Are you redecorating your room? The simplest and quickest solution to turn your room from being drab into fab is by adding a burst of colors through a large area rug. If you are considering buying a 9×12 area rug for your room, there are a lot of considerations to think about.

Of course, you would like to recheck again if the size is correct. Many people made the mistake of buying an oversized rug only to find out that it was too big for the room.

After you have made sure that the size is right, you need to look at the color schemes and furniture in your room.

Colors

If at this point you are still considering the color schemes for your room, here are some quick tips for choosing the right colors:

1) Decide Active or Passive

If you are redecorating an active room, choose the vibrant and excited colors. Active rooms are those that have a lot of action like kitchen, living room and dining areas. If you are redesigning a passive room, like the bathroom and bedrooms, choose the more casual, relaxing and serene colors.

2) Complementary or Analogous

Based on the room that you will redesign, you can now decide whether to go for Complementary or Analogous. Complementary colors are those that are opposite each other in the color wheel. Examples are red and green; blue and yellow; purple and orange. The complementary colors are better situated in active rooms or sometimes called the formal areas. Analogous are those that are situated next to each other in the color wheel. Examples are yellow and green; blue and violet; red and orange. They are more casual and restful. The muted color schemes are better for informal areas of the house such as family rooms, dens and bedrooms.

3) Follow the 60-30-10 rule

After choosing the colors scheme based on whether the room is active or passive, you should decide which color will be the dominant one. One major mistake of people who are redecorating their homes is having a 50%-50% color scheme in the room. 60% of the color is the wall; 30% will come from the upholstery; 10% from the accents like flower vases, plates, and wall decors.

4) Dark to Light from floor to ceiling

Follow this principle of having your floor the darkest, walls lighter than the floor and the ceiling as the lightest color.

5) When choosing colors, the most critical decisions will be for the furniture; because while you can change the wall colors and the accessories, you should choose your furniture colors that will stand the test of time.

After following the above quick tips, where does your rug color fit in?

When choosing for your area rug colors, your choices will be either from the 30% or 10% depending on its size and purpose.

Going for 9×12 area rugs, the color will be part of the 30% of your color scheme. If you’re going for smaller pieces of area rugs, they can fall into the 10% accents in your room.

If your floor is very light, you might want to put in a darker shade of area rug. On the other hand, if your floor is too dark, adding a cream colored shag rug or zebra rug will right away turn your room into one with sophistication and elegance.

Should you go for 9×12 area rugs that are monochromatic or multi-colored? The answer will depend on your style.

If your room is designed as modern and rich with complementary colors, the modern multi-colored 9×12 area rug will tie in all the colors in the room. Be careful though because having too many colors in one room can make it look gaudy.

Texture

One way to make your room feel richer and whether you prefer it to be warmer or cooler; is by choosing the right texture for your area rugs.

Wool area rugs are a top choice by many for many good reasons. While it is usually longer lasting, they also serve as insulators as well. Walking barefeet on wool area rugs is a treat for young and old alike.

Shag rugs are fancier and provide some hip and yet sexy sophistication to ones room. Shag rug is one alternative that is becoming very popular because while it also provides many options as far as color, shapes and sizes, the texture truly attracts the eyes into it and invites guests to leave the shoes to feel the shag rug.

Natural area rugs like sisal rugs, bamboo or jute provide simple, airy, cool feel for the feet. They come in different colors to suit your preference to follow the quick tips provided in the earlier section regarding color choices.

Designs and Patterns

Contemporary rugs and Modern area rugs are usually either bursting in colors or are in stark white or elegant black. Contemporary area rugs usually have geometric patterns, and are abstract arts by themselves. Many modern rugs are designed by well known artists.

Traditional rugs include Persian, Oriental, Indian and Tibetan carpets that have fine details that will give your room a classic elegance without being overpowering.

Southwest area rugs are part of the American heritage and are also called Navajo rugs. Southwest area rugs are very distinctive with their tribal designs which have diamond shapes and other geometric designs. The Southwest area rugs can be used together with modern furnishings or will fit very well in log cabins and cottage houses.

Floral rugs are feminine and romantic but not limited to gender-specific rooms. Men nowadays have come to like the floral rugs for the softness that it can bring into the room.

Animal rugs can be showing the face of a faithful dog, huskies in the snow or tigers in the African jungle. These animal area rugs can also include the animal prints such as the very popular zebra rug. Animal or zebra rug can be very versatile. These types of area rugs can go well with modern furnishings such as glass and chrome; and go well with wood and brass. Whether you have a contemporary home or a rustic cabin, zebra rug, leopard rug or a tiger rug can very well fit into your home design.

Make or Weave

Hand tufted rugs look very much like hand woven rugs and are mistaken as such for a very good reason: hand tufted rugs are made using the hands just like hand woven rugs. The only difference is that hand tufted rugs are woven together by using a special hand-tufting gun. The resulting area rugs made by using the hand-tufting guns are not as durable and lasting as the hand-woven area rugs. Of course, hand tufted rugs are not as pricey too.

Hand woven rugs are also called the Oriental rugs. Nowadays, the had-tufted rugs have been mistakenly called as Oriental rugs but the real and genuine Oriental rugs are those that are completely hand made without the use of hand-tufting guns. The hand woven rugs are naturally more expensive but can be one of your most important investments for your most valuable asset — your home.

Machine made rugs are the modern days’ treats. While having a wide array of colors, designs, themes, patterns, shapes and sizes; you can also enjoy the cheaper price compared to the authentic hand-woven rugs. Many companies mass produce machine made rugs with great quality that will also last and provide many years of service for your family to enjoy their beauty and feel.

Material

Should you go for natural or synthetic? With the technology’s advancements, man has learned to mass produce products that mimic nature with greater ease and less cost. Consumers have learned to embrace the synthetic materials mainly for the convenience and cost considerations. But with the fear for ones health, people have begun to consider going back to basics. Going back to nature is the new old fad.

Wool rugs and cotton area rugs are the most expensive and the most durable. They also offer many designs, texture, colors, shapes and sizes.

It’s the same with blended and synthetic rugs — they offer a wide variety of choices as far as the colors, texture, patterns, shapes and sizes are concerned too.

It’s different with bamboo, jute, seagrass or sisal rugs. The texture, patterns and colors may be limited. But if you want to go natural, this is durable enough and what is a better way to go natural than to follow its natural patterns and grains; and go for earth tones?

Choosing the Best 9×12 Area Rugs

To choose the best for your home, you must answer the following questions:

1) What is my main priority in buying the 9×12 area rug?

a) to beautify my home

b) to protect my flooring

c) to provide insulation

d) to cover the floor’s damages

2) What are your 2nd priority?

a) to work within a budget

b) to buy an heirloom

With the two questions answered, you will know which 9×12 area rug to buy for your home. Are you limited within a certain budget? Knowing the size, and the budget can be a very good starting point in finding the right area rug for your redecorating project. Your budget will limit your choices on the material and weave of the area rugs.

If you answered YES to all the answers in the first question, then by following the principles and tips in color selection, and limiting your choices to your desired texture, your home style and designs; you will be able to find the best 9×12 area rug to turn your home into instant fab!