Rugs are an easy way to brighten up your living space and add a vivid focal point to a big room. Rugs can provide luxurious comfort underfoot and warmth in a room with hard flooring. They help divide rooms, and protect areas of heavy wear on fitted carpets and in hallways.

Choosing the right material for your rug

Materials used in rug production typically fall into two categories – natural or man-made. Natural includes animal skin or natural fibres like sisal (agave sisalana) and jute, both plant fibres that can be spun into coarse, strong threads.
However, with its natural elasticity, resilience and wear, wool makes the best carpets and rugs. The woollen fibres are covered with a naturally occuring membrane that prevents water penetration and provides a natural resistence to stains.
Man-made materials such as printed nylon or polyester are easy to dye, so are available in a wide colour palette and are generally more durable and less expensive than natural fibres and wool.

Deciding on textures and pile

When deciding on the texture and pile of your rug, consider the position of the rug and the amount of traffic it will receive. In areas of heavy footfall, a thick, dense, smooth pile in a pure wool like the Jacaranda Chunky Velvet should do the trick. If the rug is more of a feature in a room, then a more refined composition could be considered. Jacaranda’s Lustre or Silken Shaggy rugs with their blend of man-made and natural fibres, bring a luxurious texture to the rug that is gorgeous to behold and fabulous underfoot.

Selecting a colour

When selecting a rug for a space, consider the size and colour palette of the room. Do you want the rug to be a statement piece or rather to provide comfort and warmth? If natural materials are your preference yet you still would like some pattern and colour, Calvin Klein’s selection of rugs are hard to beat. Made from pure New Zealand wool and viscose (sometimes called artificial silk), Calvin Klein’s collection of subtle colours and textures will bring a new dimension to your room. If you need to brighten up a space, consider pure man-made fibres as found in the uber-stylish Moooi Carpet Collection available from Occa-Home.

Caring for your rug

• When hoovering your rug, consider that cylinder cleaners are gentler than uprights. If you have an upright, do not use the brush – use the tools if possible, as they are more gentle.
• Stains and spillages should be blotted, not rubbed and only cool water should be used on them to minimise the displacement of dye.
• If your rug is in a sunny patch of the room, turn it regularly to help prevent uneven fading.
• With hand-spun yarn, the rug may shed fluff early on. Light vacuuming will help resolve this.
• Loop pile rugs are best beaten – just turn them face down on the floor, beat gently, and then vacuum up the grit and dust from the floor rather than the rug.
• Rughold underlay prevents rugs from slipping, and the transfer of vegetable dyes on handmade rugs.
• Bare in mind that expensive Oriental rugs may need specialist care.