How to Use Rugs When Adopting Current Design Trends

There's a common adage about perspective that states: "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." This idea is true for most things in life: our selves, our work, our relationships, our goals, and yes… even our rugs.

Rugs are a foundational design element of any room they’re in, and it’s easy to get attached to your rugs just like you would any other familiar, well-loved possession. This is great, but it’s also complicated: after all, if you’re someone who enjoys trendy home decor, what do you do if your beloved rug doesn’t fit with the latest trends? Do you get rid of it? No way!

You look at it in a new way. How? Let us show you.

How do I change my perspective when it comes to my rugs and other home decor?

First things first: shake the idea that you always need to buy new, buy fast, buy now. You can have a home that feels trendy and modern without constantly buying new things. In fact, because more effort goes into maintaining a home that’s trendy without immediately buying in, you’re more likely to really know why trends are happening. That knowledge will help you better choose which trends you find most worthwhile down the line. 

After that, it’s about remembering that the self is the crux of style. If you ask a famous interior designer what their favorite design elements are, more often than not you’ll get an answer that addresses the personal touches, ideas, and je ne sais quoi that makes a house a home. If you bought a natural fiber rug and it’s your favorite thing in the world, why swap it out just because? Instead, remind yourself that style isn’t just about what everyone thinks, it’s about what you think.

How do I predict which interior design trends are next?

Once you get over the idea that you have to buy something new in order to be trendy, you can move to the next step: predicting trends. If you can look ahead to what you think will be the pinnacle of style later on, you can adapt to those changes ahead of the curve. This is an especially useful skill for bloggers and influencers that make their careers by honoring trends. Here are a few tips for predicting interior design trends:

• Look at fashion trends. Interior design trends have been known to follow in the footsteps of fashion ones. Take a look at what's going down the runway during fashion week. If anything especially stands out to you, there's a high likelihood that those styles will find their way into the mainstream. 
   
• Think about the way people are living their lives. Another main indicator of incoming design trends are the ways the world at large is living. Social trends are pretty easy to spot if you're looking for it. Here's an example: comfort became a huge trend in 2020 because the pandemic forced people to spend a lot more time at home. More time at home meant more downtime. More downtime meant more people buying items (soft, cloudlike wool rugs for example) to make their quarantine more comfortable.

Do you have any examples of using rugs in association with current design trends?

This blog post is originally being posted in early 2021, so we’ll be looking at interior design trend predictions of the moment. Popular interior design trends at the moment include “cottagecore” aesthetics, unique colors, soft linens, and global inspiration. Here are a couple examples of using rugs you already have to meet these trends: 

• Since comfort is a main priority for many people right now, you can add comfort to a space by taking two rugs from different rooms and layering them in a single one.
   
• Not many people knew the term cottagecore before now. The style aesthetic is simple: fairytale chic choices that give a nod toward the natural, hand made, and hand grown. There are many ways to adapt your rugs to this trend, but our favorite is taking an outdoor rug and bringing it indoors. Many outdoor rugs tend to have more texture, less squish, and a neutral natural coloring that gives the same feel of an old timey cottage.

Rugs can tie into any new or classic design trend if you look at things the right way. Most of these tips don’t require you to buy new rugs, but if you want to go the extra mile you can always check out the wide range of natural fiber area rugs available online from Sisal Rugs Direct.