Reasons to Put a Rug in the Dining Room

Some people decide to decorate without many furnishings or almost completely without embellishments, such as in the purest minimalist or Scandinavian styles. Others like to add certain items to add a touch of warmth to the home. Among these items can be a rug for the dining room.

You should remember that the dining room can be the gathering point for the inhabitants of your home as well as for your guests. Therefore, it’s exposed to the view of many different people.

A good host looks for ways to make their guests feel comfortable within his or her home. In view of this, the dining room should have a certain capacity to transmit warmth through the decor and furnishings.

Reasons to put a rug in the dining room

A rug is an accessory with the function of adding to the ambiance of the room. In other words, it helps to:

• Separate between two different sections of the room, while covering a space on the floor.
• Create a more cozy atmosphere and, with it, transmit a more homely sensation.
• Dress up the room by lending color and texture, and generating visual interest. This is really the principal reason behind the use of rugs. This applies just as much in the dining room as in any other room of the house.

Another of the reasons why people sometimes use a rug in the dining room is to protect wooden floorboards from scratches and marks. And logically, what they want to avoid at all costs is the wearing out of the floor that’s produced by scraping the chairs back and forth and of course foot traffic.

And, a rug in the dining room also helps to reduce the echo of somewhat empty rooms. It will also help absorb the noise of footsteps when you have visitors in this area. Without a doubt, that is a decided advantage if you live in an apartment since the acoustics is something very important in that type of home.

Suggestions for choosing the best rug

• The rug should be at least 60 centimeters longer than each edge of the table. That way, there will be sufficient space to move the seats out when sitting down and getting up, without tripping over the edge of the rug. However, don’t exaggerate the dimensions of the rug. The idea isn’t to cover the whole of the dining room floor.
• Avoid white and light colors because these will quickly become dirty.
• If the chairs of your dining table have a fabric covered seat, it’s recommended that you stick to the same style of the fabric for the rug. By doing this, the whole room will be in harmony. If the fabric of the chairs has a solid color, the rug should keep to a certain consistency with the color palette.
• Avoid showy and colorful prints if the rest of the dining room or its accessories are already colorful.

• You shouldn’t use fluffy or woolly rugs. These can be a real magnet for crumbs and other food items that could fall on the floor. It’s better to choose rugs with a short, flat weave, without too much volume.
• If the dining room is square, it would be best to use a rug with the same shape. The same applies to rectangular dining rooms, oval shaped and round rooms. The idea is to lend a sense of order by means of the repetition of the same shape.
• If the rug has been one of the first items you’ve chosen for the room, you could use it as a basis to develop the decor style.
• If there isn’t any type of print or pattern in the dining room, you could use a patterned rug to add a different touch.

The best materials

Today, polypropylene is one of the most popular synthetic materials. This is above all because of the ease with which you can clean it, and due to its durability. As regards to its design, these are many and varied. That’s why you won’t need to worry that your design options will be limited if you choose this material.

For these same characteristics, rubber backed floor mats are also very popular. It’s fitting to point out that these have the added advantage of being particularly absorbent in the case of spills.

Rugs made of synthetic fibers offer an alternative for those with allergies. These are designed to resist excessive accumulation of hair, dust, and other potentially harmful agents. In some cases, rugs made of woven vinyl could be an option. These don’t absorb any dust or dirt.

To take into account

What if you have children or pets in your home? It might not be the best idea to put a rug in the dining room. It’s not just a matter of cleaning and maintenance, but also for the possibility that your children might constantly trip on the rug, when passing or when pulling out or pushing in their chair.

This doesn’t mean to say that you can’t try looking for an option that works for you and that can be adapted to the needs of your home. It’s all a question of taking into account the suggestions we’ve mentioned. Investigate various options before choosing the rug that’s right for you.