Living Room Area Rugs: Extra Large Area Rugs
& Contemporary Round Area Rugs -
Color, Size & Pattern Ideas

"Which living room area rugs would look good in my AZ condo?"
5x7 area rugs?  8x10 area rugs?  Should I consider custom size area rugs?

And what about color and pattern - should I go for solid color area rugs, stripe area rugs, geometric area rugs, or maybe something more ornate?

Living Room Area Rugs For A White, Open-Plan Space

Here's Sharon's living-room:

What To Consider When Buying
A Living Room Area Rug

1. Space & Surrounding Colors

Sharon's living room opens into her kitchen/dining area, which gives the space an airy, open feel. The challenge is to create a distinct, welcoming 'island' in the lounge, a room-within-a-room, if you will.

The dominant colors in the space are white/off-white, black, a few unobtrusive browns, and a blackberry color on selected kitchen walls.

What To Consider When Buying
A Living Room Area Rug

2. Size

The size of any living room area rug will depend on two factors:

• the size/spread of your seating, and
• the size of the room.

Here are three versions with solid color area rugs (all in a grayed violet).

a) 5x7 area rug:
The rug does not take up a lot of visual space and leaves most of the living room bright and open-looking.

b) 8x10 area rugs ...
... are designed to accommodate larger groups of seating, or arrangements where the front of sofa(s) and chair(s) is on the rug.  The advantage is that the group will look more 'together' because there is less underneath floor space visible in the color scheme.

c) extra large area rugs:
These can help you create an "island", a room-within-a-room, which provides intimacy in an open living space.  However, extra large area rugs represent sizable color fields that can impact a room enormously, particularly when they stand out against a white background (as this one does):

Let's look at the sofa from a different angle, and compare a 5x7 area rug to an extra large area rug:

From this perspective, I'd say the 5x7 area rug fits better, but remember we're just looking at a small section of the room.

If Sharon were to use an extra large (custom size) area rug in this solid, pale plum color, she'd definitely need to add some interest to the color scheme, for example by using deep red cushions/accessories - cherry, burgundy, and/or bordeaux.

By the way, extra large area rugs needn't be expensive:  Many carpet dealers will be happy to cut any carpet they sell by the meter into custom size area rugs for you, and complete the section with a border of your choice. If they carry high quality carpets, you can have your "custom size area rugs" at a fraction of the price!

What To Consider When Buying
Living Room Area Rugs

3. Shape

As an alternative to 5x7 or 8x10 area rugs, Sharon has considered contemporary round area rugs for this lounge. The shape would beautifully complement the Japanese drum in front of the couch.

Here's a small round area rug in a deeper, richer purple. The size would make a nice, snug fit for Sharon's antique "coffee table":

Next, let's leave solid color area rugs aside for a moment, and experiment with pattern: Here's an idea for a larger contemporary round area rug in black/ivory (I've cribbed the pattern from one of the chair cushions ;-)

What To Consider When Buying
Living Room Area Rugs

4. Pattern

The problem with choosing a contemporary round area rug with a vivid pattern like the above is that Sharon is planning to hang a large number of photos on the sofa wall.

This means there will be a considerable amount of visual "clutter" in the lounge - different shapes and a variety of color detail on that wall.

Sharon's easiest choice would be to go for a solid color area rug. Alternatively, she could look for stripe area rugs that fit the bill. A black and white area rug would look great - ivory and charcoal (a 'soft' version of black and white) might be even better.

There you go ... my two cents' worth about living room area rugs ... more info to come on flooring and floor coverings in the near future!