Is it acceptable to put a rug on your carpet? It’s not something you see commonly and there are many who would frown upon putting a rug over your carpet. It’s considered a common mistake made by college students and young professionals when it comes to decorating their homes.
The one thing young professionals and college students have in common are that they usually rent and have no other options, often working with outdated carpets. The floors, especially carpets are the one part of a home tenants have almost no control over. So if you don’t like the way your carpet looks and you want to make the room pop, here are a few tips for laying a rug:
The texture
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The type of area rug you select depends on the type of carpet you have. If you have a plush carpet, you’ll want to use a low-profile rug. The opposite is true if you have a low-pile carpet. If you have a low-pile carpet, you’ll want to consider using something a little more plush like a shag rug.
Keep it to scale
You don’t want to use an area rug that is too small for the room and doesn’t touch any furniture and you also don’t want to use one that is too big and just looks awkward in the room.
Color coordinate
A good rule of thumb is to use colors that don’t clash with the existing carpet. This goes for most decor. Though sometimes you want something to intentionally stand out, the area rug on top of the carpet isn’t the time.
Opposites attract
Like the color, you'll want to make sure the pattern of the rug doesn’t clash with the carpet and create some kind of optical illusion. When choosing the pattern, always go with the opposite of however the carpet looks. This is a similar rule to other kinds of flooring. If the carpet has no pattern, then you want to use an area rug with some type of pattern. If your carpet has a pattern, then you will want to use an area rug without a pattern.
Drop anchor
Area rugs on carpet are much easier to trip over than rugs on a hard floor. They can also start to roll up around the edges due to weight from other objects pressing down towards the middle making them even easier to trip over. Anchor down the edges to ensure you don’t injure yourself or any guests.