1. KNOW HOW COLOUR CAN MAKE YOU FEEL

Colours can influence our emotions, actions and how we respond to people and things in our daily life. Similarly, the colour of your floor rug can significantly impact the way you feel when you walk into a room. If you understand how colours affect us, you can easily design a creative and inspiring office space by adding a designer rug, a high energy and vibrant play room with a kid’s rug, or add a modern rug for a restful safe haven.

People are influenced by colours in different ways, depending on our individual circumstances and cultural backgrounds. When you walk into a room you should take notice of the colours and how they make you feel, because they are often designed that way for a particular reason. For example, McDonald’s uses red and yellow for their famous Big M because red signifies fast and yellow signifies hunger (hence, fast food!).

If you know the basic psychology behind colour meanings you can easily create the mood you desire. Our colour meanings guide explains the meanings of the colours red, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, black and white, and shows you how you can use these colours in your home to choose the perfect rug and create the perfect room.

Learn more about the meaning of colours.

2. LIGHT OR SHADOWS IN THE ROOM

The way light and shadows naturally fall in your room can have a big impact on the way your rug colour is perceived. As the day progresses, the intensity of the sunlight in your room will change and colours will appear different. In the morning, sunlight is lower on the horizon and casts a warm, yellowish glow. But as the day goes on sunlight develops a cooler, bluish cast, and around midday, colours can appear slightly more washed out. By sunset, the light will change again to a reddish cast.

Look at where the natural light touches your room and where any shadows fall, because this could impact the way particular colours appear. Also, note what kind of artificial lighting you have in your room – is it soft? Harsh? Warm? Cool? Yellow? White? This can also affect the way the colour of your rug looks.That’s why Carpet Call has our “24hr Home Approval” obligation-free try-at-home service, so you can see just how your new rug works with your existing lighting.

3. COLOUR SCHEMES

When you’re choosing a new rug it’s important to look at the room as a whole, and get an idea of its existing colour scheme. What other colours are in the room, on the walls, the carpet, tiles or timber, your furniture and your artwork? You need to choose a rug that works with the colours in your room, and either ties in together with them or acts as a highlight feature.

Understanding the colour wheel, primary, secondary and highlight colours, and how colours work together is integral to deciding on the colour scheme for your room, and essentially the perfect rug. Our colour schemes guide explains how all these aspects work together and how you can use them to create the design you want.

Learn more about colour schemes

and how to choose a floor rug that fits in well with yours.

4. INSPIRATION

You can find design inspiration everywhere – your local café, that hotel you love, your best friend’s house, homeware shop display rooms, magazines, Pinterest and even nature. Sometimes you’ll be surprised by what you can find!

If you haven’t already, check out our Pinterest board. It’s packed full of inspiration and totally addictive for the home decorating enthusiast.

5. THE LAST WORD – YOUR UNIQUE STYLE, TASTES AND PREFERENCES

Everyone has their own unique taste, and your home is a representation of that taste. The design of your rooms should express you and your style, and you should choose a rug that fits with that style and is just as unique and individual as you are.

Whether you love the bold and minimal appeal of solid colours, the intricate details of a more elaborate design, or whether you prefer modern, traditional, Aztec or tribal – if you love it, then you’ve made the perfect choice! Carpet Call’s huge range of rugs for sale online makes it easy to find the best fit for your home.