The Secret Behind Successful Rug Placement

My parents’ living room is rectangular in shape and accommodates two seating arrangements. Two large area rugs of the same size cover the floor like this……

This did not look right to me! So I decided to switch one of the area rugs with the one in the family room and repositioned them like this….

By simply switching and repositioning the rugs, I was able to change the look and feel in the living room. Everyone was excited with the new look and remarked on how spacious the room felt.

So, how do you place an area rug in a room?

Before I can answer that question, it is important to understand the secret behind successful rug placement. Are you ready?

The secret is the visual balance between Positive and Negative space.

Allow me to explain….

“Positive space is space that is filled with color, texture, form, or mass. This could be walls, furnishings, art, area rugs, or even graphics or scenes painted on walls. Negative space is the empty space surrounding the positive space-the windows between walls, the floor around the area rug, the wall around and between works of art, the space between furniture pieces, or even the cubic footage.” {source-Interiors: an introduction/Karla J. Nielson, DavidA. Taylor. 4th edition}

The photo below might help you understand this concept easier