HOW TO ZONE YOUR HOME WITH A NATURAL RUG

NOV 30, 2021

WEAVE MAGIC INTO YOUR HOME WITH A TRANSFORMATIVE RUG

When it comes to adding warmth and comfort, a timeless rug is a serene solution that pulls a whole room together. Its beauty and texture can make a space feel more significant, connected, and homely. Whether you live in a contemporary abode or rustic retreat, this gentle floor covering anchors any scheme.

Enhance your interior’s comfort and style with our helpful tips on zoning with a 100% natural rug.

1. HOW TO ARRANGE YOUR RUG IN A LIVING ROOM?

Zoning has long been an interior stylist’s secret for adding depth, texture, and harmonising a space. Rather than making a space feel small, zoning with a rug gives it an expanse and makes a room look larger. Zoning with a rug creates a ‘room within a room’,” says Sophie Conran, designer and founder of @sophieconranshop, on how it reframes an area with character and purpose.

For an open plan, a practical rug such as a Jute is the ultimate template for creating an island of calm where the lounge, kitchen, and dining areas are combined.

Equally, interiors with combined lounge and dining rooms or integrated kitchen and dining space, the texture and softness of a larger rug effectively make these multi-tasking spaces feel homely.

Rugs are also relatively budget-friendly, and just like painting a room, they make a dramatic difference within a tight time frame. Focusing on walls and floors is a time-efficient way of updating your home when it comes to home improvements.

Top tip: In terms of placement, position a sofa and chairs, so at least their front feet are resting on it; otherwise, your furniture will look as though it’s floating, and it won’t set a story.

“I think a rug can change a room,” says Sophie, who recently styled our Uneven Looped wool rug in her beautiful sitting room. Sophie loves our natural and sustainable rugs in elegant cream. “It’s calm, it works well with the colours, and it makes it very serene, and it has this lovely texture, so it catches the light of the amazing windows.”

2. HOW TO CHOOSE THE SIZE OF A RUG TO SUIT A ROOM?

If you have an unusual-shaped living room or are aiming for a quick makeover, consider adding an oversized rug like our generous Jute. The size of a rug is essential and will pull a room together, and it has so much more impact on space. Although smaller rugs are less expensive, they can seem floating and won’t feel coherent compared to a larger size.

3. WHERE SHOULD RUGS BE PLACED IN THE BEDROOM?

That feeling of a soft texture underfoot when one climbs out of bed will always be welcome. Your bedroom needs to feel like a comfortable haven, and adding warmth with one or more rugs and soft furnishings creates a restful ambiance.

“Its soft colours work beautifully here,” says Sophie about her magnificent round bedroom. “I use a lot of rugs, and you can put them on top of carpets and put them on painted floorboards.”

She believes that textured wool rugs add “nice warmth to a room, so I particularly love these rugs because they feel amazing underfoot. They have a lovely sponginess, and in a bedroom, you’re often walking around barefoot, and so it’s nice to have the comforting feeling underneath you.”

4. BEST WAYS TO LAYER WITH RUGS?

An eclectic spirit has taken over contemporary homes, extending to how we layer our rugs. Nuanced colour combinations and an artful composition create a statement-making room, and the nostalgia of rugs creates that extra layer of warmth. It’s almost like emotional insulation, as much as for practical comfort.

Rugs tell a story, and you mix eras and textures on top of them, such as our Marnie sofa with our new Jute rug that blends a more traditional style with contemporary texture.

“It works well with the wooden floor; it has this lovely texture again in a sort of plaited technique,” says Sophie about our Jute rug. “It works well with the log basket; it’s timeless. It has this lovely timeless feel about it, and again it’s not overpowering, and it has a serenity to it, and I love the feeling, and it smells nice.”

Sophie believes “it’s essential to get the right size rug in the room, and here we have a generous size, and I believe this is the most considerable size that Maker&Son do, and it’s a nice big room.”

Tip: In a busy family home, consider a durable Jute rug that softens naturally over time. An handmade rug is the perfect choice for a minimal or modern home with children and pets. It will feel timeless and age beautifully whilst withstanding family life.

5. HOW BEST TO USE RUGS IN OTHER ROOMS?

“You want to use it as a template to put your furniture on and create that room within a room,” the dynamic designer shares.

“I think you can put rugs in many different spaces, and it works well in an area usually considered as a ‘transition space,'” she believes.

Indeed, when it comes to zoning, rugs can transform an unused area into a welcoming reading nook, make a hallway feel more luxe, and highlight the intimacy of a combined kitchen dining room.

6. HOW DO YOU STYLE A RUG WITH OTHER HOME ACCESSORIES?

Think of building a textural experience, such as our Looped Rug, and, how this layers with scatter cushions and curtains to create a heart-warming home.

Take a home tour of Sophie Conran’s magical home which she has layered with our natural rugs.