Revamp a Small Space with a Rug

It’s no secret that a rug can make an instant update to a room and particularly if you’re renting it can be an easy way to change things up without any serious decorating. I consider myself to be pretty fussy on the rug front; I wanted something to add texture and interest but not necessarily colour or obvious pattern, so when I was asked to style a rug from Wayfair, this grey/beige Safavieh rug fitted the bill.

The pattern is subtle so from afar it just has a textured look that isn’t overwhelming but up close it’s a faint damask print that would definitely hide marks unlike a plain block colour. The pile isn’t too thick; it’s just enough to sink your feet into but not too much that you lose whole crisps in it!

I styled it with cream and grey accents and made some cushions from green patterned fabric that my brother brought me back from Bali. William Morris or Liberty prints could work equally well here I think, and as it’s neutral you could change up the cushions with the season. It could also work well with metallics as it has a faint silvery shimmer in the light that could be complemented by brass, copper or gold.

My biggest revelation with this rug was that having a larger rug actually made the room look and feel bigger than before since it fit snugly under the sofa, so I’d recommend sizing up. A rug can also be an easy way to divide up an open plan space, and I felt that with the larger size I could make my living space more of a feature.

Here’s my old rug versus new to show you what I mean:

Old:

New:

Safavieh have a vast collection of rugs at Wayfair from neutral to nautical so you can check out their others here if you fancy cosying up your space like me.