How to Choose the Perfect Area Rug for your Dining Room

The dining room seems to be where all the entertaining happens. Whether it is for the immediate family, holiday dinners or intimate romantic dinners, the dining room is a special room.  When decorating your dining room, we often forget about the flooring and the area rug that goes under the table. Believe it or not, the perfect area rug can make your room feel casual or formal, just by changing the rug.  Here are tips for choosing the right one for your home.
Assess the size of your dining room: Your dining room size will dictate how large of an area rug you should use. Large dining rooms may need to utilize two or more area rugs based on multiple seating areas and tables.  For smaller dining rooms consider using one that is larger than your dining room table, but smaller than the perimeter of the room. For those that have hardwood flooring, a border of the contrasting resilient flooring makes a nice contrast.
What’s the shape of your dining room: While most would think a rectangular carpet should go in a rectangular room, there are often exceptions. Area rugs can take their cues from the space as well as the shape of the table that covers it. It is often a play on form and color when choosing the area rug. Decide what feels and looks right to you. Your dining room is your design preference and trends and design can be followed or broken!
Choose a pattern or not: In some dining rooms the area rug serves as a floor covering that feels good underfoot and is meant for function and not décor. While other dining rooms keep a simple table and chairs, and then have the area rug take command of the room.  If you choose the more bold approach, choose a few colors from the carpet and bring them into the wall color and fabrics of the room. This will unite the room and keep it from looking too busy for the eye.
Defining a space: If you have an open area dining room that shares a space with a living room or kitchen area, an area rug will help you define the dining room without using walls. Choose a rug that uses colors from adjoining spaces but still defines the space. Therefore a mixture of neutrals from the surrounding rooms with a punch of an accent color to match the dining room chairs would be perfect.
Family lifestyle will help you decide: If you have a formal and casual dining space, you may be able to keep a formal area rug in the space where dropped food from kids will not be a problem. While if you live in a household that only has one dedicated dining room, choose area rugs with low pile and that can disguise stains.  A thick pile, white area rug may not suit your lifestyle with pets, kids, and heavy traffic!
Enhance your dining room with the addition of an area rug. From simple to bold, the colors and shape you choose are up to you and your home’s decorative style. If possible, buy your area rug when you buy your dining room table. This will help you when the color matching and decision time comes. If you buy separate, try to keep the dining room set and carpet neutral so it is not hard to match your hot pink dining room set!
Freshome readers tell us how you chose your area rug for your dining room. Do you have bold or simple?
This article is taken from- http://freshome.com/2010/11/08/how-to-choose-the-perfect-area-rug-for-your-dining-room/