Rugs Help Define a Living Space – and Do More
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Bill Primavera
When I could afford my own apartment in New York (actually in that charming neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights), one of my first purchases, following a Danish Modern sofa that also served as my bed, was an inexpensive secondhand Karastan rug that I bought from my friend Billy.
It was great being a friend of Billy’s because he worked as a window dresser at Saks Fifth Avenue and had great taste in home furnishings and décor. More importantly, he was always redecorating his apartment, and I was frequently the beneficiary of his cast-offs at a good price. That rug was part of my life and décor for many years until it was literally threadbare.
Considering the space it occupies and its visual impact, directly and literally underfoot, a rug can make or break the look and style of any room. While some people may like the cold clean lines of a bare hardwood floor, dress me up with a plush rug anytime.
Before we go any further, let’s clarify our terminology concerning the difference between rugs and carpeting. Rugs are considered to be floor coverings that are portable or moveable, finished in standard sizes, and don’t cover every single inch of space. Carpets are mass-produced floor coverings that are sold off a roll, fixed in place and go from edge to edge of a space.
When I moved into that first apartment, it was on a lower floor, and directly above me lived a single mother with a young child who was only six or seven years old but had a very heavy foot. The child’s running around on bare floors drove me crazy. The apartment building rules required that at least two-thirds of living space must be carpeted and, clearly, the tenant above was living outside of the requirements.
Whenever that noise above became too much, I would call and complain. (In those days before cell phones, most everybody had a landline that was listed.) I called and called to no avail. It got to the point where the woman sent her tough boyfriend down, banging on my door, threatening to beat me up. My only recourse was to move, and when I did, I made sure that no one was living above me.
Besides its visual appeal, a rug or carpet takes stress off one’s feet. Rugs and carpets are much softer than hardwood, marble or tiled floors. And a rug makes a space safer by providing a non-slip surface. To boot, a rug offers heat insulation, reducing a home’s heating costs.
In addition to heat, a rug’s insulating qualities also apply to muffling outside sounds that can travel through windows or doors.
Further, a rug or carpet helps to anchor the decor and furniture in a living space. Without a rug to anchor the decor items, it can feel as though the furniture is floating in space.
According to feng shui and allied beliefs, soft surfaces effectively slow energy flow through space, and a rug tends to slow down and lower this energy flow in living spaces. Why not choose a mechanism for slowing down the passage of time?
But, the most basic and apparent reason for a rug is that it makes a room look good, plain and simple.
Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest-running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com), specializing in lifestyles, real estate and development. To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
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