An often-overlooked part of a space, an area rug can be the thing that ties an entire room together. They add warmth and comfort to a space (both visually and literally). Area rugs also help in visually separating a room that may be bigger or serve multiple functions. They give a group of furniture a center and make your area both more design and comfort focus.

Your rug choice often may end up deciding or influencing how the design of your space looks. Don’t believe us? This room was designed exactly the same, apart from the area rug. With each new rug choice, the room’s decor changes and new attention is brought to individual aspects of the furniture.

A neutral patterned area rug like this can add an interesting design element that draws the eye in a gentle way. Since it mimics the tone of the other pieces in the room, it blends easily and makes the space seem very cohesive. Its soft geometric pattern also makes the neutral sofa and furniture seem more modern as well.

A dark, shag area rug provides texture instead of pattern, which is a simple way to change up the look of the room. Its deep color creates a definite sense of space and the fact that it blends in with the flooring below brings further attention to the creamy sectional and chair. Additionally, the plush texture is comfortable and warm, both literally and in design aspects, and makes this room feel like more of a family-focused area.

A faded ornate area rug gives a room that seemed modern in the previous photos a more classic look. It’s uses adaptations of Persian elements to make the room elegant. The area rug’s pattern makes it a focal point but its muted color palette allows it to feel natural in the space. The color choice also pulls similar tones from the art on the wall, tying those pieces together for a look that’s both eclectic and balanced.

Even with generally neutral rugs, our room changed style with each choice. Hopefully now when you start designing your space, you’ll have what’s underfoot on the mind.