Choosing the right rug that would spread beautifully on your living room is not something that you want the rug dealers to decide.
For one the rug must not look out of place on your living room floor. And nobody knows your living room better than you.
The most important reason why you don't want to make a mistake of picking the wrong rug is that because rugs ain't cheap.
Here are four most important factors to consider before buying a rug.
Size
Let us start with size since it is the easiest to determine. The rug must cover your entire seating area and not necessarily the whole living room floor, unless this is your original intention.
Using a measuring tool, find out the entire seating area. Note that the furnitures must be inside the rug. The perfectly sized rug must be able to accommodate all the seating furniture, with a little allowance in case you want to move the seating pieces around.
In case of budget constraints and you can't accommodate the entire seating area, just make sure the seats' front legs are inside the rug. The idea is to not have your feet touch the floor when you're sitting.
Texture
When choosing a rug, texture is very important, A house with many different textures gives that rich, multi-layered feel with lots of character.
Note that the rug will be considered as one of the furnitures therefore its texture must blend with the texture of other furnitures.
For an outstanding effect, go for contrast. If your seats are covered in smooth and silky velvet, go for hard rug. If your sofa is smooth, slick and hard leather, go for soft, fluffy texture.
When checking out texture, also consider maintenance. Make sure the rug is easy to clean.
Color
Choose a color that would blend well with the walls and floor. Mismatch colors are eye sore.
To be safe, go with the same color with the floor but use a different tone or hue.
But don't limit yourself. Sometimes, contrasting colors make all the difference. To help you pick the right color, take a picture of your living room before going to the rug store so you can match and compare with other rugs available.
Pattern
The thing with pattern, you never know when is enough and when is overkill. A minimal pattern can look perfect but so is intricate designs with contrasting color.
Same with colors, it is hard to tell whether the design is right unless you spread it on your living room floor and evaluate it in relation to the other furnitures.
That picture of your living room would come in handy when you're shopping for the right rug.