Did you know that you can layer rugs? It’s a lesser-known but oh-so-stylish interior trend that can transform your floor space; all it takes is a little know-how and a few of your favorite rugs or rug runners. Renter-friendly and cost-effective, knowing how to decorate with rugs and runners adds your (or your family’s) personality in seconds.

Not sure how to style a rug or how to place rugs in your favorite living spaces for an elegant interior? No worries. We’re here to teach you how to layer area rugs and runners like a pro. Just follow our lead with these six key tips from the Runrug experts.

Table of contents

• Let the room guide you
• Layer different sized rugs
• Coordinate their colors
• Keep the base rug straight
• Use layered rugs to split rooms
• Try mixing rug and runner textures
• Don’t forget your underlay

Let the room guide you

Worried that layering rugs might look too much? This will depend on the room size and feel, so it’s important to gauge the characteristics of your room and take your lead from this. Placing rugs on top of rugs works best in larger rooms with less furniture, as it prevents that unwanted ‘cluttered’ look that can occur when too much is added to a small room.

If you do have a larger room, the next element to pay attention to is the walls. If you have solid-colored walls, try layering patterns on top of patterns to add a pop of unexpected texture and color to your room. If, on the other hand, your room already has patterned wallpaper, you can ensure design harmony by layering one patterned rug on top of a solid color rug, or sticking to two solid colors.

Layer different-sized rugs

The best approach when layering rugs is to choose two or more rugs of very different sizes. Start with a much larger rug as your base layer, and then add a smaller rug that fits comfortably inside the other when layered on top. Add dimension and visual intrigue by layering the second smaller rug at a contrasting angle, and shake things up even more by mixing different rug shapes as well as sizes.

With runrug.com, placing a rug on top of rugs never looked so good!

Coordinate their colors

When learning how to layer rugs, one of the key lessons is always color coordination. It’s important to be creative, but going wild with too many contrasting colors can leave you with a room that looks more like a circus than a home. Whether you’re layering patterns or solids, you need to ensure all your colors work together.

You can choose coordinating colors from different tones (such as yellow and gray), or you can work with several tones from the same color group. But you should always avoid contrasting hues when layering rugs.

Keep the base rug straight

Whether you’re keeping all your rug and runner layers squarely oriented in the same way, or if you’re planning on placing your top rug at an angle, your base rug should always be straight and in line with your furniture. This is where experimentation comes in. Lay out your base rug in accordance with your furniture to begin with, and try moving your furniture around if needs be, to find an angle that works for the room as a whole.

An extra rug styling tip

You can use your rug layering to highlight specific pieces of furniture in your room. A coffee table, for example, can be made the center of attention by placing a large base rug in line beneath it, with a smaller statement rug directly beneath the table.

This rug decorating advice can also be followed in your property’s hallway, kitchen and bedrooms for a cohesive interior scheme.

Use layered rugs to split rooms

Rug layering is a highly effective interior trick for splitting open-plan rooms. The layered textures and colors of area runners create a visual border that marks out different areas of a large room. So if you have a large, open plan dining and living area, for instance, you could use layered area rugs to mark out the living room area by placing them beneath your sofa and coffee table. This approach is sometimes called ‘zoning’.

Try mixing rug and runner textures

When planning how to layer your rugs, we can’t leave out layering rugs made from different materials. Adding an extra element of depth and visual intrigue, mixing textures can create a variety of aesthetics depending on the styles you choose. Pair up a classic wool rug with a natural sisal rug to contrast rough and smooth. Or try layering a flat weave design on top of a fluffy plush rug for different pile heights.

Don’t forget your underlay

As you’re now inspired by learning how to style a rug, we would recommend adding one extra layer. Available in several materials such as mesh and fleece, each with its own properties and benefits, our anti-slip rug runner underlays are the rug styling accessories that you (probably) didn’t know you needed.

They are great at keeping your rugs and runners in place on different floor surfaces including hard floors and carpet. Using one also means you won’t have to re-adjust your stylish new purchases at the end of each day. Now that’s worth celebrating!

Can you layer rugs? Of course!

Now that you’ve been inspired by how to layer rugs down, you can get creative and have fun with your new ideas. Show us your rug layering skills on our social media channels below; we want to know how you get on!

Related articles

• How to stop runner rugs moving on carpet
• What size should a runner rug be?
• Carpet runners vs rug runners: what’s the difference?