Starting With a Rug Is An Easy Way to Get the Ball Rolling

Back on her feet, Rita is ready to invest in her new place. It's been a struggle the past few years, but the worst is behind her and the future looks bright. "It's time to reward myself, and get my house in order."

"I confess, when it comes to my house, I am afraid of picking the wrong colors, which is strange, because I have no qualms about wearing all different colors. I love blue the best though," she admits.

Fortunately, Rita knows where she needs to improve when it comes to her décor. "I haven't had the time or wherewithal to be concerned with my décor. I know it's drab, the furniture is mismatched and the size of everything is all wrong for this place. That's why I've come to you."

"Let's not spend time talking about what's wrong, let's just dive in and start to make things right, ok?" the design consultant advises. "Starting with a rug is an easy way to get the ball rolling."

Sue De Chiara of Zhush gives the same advice: "Having worked with several different professional designers on our home through the years, I've picked up some great tips. One of them is to start with a rug. All the colors and inspiration for a room's design can be pulled from a really beautiful rug."

After some discussion and going through the rug galleries, Rita settled upon three rugs she likes. "They are all pretty, but I'm just not sure which one to go with."

She already nixed this traditional style rug saying, "You know, it's lovely, elegant even, but I think I want something fresher, different than what I might have chosen a couple of years ago." That leaves us with Eden, Xavier and Dryden.

Rita's right - any one of them will work quite nicely as a foundation to build upon. This happens often in the showroom - clients narrow down their choice to three and then get stuck.

No worries, we have a strategy that gets us to making a decision. Nothing fancy, just the plain old process of elimination.

"Ok, now here's the story ... You can only take two home to try so let's eliminate your least favorite of the three. Talk it out."

"I love flowers and they are so cheery (Eden). The darker one (Dryden) seems quiet and relaxing and I know I want to come home after a long day and just relax. But, that Ikat is so bold and exciting, just like how I am starting to feel again. Will that one go out of style soon?"

"Great question, Rita! One should be wary of trends, but you needn't worry about Ikats. They have been around for centuries and will never be dated. Is that the one you are drawn to most?"

"You know, I think it is between the Dryden and the Ikat. I think the floral one might narrow other decor choices more than I would like. Hmmmmm." She taps her foot, thinking through possibilities.

"Good on you Rita. Thinking ahead. Since a good rug lasts quite a long time, you are wise to consider future furniture purchases, or that you might change up your style in a few years."

"Ok, nix the floral (Eden). Now we're down to two."

"See, not so hard when you think about what's important to you over the long haul. So, we've got Dryden and Xavier left." We move the floral rug out of sight and set the remaining two side-by-side.

"Wow, you know, now that it is just the two of them, I know which one I want. I saw it as soon as the other one was taken away. You're so clever."

"Oh, it's not me - you made the decision. You know what you want... sometimes it's hard to go from the gut and just go for it."

"I know which one I want," she exclaims confidently and with a bit of glee.

Which one do you think she chose? 

Each NW Rugs Showroom has over 3,000 rugs to choose from, and sometimes that can be daunting. But part of our job is to help you narrow it down and then make space for you to let the right rug "speak to you."

TIP: It's a whole lot easier if you bring in any photos of the space, paint chips, fabric swatches, flooring samples - pictures of things that inspires you, pictures of things you already decided are going into the space - all these are very helpful.

See 7 other great tips for choosing the right rug here. Or, check out "What Should You Take Into Consideration When Choosing a New Rug?"