Hearth Rugs - Interior Design Tips

Like their larger counterparts, hearth rugs come in different shapes, color, materials and sizes. However, because they are smaller, they are best suited to areas where a larger rug would be out of place, such as a kitchen or a bathroom. They may also be used to define smaller, more intimate areas.

Kitchen Design
Many people place a rug beneath the kitchen table or in front of the sink and forget that the stove is another focal point in the room. Using hearth rugs in front of the stove dresses up that focal point, and by matching the table’s rug, the sink and the stove, a continuity of style can help tie the room together. As an added advantage, with more elegant patterns than standard kitchen rugs, by using hearth rugs, the homeowner can impart a more timeless style to the room.

Bathroom Design
Bathroom mats are traditionally single colored, fuzzy and boring. Patterned hearth rugs before the tub or sink add dramatic interest to the most overlooked room in the house and because they are smaller, a single rug will often be just right to fill the room. The homeowner can intensify the room’s look by choosing a color from the rug and painting the walls to match.

Using a hearth rug to define an area
Hearth rugs are a great means of defining a more personal area. Placed with two arm chairs and a table, perhaps in a bedroom, an intimate place for one-on-one conversation or reading is created. Used under a desk in the living room, the area becomes an office, not an afterthought. And in a foyer, when paired with a small bench, they create an area that invites visitors to kick their shoes off and stay a while.
Because they are smaller in size than standard rugs, hearth rugs can serve many purposes in the home. Their use is limited only by the imagination of the decorator.