How To Lay A Rug Over Carpet

Using a throw rug over carpet can brighten up a rental space or installing carpet tiles over a low pile carpet can freshen up your home while saving on time and labor.

How to lay a rug over carpet.

Area rugs make nice accents to a room setting off a coffee table or entry point. Rugs should always be anchored whether used on a hardwood floor or on top of carpet. This is because the underside of the rug is smooth and glides over the carpet underneath. In those cases laying a thick luxurious shag rug can add a softness and elegance to the space.

Installing carpet over carpet can be a cost efficient unique and fast way to change the look and feel of a room. A neutral color with a cut wool pile and no heathering or interesting variation. Choose something with a different texture and or fiber like jute sisal silk. You may be laying down an area rug because you can t stand the color of the existing wall to wall carpet such as in a rental unit but trust us it will look much worse if you just throw down a rug.

Area rugs generally work best over short pile or looped carpet. On a hard floor an untethered rug is more likely to slide or slip but when layering area rugs over carpet the rug is more likely to wrinkle or ripple. Likewise if you have a plush style of carpet installed choosing a low profile berber or woven rug is your best bet. The key to layering rugs over carpet is to vary the texture.

When laying the rug over carpet however the concern is more about the rug wrinkling or rippling which presents a big tripping hazard wrinkling will occur because as one area of the rug is stepped on it will shift assuming it is not properly. You want the rug to bring life to the floor like in laura s adorable melbourne home shown above where she layered a graphic flat weave over beige carpet and a basic tiled hearth. In most cases wall to wall carpeting is very basic. When laying an area rug over a hard surface such as hardwood flooring the biggest concern about the rug s movement is that it will slide around.