QUEST: Finding the Right Rug For A Mod Dining Room

Photo by Rachel Claire on Pexel

Today we focused our attention on Mid-Century and modern furniture and rugs on our Instagram feed. It started after viewing My Modern Met’s post “20 Magnificent Mid-Century Modern Interiors“. There was an interesting stat from a marketing community about the vintage trend and its popularity. “Out of the 2423 influencers, 214 talk almost exclusively about Vintage. This represents almost 9% of the influencers. None of the other styles come close to enjoying as much share of mind in the community.”

Do you happen to be a fan or aficionado of this period? Whether you are or not, we think you will have to agree that these area rugs from the large and comprehensive “En Casa Collection” by designer Luli Sanchez would work beautifully when placed in a modern design scheme such as Mid-Century of Retro.

And you can help us pick a modern styled area rug to go in a definitely cool & hip dining room. Several of the photos we posted to Instagram showed the popularity of pairing a tribal rug or shag rug with modern furniture, as above and below. Works very well don’t you think? However, the couple wants to stay within the neutral earth tones rather than bring in any other colors or design patterns.

The “En Casa” Collection by Jaipur Rugs has two rug types, flat weaves and wool tufted. We selected rugs from both collections for this rug hunt. Peruse all the details of the room – the textures, the lines, shapes and how they all play well off each other. We want to be careful not to disrupt what’s already going on. There is a light sage green wall color in the adjoining room.

Why is this style so popular? Here’s one reason: “In light of the tough economic years many countries have experienced just recently, many people have simplified their lives — much like people did after World War II. That’s why fuss-free midcentury designs have made a strong comeback” – Mitchell Parker, Houzz, “Why We Love Midcentury Modern Design“. Makes sense.

On to the rug choices. Let’s start with a basic stripe done with a bit of a twist. It could work. But there are already a lot of lines in the room. Adding more may take it to “overdone.”

This next one is also a stripe of a different kind. It mimics the door and window frames and will also act as a frame for the table and chairs. What we would have to see is how the size of the stripes blends in with the room. They may be too big. 

Third up – an abstracted “stripe” that is organic rather than rigid. It certainly has drama and is a strong contender.

Ok, they did say they wanted to stay neutral – but this one has a lot going for it. The green will pick up the adjacent room color and the shapes, being irregular, may add that bit of drama that could take the room to the uber level of design & style.

One doesn’t generally think of florals with mid-century and sleek modern furniture. There’s something about this one that is appealing though – perhaps the softness of the design, both in look and vibe. There is a slight relationship between it and the lampshade drums, so it could work.

Here’s another floral, but much bolder than the one above. While the softer floral would maintain a lightness, an airy quality, the rug below is bolder, more solid feeling, and would provide both a dramatic and strong ground for the room. Now it does bring some color in, but they are quite complementary with the shade of green in the next room. This one is a risk I think.

In “8 Approaches to Mid-Century Modern Design” one approach is aptly explained by designer Kristin Jackson. She prefers to blend eclectic design with mid-century modern style for a layered look. A room that features wood accessories only, for instance, is not nearly as interesting as one that layers elements such as wood, metal, fresh flowers, antique lamps, brass accents and retro patterns. I would agree, and we can see that in this room.

It’s a tough choice. Any one of these modern area rugs would complement the mid-century modern look and feel of this dining room. What it really comes down to is, and we say this to clients all the time, “Pick the one you love!”. If you have selected three or four rugs for a space, using all the tips and trick we have shared about the design process, the one you love is the one that will work best.