RUGS ARE ONE OF OUR FAVORITE ITEMS WHEN DESIGNING A SPACE. RUGS ARE MORE THAN SOME COZY CARPETING ON THE GROUND, THEY REALLY HAVE A HUGE ROLE IN THE FUNCTION AND FEEL OF THE ROOM. AS A WHEELCHAIR USER I UTILIZE RUGS TO ADD SOME TRACTION TO AREAS I TRANSFER OFTEN. I NOW A LOT OF WHEELCHAIR AND ASSISTIVE DEVICE USERS SEE CARPETING AS THE NEMESIS (AND I DO AGREE) HOWEVER STRATEGICALLY PLACED CARPETING CAN BE YOUR BEST FRIEND. HERE IS WHY…
FIRST OF ALL, LETS GET SOME GOOD RUG DESIGN PRACTICES OUT OF THE WAY. BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER! I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. THERE IS NOTHING WORSE IN A ROOM THAN A POORLY PROPORTIONED RUG (I COULD RANT ABOUT THIS FOR HOURS). SO NO MATTER WHAT THE PURPOSE YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH YOUR RUGS, GO BIG!
FOR LIVING ROOMS AND MASTER BEDROOMS YOUR RUG SHOUD BE AT LEAST AN 8’ X 10’. 5’ X 7’ RUGS HARLDY HAVE A SPACE IN THE WORLD FOR ME. NOW THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE BUT GENERALLY YOU WANT TO START YOUR RUG SEARCH AT 8’ X 10’ AND LARGER. IF YOU HAVE A VERY GRAND SRACE, CONSIDER SPLITTING YOUR ROOM WITH 2 RUGS AND CREATE SEPARATE SEATING AREAS TO FILL THE SPACE.
RUGS ARE USED TO ANCHOR A SPACE. WITH OPEN CONCEPT LIVING, SOMETIMES LARGE SPACES CAN FEEL AS THOUGH THEY ARE FLOATING OR EVEN STERILE. ADDING A RUG CREATES SEPARATION AND STABILITY THAT IS MUCH NEEDED FOR US TO FEEL RESTED AND SAFE. IF YOU HAVE CARPETING IN YOUR GREAT ROOM, CONSIDER USING WOOL OR FLAT WEAVE RUGS TO SEPARATE YOUR SPACES.
WHEN IT COMES TO ACCESSIBILITY I USE RUGS UN AREAS THAT NEED A LITTLE EXTRA STABILITY WHEN TRANSFERRING. YEARS AGO I WAS AFRAID TO USE RUGS WITH MY CHAIR BECAUSE I HATED CARPET AND THOUGHT THE RUG WOULD GIVE ME THE SAME HARD-TO-PUSH-ON EFFECT. I WAS TOTALLY WRONG! WHEN TRANSFERRING TO MY SOFA AND BED, I FOUND MY CHAIR SLIDING ON THE SLICK TILE AND IT MADE TRANSFERRING MUCH MORE DIFFICULT WHEN THE CHAIR I WAS TRYING TO GET INTO KEPT MOVING AWAY FROM ME. I WAS THRILLED TO GET SOME RUGS IN THE SPACE BECAUSE LIKE I SAID EARLIER, THEY ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS IN A DESIGN PLAN. THEY ADD SO MUCH WARMTH AND COLOR AND TIE THE WHOLE ROOM TOGETHER. ANYWAYS, ONCE I PLACED THE RUGS IN MY BEDROOM AND LIVING ROOM, MY CHAIR NO LONGER SLID AWAY AND I WAS SAFE AND CONFIDENT IN MY TRANSFERS.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO ADD A RUG TO YOUR SPACE TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY, HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO LOOK FOR…
RUGS WITH A BACKING. FLAT WEAVES AND LIGHT WEIGHT RUGS WILL MOVE AND GET CAUGHT UP IN THE WHEELS. LOOK FOR MEDIUM WEIGHT RUGS THAT STAY PUT.
CHOOSE A LOW TO MEDIUM PILE. HIGH PILE AND SHAG RUGS ARE GOING TO BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO PUSH ON AND HARDER TO CLEAN.
UTLIZE A RUG PAD. THIS CAN HELP YOUR RUGS STAY PUT AS WELL AS KEEP YOUR RUGS LOOKING FRESHER LONGER.
LOOK FOR RUGS WITH A FLUID PATTERN. THIS WILL HELP HIDE ANY DIRT FROM YOUR TIRES!
LOOK FOR RUGS THAT CAN BE CLEANED PROFESSIONALLY. SOME INEXPENSIVE RUGS ARE MADE FROM MATERIALS THAT CAN NOT BE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED. EVERY RUG IS GOING TO NEED TO BE CLEANED AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET A RUG WITH THE RIGHT MATERIALS. CALL YOUR LOCAL FLOOR CLEANERS AND ASK WHAT RUG MATERIALS THEY CAN AND CAN NOT CLEAN AND GO FROM THERE.
