Posted on May 5, 2020 by Behnam Rugs

How to Design Your Living Room Around Your Persian Rug

Your Persian rug is a true work of art and, even though it’s a functional piece of art, it still deserves to be displayed in a way that showcases its beauty.

In fact, if you were to look at old issues of Architectural Digest you’d notice quickly that Persian and Oriental rugs appear in at least one featured home every issue. Go back 50 years in the magazine’s archives and you’d still see them in featured homes.

The reason? A Persian rug just adds a little bit of je ne sais quoi to any décor. The rug brightens a room. It can make a room look elegant, or even casual (depending on the other décor surrounding it). Persian rugs have a distinctive look that complements many interior design styles in a tasteful way.

What’s more, add a Persian rug to your living room and it changes it automatically. You could make absolutely no changes to the room otherwise and it still would appear as if you had an interior decorating redo.

Your first step in designing a living room around your rug is to find a rug you love. It’s that simple. Truly. Love the rug and the décor will practically take care of itself.

One thing many people worry about is that the pattern of the Persian rug will clash or even become “too overbearing” in a room. Don’t worry about this. Have you ever noticed that all real woods, whether dark or light “go” together? The same with a Persian rug: it truly “goes” with everything! It will not clash with any of your furniture or decorations. In fact, a Persian rug in a traditional style displayed in a modern room can really steal the show!

Mr. Behnam at Behnam Rugs reminds customers to keep in mind the size of their rug and make sure they walk all the way on it or all the way off of it. This, he says will help keep the wear of your valuable rug even. In addition, be sure to rotate your rug every year to help make wear present evenly.

If your rug has mostly red tones, consider this idea:

• Use a sofa to anchor your rug. Add two end tables on each side of the sofa. Place the coffee table in the center and place two chairs facing the sofa. You now have a beautiful living room as well as a conversation nook.
• If possible, choose a sofa in a neutral color. Add accessories (pillows for the sofa, art for your walls) that bring out the rug’s other colors. You also may want to upholster the two chairs facing the sofa in fabric that also brings out the rug’s colors.

In general, follow these designing rules:

• If you don’t have two chairs, but have a chair and a love seat, place the sofa and the coffee table as described above, place the chair at an opposite corner of the rug and the love-seat at the other side of the rug so that the sofa and the love-seat form an L shape.
• If your rug is small don’t place it in front of the sofa; it will look miserly. Layer it over a larger neutral piece such as a natural fiber rug if your heart is set on placing it there.
• At the same time, if the rug is very large, place a part of all of your living room’s furniture on the rug.
• If your living room has wall-to-wall carpeting, you can place your rug on top of it, just so long as the carpet’s pile is no greater than ½ inch. Placing a rug on top of carpeting with deeper pile just never seems to sit or look right.
• Remember that all rugs need padding, even rugs placed over carpet. This is both for your safety as well as for the health and longevity of your rug.

Have more design questions? Trust the experts at Behnam Rugs and call 972-733-0400. You can also learn more about buying a Persian rug by reading our handbook.