The Greatness of Rugs I live in rented accommodation, which means I absolutely begrudge paying money on doing up my house properly, as in, with new carpets and wallpaper etcetera. I don't see the point as I could be kicked out at any time (not that I'm admitting to be the Tenant from Hell or anything!), and I can't take any of that sort of stuff with me, so it's a wasted investment. My plan is to keep saving for a deposit so I can sometime soon get a foot on the property ladder, move into my own place and invest in the décor I really want.

However, I still want to live in a house that looks nice and, most importantly, feels comfortable and cosy, so I've been forced to find a few ways to make my rented home my own that are both economical and effective. One of the most effective is the implementation of rugs into practically every room in my house!

Rugs in a Rented Home In a rented home, a rug is a good investment as it's portable. Consequently, when I choose to move (or have to move on the whim of my landlady), I haven't lost any money in the purchase. Best case scenario, I will use my rugs in my new home, worst case scenario, I will sell them on Ebay and recoup some of the cost.

Adding Warmth To Your Home My living room (which opens into the kitchen) has laminate flooring and, while this looks OK as it's fairly decent quality, I would much prefer carpet as I feel this generally makes a room look cosier and warmer. However, as I'm not prepared to pay 10-20 per square metre to furnish someone else's property, I made the decision to invest in a rug. Because it was for my living room, which is generally the first place visitors see in a house, the place most visitors will spend their time, and the room in which (if you don't count sleeping) I spend most of my time, I decided to splash out on a high quality rug, and chose a large one to cover as much floor space as possible. I also chose a neutral colour to increase the chance of it matching décor in any future home I have, and because it's incredibly easy to accessorise a living room with splashes of colour through cushions, art work, vases and photo frames etcetera.

Adding Colour and Character Rugs not only add warmth to your home but are items that have a high impact when it comes to brightening up a room. Block-color rugs are great if you're looking to match or enhance a color scheme you have running through any room. Additionally, people nowadays tend to buy rugs as statement pieces for their interior decor. For instance, rugs made of animal hides (like cowhide leather) tend to add a pinch of luxury to the living area. This is how rugs can also be feature pieces on their own, and it can be worth spending time shopping around for one with a more unusual, quirky or eye-catching design.

Rugs Cover All Manner of Sins! What do red wine, coffee and dog pee all have in common? They are all nightmare stains that require a prayer and a modern-day miracle to remove. To be honest, there is a fabulous range of stain-removing products available these days that can indeed perform said miracle, but, in the case of their failure, a well-placed rug can provide some respite until it's time to replace the carpet...  

This article was provided The Wigley Family Blog