Oriental rugs can add warmth, texture, and visual interest to any space. But pairing them with the right patterns and colors can be tricky. Follow these 8 expert secrets to effortlessly coordinate your oriental rug with your existing decor.
Choose a Dominant Color From Your Space
The first secret is to select a dominant color from the current decor of the room where you’ll place the rug.
Look at the fabrics, furnishings, wall colors, and decor accessories that are already present. Identify the color that appears most frequently or prominently. This will serve as an anchor that brings cohesion between the rug and its surroundings.
For example, if you have a living room with a navy blue sofa, various blue throw pillows, and a soft blue wall color, then blue would be the dominant choice. Opt for an oriental rug with blue tones that match or coordinate with your existing blue hues.
This technique ensures your rug enhances the current color palette rather than competing or clashing with it.
Complement Neutrals With Saturated Hues
When dealing with a neutral color scheme of creams, whites, grays or beiges, bring vibrancy into the space with a saturated oriental rug in a jewel tone.
Rich shades of emerald, sapphire, garnet, topaz or amethyst add a bolt of energy to muted surroundings. Just be sure the intensity of the rug’s colors are represented elsewhere in the room through decorative objects, throw pillows, drapery or artwork.
Anchoring the rug’s bold colors creates balance and harmony. Rely on metallic finishes like silver, gold and copper to bridge the gap between the neutrals and the saturated hues.
Seek Contrasting Yet Complementary Colors
Sometimes the best coordinating color for an oriental rug is the exact opposite or complementary color of your room’s existing color scheme.
Complementary pairs are located directly across from each other on the color wheel, like red and green or orange and blue. When placed together in a room, they create strong visual contrast and a sense of vibrancy.
Just be sure to include accent colors and decor items that pick up on the oriental rug’s complementary color, so it doesn’t feel randomly placed. The accent pieces create harmony between the contrasting colors.
Use Analogous Colors For Gradual Contrast
For a more subtle approach, select an oriental rug in analogous colors to your current decor. Analogous colors sit directly next to each other on the color wheel, creating a sense of gradual contrast.
If your interior decor features cool blue-green color schemes, choose a rug in analogous earthy sage greens or warm aqua blues. This adds diversity while remaining tied to an overall analogous color family.
Dip-dyed rugs that fade from one analogous hue to the next can also elegantly bridge this color gap.
Repeat Geometric Patterns Already Present
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Repeat Geometric Patterns Already Present
Interior decor often contains geometric patterns like diamonds, grids, zigzags, and trellises. Oriental rugs with these same patterns bring continuity through repetition.
For example, if you have an abstract painting featuring a zigzag motif, choose a rug with zigzags or chevrons. If your furniture or textiles contain diamond or lattice designs, layer those shapes into the rug’s pattern as well.
Repeating visual motifs create cohesiveness and harmony between the rug and its surroundings.
Use Similar Scale Patterns
When selecting a patterned oriental rug, pay attention to the scale and size of the designs. Choose patterns with a similar visual weight and proportion to those found throughout the rest of the interior space.
A room with large, wide-scale florals and paisleys would clash with a rug covered in tiny intricate designs. But oversized motifs on the rug would mirror and balance out the bold shapes in the existing decor.
Conversely, small-scale ditsy prints require a rug with petite patterns to maintain visual continuity. Matching the proportions results in cohesion.
Incorporate Inspiration Colors From Artwork
Take inspiration from the framed artwork and wall decor hung in the room where you’ll be placing the oriental rug. Extract 2-3 standout colors from paintings, prints and wall hangings.
Then get an oriental rug woven with those exact hues scattered throughout its design. The shared colors will make the rug appear purposefully coordinated, as if you had all the elements custom designed.
But don’t go overboard with too many competing colors. Stick to pulling 1-2 dominant shades and 1-2 accent shades for best results.
Seek Texture and Sheen Contrast
Sometimes the best coordinating factor between an oriental rug and its surrounding decor comes down to contrasting textures. This creates visual interest through touches of shine, softness, flatness, etc.
For example, pair a luxuriously smooth silk oriental rug with rougher linen upholstery fabric. Or match a flat wool rug with highly textured velvet pillows and shiny satin drapes.
Seek combinations where the rug’s texture forms an interesting juxtaposition against the other elements, balanced by moments of harmony and repetition.
Summary: Key Ways to Pair Oriental Rug Patterns
Here’s a quick recap of the top 8 secrets interior designers use to effortlessly coordinate oriental rug patterns:
- Choose a dominant color from your existing decor
- Complement neutrals with saturated hues
- Seek contrasting yet complementary colors
- Use analogous colors for gradual contrast
- Repeat geometric patterns already present
- Use similar scale patterns
- Incorporate inspiration colors from artwork
- Seek texture and sheen contrast
With a few easy techniques, you can pair an ornate oriental rug with your current room decor. Experiment with color combinations, pattern scales, and texture contrasts. Soon it will become second nature to naturally integrate beautiful Persian rugs into any interior space.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pairing Oriental Rug Patterns
Still have questions about successfully coordinating oriental rug patterns and designs? Here are answers to some common FAQs:
How do I match an oriental rug to my existing furniture?
Choose 1-2 dominant colors from your largest furniture pieces like sofas, chairs or cabinets. Get a rug woven with those same hues. Complement the colors with any patterns or geometries reflected in the furniture shapes and details.
What if my decor doesn’t have an obvious dominant color?
If your space lacks a clear dominant color, select neutrals like navy, gray, cream or taupe for your rug. Then use color pops and patterns pulled from artwork or textiles for contrast.
Should my rug pattern match my drapes?
It’s fine if they don’t exactly match, but there should be moments of visual alignment. Pull a color from the drapes into the rug design. Incorporate similar geometric shapes or scales. Contrast flat drapery fabric with high-pile shag rugs.
How do I mix and match patterns without looking busy?
Stick to just 2-3 core repeating patterns. Scale down patterns on textiles so the rug remains the focal point. Limit patterns to organic elements like botanicals and geometrics rather than abstract designs.
Can I pair an oriental rug with a non-patterned room?
Yes! Use a saturated solid colored rug as your focal point. Complement the brightness with metallic accents. Add patterns/textures through layers of pillows, throws, wall decor.
What size rug should I use to coordinate with the room?
Make sure furniture pieces sit at least partially atop a properly sized rug. But don’t size your rug to fill every inch, as too much can overwhelm. Anchor with front legs of primary seating to allow negative space for visual calm.
Conclusion
Coordinating the intricate motifs and dazzling colors of an oriental rug requires thoughtful strategy. By implementing these insider designer secrets, you can seamlessly integrate ornate rugs into any well-decorated room.
Carefully repeat or complement existing colors, patterns, textures and shapes throughout your space. But don’t overdo it—let the rug retain its focal prominence. With the right harmonizing colors and judicious use of patterns, your oriental rug will feel like the perfect unified foundation piece tying the whole room together.
