There is little doubt that rugs will help protect your wood flooring from the harsh wear and tear that everyday life can throw at it. What’s more, a well-chosen rug will enhance most interiors and add a focal point of colour and style to your room. Rugs range dramatically in size, colour and style, as well as price, so what you choose will depend in many ways on your budget, the look you want to create in your room and its size.
When you’re choosing your rug, it’s best to go for the best quality you can afford within your budget, because that way, you’ll be able to enjoy the new look you’ve created for longer. Many cheap rugs are intended to be used and disposed of, rather than held on to for any length of time, whereas a good quality rug will add charm to your room for many years to come. It goes without saying of course that you’ll want to choose a rug that will work well with the colour of your floor and the overall colour scheme of your room.
One thing to be careful of when you’re choosing your rug is to make sure it doesn’t have a rubber backing, because a rubber backing could prevent your wood flooring from being able to breathe properly. Wood is a completely natural product and as such, it takes in and lets out moisture from the air as humidity and temperatures change. This is an essential part of the life of a wood floor and if you prevent it from happening for any length of time, you could inadvertently cause damage to your floor.
When you’re choosing your rug for your wood floor, look out for rugs made from natural materials, such as wool, cotton, or blends of natural fabrics, rather than synthetic materials, which again could cause the floor to stifle. If you’re worried about your rug slipping, you can use anti slip strips or patches that you fix to the bottom of your rug. On a square or rectangular rug, four or six patches should be sufficient, with one placed in each corner and one each along the sides if required. On a round rug, just make sure that the non-slip patches are placed around the outside of the rug and depending on the size, maybe place one or two in the middle.
One of the main downsides of rugs on floors is the discolouration that can be caused by the sun. The sun, even when it doesn’t seem particularly strong, or warm, can fade furnishings and floors very quickly. A rug positioned on a wood floor can leave a telltale trace if you’re not careful. There are three main ways to avoid this problem. The first is to make sure you apply a high quality finish to your floor that benefits from an ultra-violet (UV) filter. UV filter finishes help floors withstand the negative effects of the sun. Alternatively, you could choose to be vigilant and close blinds and curtains when the sun is at its strongest, which would help. Finally, you could leave the floor to reach its natural colour all over before putting down a rug, which will help minimize any differences that may occur. This last option is a particularly good idea if the rug is going to be placed in a location which experiences direct sunlight. Effectively what this will do is smooth the edges around any possible colour difference caused under the rug, in comparison to the floor around it.