It has often been said that a great rug turns a floor into something special and any Interior Designer or Decorator would agree. If you are busy decorating a home or office, you will have no doubt learned about the types of rugs you can use in terms of colour and style but there is a little more to this – and that is that certain rugs work with certain types of floors too.

The same rug laid over an Engineered or hardwood floor may just not work when laid over a concrete floor for example, even though they may be identically matched in colour and style. This is simply because surfaces don’t always match decoratively and the concrete floor, sheer and smooth, will simply never look the same as the hardwood floor with its slats and characteristic markings.

So, in order to obtain that ‘perfect pairing’ always sought in any décor endeavour, here are a few practical tips for pairing rugs with the right floor types…

Concrete floors 

The wonderful thing about concrete floors is that their smooth neutral look makes them a perfect base for almost any kind of rug. Probably the best pairing though would be very colourful, richly woven rugs like Persian rigs, which beautifully offset the simplicity of the concrete. Large, thick rugs can add warmth to too to the cold look and feel that concrete floors can sometimes create.

Hardwood floors 

Wood floors (or Engineered wood), as previously mentioned, have far more to their look. Characteristics like texture, certain colours, grain and knots generally create a rustic, far more organic and traditional feel to a room.

Fairly simply designed rugs that follow the lines of the floor and match throughout the residence is suggested for long large rooms, but small rooms like office spaces, bedrooms or playrooms can have rugs that reflect the theme of the room and the character of the occupants.

Laminate and Vinyl floors 

The beauty of these floors is that they are easily maintained, very affordable, hardwearing and in the case of this pairing exercise, unlimited in colour, range and style. This means it is an open house for the types of rugs that can successfully be laid over them.

With these types of floors, colour matching becomes far more significant because generally, the texture of the floors will match with most types of rugs.

Another perfect pairing

One of Africa’s largest and most successful carpeting and flooring businesses is Top Carpet and Floors (TCF). They have over 130 members throughout South Africa and carry a massive selection of carpets and rugs.

Already established as expert suppliers and installers of all wood products, we at Libra Flooring, with a desire to supply our customers with every type of flooring available, joined as a member of TCF in 2017. It was a ‘perfect pairing’ as we have won accolades and awards for being one of their top members and it gave us access to their superb, and vast range of carpets and rugs.

Contact us or visit our showroom in Montague gardens today for more advice on pairing rugs with the right floor types, or any other kind of flooring advice, supply or installation you will ever need.