, go back in and adjust.  That’s the beauty of decorating, it’s fluid.

Celebrate Your Independence from Costly Decor: Great Items to Buy in July

Believe it or not July is the best time to buy home decor! One reason for this is that stores are eager to move items that are on the floor so they are having tons of sales this month to encourage people to buy! Summer is the least popular buying season so retailers have plenty of sales to combat this. Below are some great decor items to buy this month!

Window Treatments

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Window treatments can sometimes be the last thing you think of when decorating your space. You may look around and think why do I really need them? Good question! Window treatments do an amazing job of softening your whole space as well as serving a purpose of light control as well as privacy. This is why window treatments are a great item to go ahead and purchase this month when you come across one of the MANY sales!

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Area Rugs

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Area rugs are another great item to purchase this month. We suggest this because they can be a pricey investment depending on the type and size you choose. While they can be a bit costly, they can absolutely transform a space and bring it all together. This is another item that does a great job of softening your room which is always nice. 

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Art

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Purchasing art for your home is such a personal experience. We truly believe that you should fall in love with the art you buy because it is such a personal choice that is unique to you and your personality. That being said, art that you love may not always be the top on your priority list when it comes to your decor. This is another way you can take advantage of summer sales and buy that piece you've been eyeing! wayfair.com is one of our favorite places to find affordable and stylish art.

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Bedroom Refresh - Quick Tips for an Update

New Area Rug

thesouthernstyleguide.com

Adding an area rug to your bedroom or updating the one you’ve had for a while is a quick and easy way to update your space. Even if your bedroom is carpeted, adding an area rug on top adds color, dimension and even added warmth! Check out the diagram below for how to choose the correct rug size for your bedroom!

industrystandarddesign.com

Closet Organization

hometalk.com

Many times, our bedrooms are the last thing we think about cleaning or straightening up since we spend so much of our time if other rooms like the kitchen or the living room. Although this isn't the most fun way to refresh your bedroom, it will be one you will not regret. Adding closet organization will make your space be more functional and motivate you to keep it clean and organized which is always tough.

realsimple.com

Updated Lamps

PDR Interiors

Table lamps and floor lamps add so much warmth into your space and they are a key component in creating the style you are going for in your bedroom. You may have had the same lamps for years and years and by simply updating these for new ones you can make a beautiful statement! One common mistake people make is choosing lamps that are too small. These photos show examples of nicely proportioned lamps in relation to the nightstands and bed size.

ruemag.com

Creating a Cozy Bedroom for Cold Winter Days

Upholstered Headboards

clairebrodydesigns.com

One great way to add warmth to your bedroom and create a super cozy feel is to go with an upholstered headboard. It will add a great deal of softness to the space both visually and physically. The great thing about most upholstered headboards is you can attach them directly onto any bed frame with no problem so it can be an inexpensive alternative to buying a full head board and foot board set. 

bassettfurniture.com

Area Rugs

domino.com

Area rugs can add warmth and softness to any room in your home. Your bedroom should be your oasis and the most comfortable place in your home where you go to relax. This makes it the perfect place to add an area rug. Depending on your budget, you can make almost any size rug work. Ideally, you would want the area rug to start right before your night stands and extend out past the end of the bed. In most cases this would be an 8'x10' or 9'x12' rug for queen or king sized beds. If that size rug is just not in your budget, you can opt for a slightly smaller option and simply put the bottom portion of your bed on the rug. 

mydomaine.com

Art & Accessories that Make you Happy

classyclutter.com

Sometimes creating a warm and cozy feel in a space isn't always about actual soft and warm items. You can add to this feeling by simply filling your room with things that make you happy and are specific to your likes. This can be anything from photos in frames of the people you love, to trinkets that have sentimental value, or even something as simple as a piece of art that you just had to have!

lowstoluxe.com

Creating a Cozy Den/Living Room for Cold Winter Days

Layer Textures

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

If you want to create a cozy space in your home for these cold months, adding in layers of different textures will do just that. One of the easiest ways to do this is to place blankets in different fabrics and textures around the space. Draping them over sofa or chair corners, or even on an ottoman under a tray are all ways to incorporate this cozy feel. Another way to layer different textures is to add a smaller, softer area rug on top of a larger more simple rug. This is an inexpensive way to go about adding texture because of its smaller size.

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Add Lanterns with Flameless Candles to Create the Feeling of Warmth

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

We all know that candles instantly make any space feel more cozy and comfortable. The problem is, we don't all have excess candles to continuously burn to create that nice ambiance. Flameless candles are the remedy to this issue! Placing flameless candles in different sizes, into different sized lanterns will give you that warm feel you are going for. An unusable fireplace, a dead corner, or even a coffee table are all great places where you can add these to your decor.

homegoods.com

Lamp Lighting 

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

We cannot say it enough, lamp lighting immediately makes any room feel warmer and more inviting. Lets say you normally use an overhead light in your living room. Try adding a table lamp and a floor lamp to the space and turning off that overhead. You will see immediately what a difference this makes to the overall feel of the space!

Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors

Best Dressed

I love all things fashion.  In college I studied Merchandising, Apparel & Textiles which offered an emphasis on fashion while still being very applicable to the interior design world I am in now.  In my opinion dressing a room is very similar to dressing yourself.  There are a few key pieces that you must have to be on point.  

The Rug-  A rug in a room is like good undergarments on a lady.  That is your foundation for a good room.  Your outfit would be ruined if you had on a super-cute dress but didn’t wear seamless undies.  Or imagine how awful a shirt would look if (not to be too crass) your bra were too small.    We are appalled by this, but everyday people buy rugs that are too small for their space.  Don’t skimp on size!

Quality furniture- Trendy is fun, but it can be costly to keep up.  If we only buy clothing that is the latest trend, we would be shopping and spending a lot.  Our best bet is to find quality pieces that will stand the test of time that we can update with trendier accessories.  The same is true with furniture.  By selecting some classic upholstered pieces we set ourselves up to bring in trends through other elements in the room.  This helps us to avoid being unhappy with our sofa when newer models come into the stores.  

Glitz & Glam- Everyone has their preferred level of WOW! when it comes to accessories.  With some people, you can’t put enough diamonds on them.  With others,  a simple pair of stud earrings and their wedding ring is all they choose to wear.  I, myself, fall somewhere in the middle.  I think accessories are where you can afford to play around with trends and get a little funky.  Accessories in the home are not all that different from those we wear in fashion.  We have pillows, window treatments, candlesticks, finials, etc to layer upon the furniture just like we have bracelets, necklaces, belts, scarves and leggings to create a layered outfit on ourselves. 

Conversation pieces- I use my shoes as conversation pieces.  When the sky is dark and dreary but I am wearing a black & gray ensemble, I throw in bright yellow shoes for cheer.  I rarely select a plain shoe.  I’m gazing into my closet now and don’t see one pair that doesn’t have an oversized buckle, a fun texture or sheen, or a bold color to it.  The same should hold true for your art.  Select pieces that catch your eye and lead you around the room.  Think about what has meaning to you, what makes you feel comfortable and what might strike up conversation with your guests.  Those are the pieces you want on your walls.  Don’t feel like you have to put the same thing up all over.  Not every pair of shoes you have goes with every outfit, and your artwork won’t naturally fit in every room.  Mix it up with mirrors, painting, photos and framed prints.  

Think about some of these things and how you’ve dressed your house.  Does it really reflect you? 

Layering

Layering isn't just what you do when it's cold outside.  Layering is a great way to turn a room into the space you've dreamed about.  Here is an example of a client's room when she first called me in.  

The goal at this time was to select new paint colors for the whole house, one of the rooms being this dining room.  We picked a soothing but warm shade of green to show off the wood floors and furniture.   

 

Once that was complete she was ready to update the chair seats.  After narrowing down the choices we found a beautiful faux silk striped fabric that felt sophisticated but not too stuffy.  

A few months later a rug was the item of choice.  Again, we went for something that wasn't too formal but it coordinated with the fabric and paint in the room and provided a soft barrier between the hardwood floors and the table & chairs.  

What we did was take a layered approach to decorating the space. Taking it step by step allows you to replenish your wallet along the way and live with the small changes as opposed to making drastic ones.  This method doesn't work for everyone, but it does for many. (Note: Normally, I would suggest decorating a room around a rug because the paint colors are endless, but the rug options are not.  In this case, the sequence of events couldn't have been any other way and the end result looks as though we did everything at the same time.) The key to layering is not to get impatient and impulsively buy something that isn't the right fit.  The goal is for the space to look well thought-out and to appear seamless. 

Happy Layering!!