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I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are staying nice and warm out there! Continuing on with our tips & tricks to create a cozy home, I have a really good one to get us through this first month of the year when we may perhaps be up for some change. Ready for it? Let’s talk about using rugs & textures.

Rugs & textures!

Let me tell you, something as simple as adding a rug or placing some different textures around the room can make a HUGE difference in the feeling of a space. First, let’s think about the spaces we go into that have no change in texture: doctor’s offices, the post office, the DMV, dorm rooms, the high school cafeteria. What do you think of when you think about these spaces? I think of smooth walls, fluorescent lighting, smooth shiny floors, and minimal, hard/flat uncomfortable furniture. Why?? Because these places are designed to handle high amounts of traffic, be extremely easy to clean, and last for many many years. Which is great for these spaces because that’s what their function needs. But is that what you want for your home?? No!

So, let’s add some texture into your home! What do I mean by texture? I mean throw pillows in different fabrics. I mean soft fuzzy blankets laid over the back of the couch. Baskets on the floor or hanging on the wall or sitting on shelves. Plants, flowers, driftwood logs, dried grasses. I mean weavings, macramé (yes, it’s back in!), and pottery. Large photos, oil paintings, watercolors. Metal wall art, old glass jars, reclaimed metal or wood bins. The list goes on!

Adding different types of texture throughout your home gives so much personality and comfort to the space. It provides a visceral connection to the space that is linked back to our human evolvement in nature. Nature is full of textures, which is why we feel more connected in spaces with texture than spaces that are completely smooth.

Pick a Theme for your Rugs & Textures

While there are many choices regarding using rugs & textures, I recommend picking a style theme. Stick to textures that match your theme. For example, if your theme is country rustic, pick baskets, metal objects, and ropes that are antique or worn down. Pick stuff that looks like it could be found in an old barn or farmhouse. Match it with patchwork quilts, cream colored waffle blankets or some Navajo rugs or weavings. If your theme is boho chic, pick some dried flowers, antique metal bookends, and a macramé wall hanging or plant hanger. Place European mounted deer antlers (the kind that shows just the antlers and skull, not a stuffed deer looking at you) over a weathered leather couch.

These are just two examples of how using rugs & textures can create a cohesive style and interesting design. This not only gives your room a cozy-homey vibe, but also (hopefully) enhances your personality throughout the space.

Ground Your Space with a Rug

We can’t forget that rugs are a great way to add texture and create a cozy home! They act as a way to complete the space. Rugs ground us and define smaller areas within our larger space. As humans, we generally feel more comfortable and less exposed if nestled into a smaller nook looking out into a bigger space. It makes us feel instinctively protected and less exposed. Yes, even if that “larger space” is our own home.

For example, imagine you’re going on a picnic. Do you prefer to sit under the shade of a large tree with the trunk to your back? Or in the middle of the wide open park lawn? I personally always pick the tree. Rugs can be our large tree in the middle of the park. Placing a large round rug under your couches and coffee table defines a smaller sitting area within a larger living room. A rectangular rug under your desk centers your focus on the desk as a defined nook in a larger office space. A long runner rug in front of the kitchen sink is soft under your toes and grounds you to that area; that little bit of comfort can make the dreary task of doing dishes that much better, which is what create a cozy home.

Pattern & Balance

Lastly, using rugs & textures is a great way to add some patterns into a space that doesn’t have enough. You can also choose a solid rug to balance a space that already has a lot of pattern. Similarly, adding something with texture can balance a space with lots of smooth surfaces.

Of course, the beautiful thing with using textures & rugs and all the other previous tips and tricks (click here if you missed out on those) is that they are easy to rearrange, swap out, or change entirely if you ever want to mix things up! I really believe in simple, elegant, and (dare I say) timeless architecture, with more fun, stylized furnishings and decorations to change with us as we grow.