Rug runners are versatile and can be used in many areas of your home. In fact, if you counted the number of runners in your house, you might be surprised at how many you already have: in the hallway leading from your front and back doors, in the kitchen in front of the sink, in your upstairs hallways, up and down your stairs – that’s six runners that I have in my house and there are probably more.

Runners can help quiet and cushion the sound of footsteps on your stairs or in a hallway. They can protect your carpet or hardwood floors in high traffic areas. A beautiful, long runner down a long wooden staircase is very attractive.

You can change your runners with the season and you can take them with you if you move.

Decorating with area rug runners is an easy and less expensive way to update or revitalize the look in the rooms of your home. Sisal Rugs Direct is the best place to shop for runners. We offer runners in most of our rug styles in a wide variety of colors and border colors.  Order a runner to match the area rug in the same or adjoining room.

We have two standard width runners: 24” and 28” x whatever length you want (up to 98’!) Click on Runner as the Product Type in the Custom Options tab. You can also order a runner any width or length as a Custom Rug in the Custom Options tab.

Enjoy the beauty and durability of these runner area rugs in your home today.

It's Complicated L/R Makeover at an Uncomplicated Price!

Living Room designed by Ginger Rodriguez and intern Luc Thia. PHOTO BY DANIEL BLOOM OF WWW.DANIELBLOOM.COM

Have you seen the movie It's Complicated with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin? If you have, you will probably remember the living room and maybe even wished your living room could look like that.  Well, Ginger Rodriguez in her column "Coffee with Ginger" in the North Virginia lifestyle magazine - Zebra - recreated the living room designed by movie set designers and did it at more down to earth prices.

Click to read the article: 

For the rug, that really anchors the whole room; she used our Sienna Brasilia rug with Honey Extra Wide Binding, Blind Stitched in the custom  size of 14' 4" x 14'4"  .

Shop Brasilia Sienna Rugs

Watch the show Tuesday, November 22^nd on FOX.  We will be watching and updating everyone once it airs.

The rug to be shown is: Khaki Brasilia Sisal serged to match

Measure the room: In order to decide on rug size, the first thing you should do is measure the room. If you have a wood floor, try to have at least 18-24 inches of flooring around the perimeter of the room.

Measure the space:  Measure the space that you wish to cover with a tape measure. Choose a standard size rug that comes closest to these measurements or have a custom size rug made for the space. Sounds expensive? It doesn’t’ have to be. At Sisal Rugs Direct we specialize in custom size rugs that are affordable and don’t take months to make. See for yourself on the “Custom Options” on all of our product pages.

Living Room/Family Room:  Arrange your furniture before determining the size of a new area rug. It makes a room look more pulled together for all of the legs of the furniture to be resting on a room sized area rug. Or, if you have a smaller area rug, you may want all of the legs of the furniture to be off the rug instead. All legs on, or all legs off is a good “rule of thumb” to keep in mind. You do not want to have your sofa half on and half off the rug.                                              

Dining Room/Kitchen:  Under the Dining Room table, or any table that has a rug under it, the rug should be large enough that the chairs can be easily pulled in and out from the table without catching on the edge of the rug. There should be at least 24” of rug from the edge of the table out on all sides. This will allow the back legs of the chairs to be on the rug, even when the chair is pulled out slightly while someone is sitting down. Do not have your chairs half on and half off the rug. It will be difficult to move the chairs over the rug all the time and it will not look right.

Bedroom:  For it to look balanced under a bed, the area rug should be large enough to extend beyond the side of the bed at least 18” for a King and Queen bed and at least 12” for a Full or Twin bed. If you have a larger bedroom you can extend the rug more around the bed, but you shouldn’t go smaller. 

High Traffic Areas:  It is generally considered awkward in a heavily traffic area to be half rug, and half "no rug". Basically, you don't want one foot on a rug and one foot off as you are walking through an area constantly.

As you can see there are no real rules about the size of a rug vs the size of the room or the space to be covered but hopefully this has given you some guidelines to follow when selecting your area rug.

In the premier episode “Loads of Layers vs. Less is More” of the new HGTV show “Showhouse Showdown” the Layers won. With the many fabric patterns and layers tied together by a common color scheme, Shazalynn was able to pair neutral, natural fiber rugs from Sisal Rugs Direct that did not compete with the patterns and colors in the furniture, walls and window treatments. The natural fiber rugs in each room provided a neutral backdrop to showcase each room’s unique decor. See below to get the look for your home.

Dining Room - Sunshade Sun Collection Sisal rug with Dark Taupe Designer’s Cotton Binding.

 

Shop Sunshade Sisal Rugs

Kitchen Family Room - Mushroom Chanelle Sisal Wool with Natural Designer’s Cotton Binding.

 

Shop Mushroom Chanelle Sisal Wool Rugs

Living Room - Sundial Sun Collection Sisal rug serged in Olive.

Shop Sundial Sisal Rugs

Family Room - Sunlight Sun Collection Sisal rug serged in Dark Brown.

 

Shop Sunlight Sisal Rugs

Master Bedroom - Jute Basketweave rug with Tan Extra Wide Canvas Binding.

 

Shop Jute Rugs

Image Credit: Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey –SCW Interiors

Based on the Irish format by the same name, Showhouse Showdown is a competition between two professional interior designers who take over two newly-built and identical homes or townhomes with identical budgets to create a winning interior design. At the end of each episode one designer is voted the winner by members of the public who represent the developer’s target market.

In Stone Ridge, Virginia, within commuting distance of our nation's capital, Alexandria designer Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey takes on Washington, D.C. designer Eric Kole, leading to a huge clash of design styles as well as their totally opposite personalities. Working in matching model homes, with two completely different approaches to the same five rooms, these highly competitive designers have one week to complete a dining room, rec room, master bedroom, living room and a challenging combination kitchen-family room. Then, potential buyers from around Northern Virginia tour the finished homes, which could not be more different looking, and their votes pick the winner of this Showhouse Showdown.

We're voting for Shazlalynn Cavin-Winfrey. See who wins on the premier show, Monday, September 12^th at 10 pm and 1 am EST.

Shop Sunlight Sisal Rugs

Sisal rugs have become the jeans of home decor. You can dress them up, dress them down and layer them. And you can afford them.

Sisals, as well as cousins sea grass, jute and other natural-fiber rugs, have been around for centuries in tropical islands and country homes. In the 1980s, these crisp floor coverings showed up in America’s living rooms, stairways and foyers. They never left.

Alexandria designer Shazalyn Cavin-Winfrey is drawn to the cooler, grayer colors of natural fibers these days. She prefers the chunkier weaves. “They look updated,” she says. Right now, she’s having a greige thickly woven sisal installed wall-to-wall in her family room. (She is using the Sunshade color from the Sun Sisal collection at Sisal Rugs Direct).

Shop Sunshade Sun Sisal Collection

Designer Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey thoroughly renovated a Poconos house into a cozy weekend getaway for her family. Her color palette is the greens and grays of the local lichens, mosses and ferns mixed with the blue of mountain skies. She decorated many of the rooms with natural fiber sisal rugs from Sisal Rugs Direct. She chose rugs from the Sun Collection in Sunlight with Tan and Brown canvas bindings. Read More...

Shop Sun Collection rugs now

Featuring Praire Hemp Grass with Brown binding in the library and Sand Boucle Sisal rug with tan extra wide binding in the dining room.

Shop Hemp Grass rugs

Shop Sisal Boucle rugs

Indoor/Outdoor rugs have the look and feel you want on your floors with the durability you need outside.

Sizing: Indoor/Outdoor rugs are offered in standard and custom sizes. Choose one of these all weather rugs for outdoor use that’s large enough for your seating area. At least the front legs of your furniture should fit on the rug.

Cleaning is a breeze: Indoor/Outdoor rugs are made from polypropylene synthetic fibers to resist moisture, stains and fading. Just spot-clean, shake or vacuum and/or wash with a hose and then hang to dry. You can drape them over your outdoor furniture for quick drying.

Do you need a rug pad outside? An outdoor patio pad is highly recommended. It lets air circulate under the rug and helps the rug wear more evenly.

Bring the outdoors inside: The style and durability of indoor/outdoor rugs make them ideal for kitchens, dining rooms and screened or three season porches. Splashes and spills won’t hurt them. They are also great for high-traffic areas such as a hallway or entry.

Can Indoor rugs be used outside? No, indoor rugs are not made to withstand the elements – rain and sun – of the outdoors. The sun can fade them. The rain can cause watermarks and the fibers to disintegrate.

Share

A recent report on the Today Show about baby products loaded with chemicals and the resulting health concerns made me think about the chemicals that are found in many of the carpet and rug materials.

This report talked about fire retardant used on baby mattresses. Imagine you take the plastic off of a new baby mattress for your beautiful, healthy new baby and there is a chemical smell from the treatments used to supposedly protect our children. Think of your baby laying on that all night and during naps, inhaling those fumes! If you can’t find more natural bedding, be sure to air out any new products that you children will be using.

I have the same issue with the off gassing of some synthetic carpets and rugs. If I walk into a room where synthetic carpet has just been laid and it has that “new carpet smell”, I have a headache in less than 5 minutes. That’s my body telling me – this is toxic stuff, leave immediately!

Our natural fiber rugs do not off-gas at all, as there are no toxic chemicals involved in the making of the rugs. What you smell when you open one of our rugs is a more natural, sometimes grassy smell.  This will disappear soon after your rug or carpet is opened up and left to breath. However, this smell is not hazardous to your health, nor is it potentially cancer causing. Our natural sisal wool rugs are the same – wool and cotton – no toxic chemicals just natural plant and animal material. Also, any of our natural fiber rugs would be a healthy addition to your baby’s room and your home.

If you or someone in your family has allergies or asthma, allergy proofing your home is important. One way to allergy proof your home is to look at your flooring. Many allergists and the Mayo Clinic  advise removing carpeting and using hardwood or linoleum floors. Dust mites love soft plush rugs. So do mold spores, pet fur and pet dander.

If that is not an option or you would still like to have a rug in the room, consider tightly woven natural fiber rugs such as sisal and seagrass rugs. They’re easier to keep clean. In fact, the use of natural fiber rugs is actually better than plain hardwood or linoleum floors because rugs can trap dust and allergens and keep them from circulating in the air. Then, they can then be vacuumed up. It is suggested that you vacuum with a vacuum cleaner that has a small particle or high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter at least once a week to suck up dust and other allergens.

Our flat woven sisals and any of our seagrass rugs would be great option for your home and office. If you would like a softer look and feel in a flat, tightly woven rug – try our sisal wool rugs.

This is a question we are frequently asked. Sisal rugs are loved for their textured look which coordinates so well with all decors, from casual to elegant. All sisal rugs are made from the same sisal agave plant natural fibers. However, sisal can feel softer depending on the weave. The wider and flatter the weave – therefore having a wider surface that you step on – feels the softest. The Sun Sisal Collection is one of our softest sisal rugs.

Wool sisal rugs, which are a blend of sisal and wool, are our softest sisal rugs.  The Sisal Wool Collection is 60% wool and 40% sisal. Wool is more predominant and the top weave, so it has a softer feel. The Cashmere weave is softest overall of the sisal wool rugs as the weave is wider and flatter – so it feels softer. The Chanelle Sisal Wool Collection is 75% sisal and 25% wool. It has a softer feel than 100% sisal, but not as soft as the Sisal Wool.

Other natural fiber rugs that have a softer feel are Jute rugs.  Jute is a vegetable fiber and feels as soft as cotton. We currently have 2 distinctive weaves in Jute – Clay and Basketweave. Look for more Jute offerings this spring.