Rugs are quick-change artists.  The design and color combinations are infinite, making it easily possible to transform the feel of a space.  From eye-popping geometrics which add modernity, to classics like French Aubussons that invite history underfoot.  Finding the threads that toes squeal for depends mostly on what the heart yearns for and the activities at hand.

Rugs work up a style and mood in a room, as well as play with scale and sound.  In essence, they communicate a room’s purpose through design, color and construction.

Design
Looking at the furnishings and fabrics already in place is a great clue to selecting the perfect area rug.  Traditional pieces will love hand-knotted or hand-tufted wools and silks from India, but they can also benefit from the life of bright modern weaves or the clean lines of simple rugs.  Think Billy Baldwin, the savvy design gent who often paired antique gems with rectilinear rugs.

Eclectic interiors will like leopard prints, cowhides and natural grass jute area rugs.  Ethnic rooms will typically ask for flat weaves and dhurries, while the ever popular mid-century inspired quarters still demand shag area rugs and flokatis.

Online rug vendors like House of Area Rugs have well-taken the guessing out of defining style through their categories and thumbnails.  They make it easy to learn about rug designs and their construction.

Construction
A rug works for the space.  The activities in a given room will demand a certain type of construction and material.  Is the room a quiet haven filled with books?  Is it a major hallway traveled by many?  A kid’s room?  An elegant room?

Defining the purpose will lead to the right rug.  The material must be compatible with the activities it will witness.  For example, a wool area rug is most durable and timeless, yet expensive.  A cotton area rug is wallet-friendly though wears less gracefully.  Polypropylene area rugs are synthetic and inexpensive rugs that wear well, but not appropriate for elegant or earthy environments.  And jute or sisal area rugs wear well, are money kind, but are slim in style and color collection, unless you buy products offered by Merida where there is style and color, but also an increase in price.

Color
Manufacturers and designers are twisting old styles into new works of art through the use of hue.  For example, Tibetan rugs, a staple of luxurious and earthy rooms can now be easily weaved of acid green and screaming fuschia colorways for fun family rooms.

Jute and grass rugs feel organic and a great neutral ground for many styles.  Flipping through the various home décor catalogs demonstrates its chameleon like ability to adapt to modern, contemporary and classic rooms.

The aforementioned Aubusson styles most often evoke femininity and romance due to their pastel palette and delicate floral compositions.  Famous Interior Designer Mario Buatta often specifies these trés beau objects in his spaces.

Oriental styles are often daring with a myriad of hues, and like Tibetans are surfacing in more modern colorways.  Oriental area rugs find home in well-traveled interiors, like those in Victorian times adorned with exotic accessories, but like the jutes and grasses, although more colorful and complex, they seem to melt into many styles.

Lastly for serious consideration are faux or painted rugs.  They add an intrigue and whimsy that no material piece can.

Thanks to modern times, rugs can be the color, design and durability one desires.  Just decide what style or language you wish your room to speak and let the discovery of the perfect conversation piece begin.