Do living rooms need rugs?

A rug is a great addition to any room in the house. But it’s becoming less common as homeowners opt for other options such as tiles, hardwood floors, etc. So, you may wonder, does your living room need rugs?

The best way to decide if you should have rugs in your living room is by examining the pros and cons. The pros include insulation, additional comfort and safety, noise reduction, and room uniformity. But the cons include high cost, smell, maintenance issues, and ease of attracting dust and dirt.

When you consider both sides, you can decide whether it’s suitable for your living room or not. Here, we discuss whether living rooms need rugs.

Pros of Rugs in Your Living Room

When people add rugs to a room, it’s mostly based on style choices. But there’s a lot more than a rug can do. Here are the various advantages of having a rug in your living room:

1. Uniformity to the Room

The living room may have a lot of objects and designs in it. This is especially true if you’re not a minimalist. One of the best ways to give the room a uniform look is using a rug. Rugs can come in colors, designs, styles, accents, and textures. In a room with multiple accents, you can get a rug in all colors. This way, you have some uniformity.

Furthermore, rugs can add whatever is missing in your living to it. Is it the texture or design? You can easily find a rug that works perfectly. Rugs offer a variety that no other flooring material can provide. The variety isn’t just in the looks but also in the feel.

2. Increase Room Insulation

Get a rug if you want to spend less on heating your living room. Unlike other flooring options such as hardwood or tiles, rugs retain heat. So, it’ll cut down your energy bills in the winter. Since you and your guests will be spending a lot of time in the living room, you should try as much as possible to make it comfortable. Warm floors are a great way to do that, and rugs are the best option.

3. Additional Comfort

Hardwood floors might be very pleasant to look at, but you only need to step on them to have another opinion. Almost every other flooring material is hard. But rugs offer comfort whether standing, sitting, or walking on them. In addition, it offers a soft surface that makes your living room more comfortable.

Beyond the confirmation, rugs are also safer. The risks of slipping on a rug are reduced due to its texture. Even if you or anyone should slip, the fall is usually cushioned with little to no effect. On the other hand, slipping on other floors such as tiles can be fatal.

4. Noise Reduction

Do you have hardwood floors that constantly make noise when you walk on them? Get a rug and fix the problem. Nothing beats rugs in combating the sounds coming from the floor. This is important if you have kids or pets or you live upstairs.

Even if your floors have no problem that could lead to creaking, they’ll still be noisy when you walk on them. This is simply the sound bouncing around the room. With rugs, you can eliminate that noise. It also means your downstairs neighbor will stop complaining you’re stomping the floor when you’re just tiptoeing.

Cons Of Using Rugs

As great as rugs are, they have disadvantages that could be good reasons not to use them. These includes:

1. High Cost

Rugs come in varieties, and that variety includes the cost. The cost varies based on the size, design, quality, and other features. But you could spend between $500 to $10,000 getting a rug. Of course, you don’t need to buy a high-end rug before enjoying all the possible benefits of owning a rug. Most times, a few thousand will get you a good rug. But if you’re going for designer brands, you might spend a lot of money.

2. Dust And Dirt Easily Accumulate

The qualities that make rugs comfortable also mean its vulnerable to dirt. With all the foot traffic in your living room, it doesn’t take long before your rug starts showing dirt. If you have pets and kids, it’ll happen faster. What makes it worse is that it’s difficult to clean. You can’t simply mop the dirt away, and there’s only so much a vacuum cleaner can do. The fact that dust accumulates could lead to your rug causing breathing allergies.

3. Smell

It’s not only dust and dirt that rugs collect. They collect odor too. They’re absorbent. So, anything liquid that spills on them sinks in. Food stains can start smelling after a while. This makes it tricky to use rugs at home with children or pets.

While you might be able to clean some smells, some could stay permanently. Even with cleaning, constantly spilling liquid on the rug could leave a bad smell. Thus, if you want to rug in your living room, you must be ready for the extra precaution necessary to keep it in pristine condition.

4. Hard To Maintain

If trying not to spill anything on the floor seems hard to you, wait till you have to clean it. Rugs are difficult to clean and require regular cleaning. With tiles and hardwood floors, all you have to do is mop the floor. Rugs require a vacuum at least once a week. Beyond that, it also needs shampooing or steaming when it starts showing dirt.

You’ll have to constantly clean it unless you could develop health problems due to the dirty drugs. Even with all the cleaning, you still need to change it after some years. Rugs last between 5 – 15 years on average. Ceramic tiles can last for close to 100 years and more. Of course, it’s all about maintenance, but rugs are harder to maintain.

In Conclusion 

Rugs are great for the living room. But living rooms can do without them. You’ll have to consider the pros and cons to determine if having one in your living room is advisable. If you have kids and pets, it might not be a great idea to have rugs in your room.

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