An Oktoberfest of Color - all over your floor...

Now is your favorite time of year, isn't it? You love the warm apple cider, the pumpkins on the fence, the leaves changing and the crispness in the air.... Autumn is ideal for color.

Why is that? Why do we celebrate (some of us anyway) when the air begins to chill and the leaves start to fall - after all, it doesn't happen everywhere (does it LA, didn't think so), and there are plenty of people out there who really dislike having to put on long pants again.

Color seems to be the answer - it's not just about the temperatures or the flavors - it's the change of color. It's an opporunity to make your home lively, in season and fresh. You get to change all that green and bright yellow to royal golds, reds, oranges and navy - come one, even if you live on Hawaii, it's still fun to change the house around every once in a while.

Colors reflect our mood - whether we are contemporary or traditional, kids or adults, mild or strong - a world without color is a dull place. Here are some great suggestions for usage of color:

1.) Red - use it for accents, backgrounds and canvasses - some red(s) can make other colors pop and give them a regal sense of design

2.) Yellow/Gold - this is an accent color, place it on brown, black or red and should make the affect of the sun shining

3.) Orange - depends on your usage. Orange could either be accent or canvas. Don't go too wild with orange, moderation is key.

4.) Black - just like orange, just much and your place is dark, too little and there is no contrast. Use it as you feel you need, but remember that black is a strong color to use anywhere

5.) Green- kelly green, hunter green or deep green. All these versions are regal and sincere. Lighter version should wait for the spring.

Use these thoughts when placing down your rugs and designing you latest room(s) - colors can make or break your design. When looking for rugs, especially during this season, remember that there is less light coming into your house/apartment, that the seasons look better with deeper colors and your floor makes your design.

Modern Rugs are geting very popular in today's homes

Modern lifestyles are casual and simple but by no means boring. New homes are sleek, renovations are modern, traditional homes less cluttered. Rising taste is for more open space. Against these cleaner backdrops rugs in contrast can be bold, spirited, colorful, graphic, playful, eccentric or comforting and warm. Rugs define space, add personality and mood. Whether they be bright, uplifting or setting a calm and safe mood, rugs are a grounding factor in any room. Layer rugs over carpet for a quick update or select mix and match patterns to define various spaces within one’s home or office. Themes co-mingle and, more than ever, are a reflection of unique style and personal taste. Geo patterns, updated damasks, texture and tracery all have a place in today’s design. Clean unfettered homes allow the objects within the homes to sparkle and to be noticed and appreciated. Design is eclectic and in many ways more interesting than ever before.

Capel Rugs are just one of the brands that you can expect to see some really cool designs and styles out this fall. Their modern styles with solid prints are attractive and go with nearly any style in your home. Some of the more eclectic styles, such as animal prints or geometric rugs, are quite capable in your home as well. We suggest that the more simple the design on the floor, the stronger you can make your walls and accents - we recommend the opposite if your rug style has a stronger character to it.

Safavieh rugs are another great brand you can shop that deliver fantastic modern styles and full value. Safavieh's modern rugs contain more solid colors, distinct patterns and creative art. They are perfect for New York Studio studio apartments looking for that new trend or for your designer gallery for a fantastic first impression. Their quality materials and strong manufacturing background ensure that you will be buying one of the best rug brands around for modern rugs. Their best modern rug collections are Rodeo Drive and Soho.

Whichever modern rug you decide, be sure it's the right one. Modern rugs are not like Traditional rugs in that their styles change quickly and unexpectedly, Traditional Rugs are often safer in that their patterns and looks and colors do not change often and even when they do, they are still considered in "vogue".

17 Magazine and Surya Rugs working together

Surya Rugs and 17 Magazine started working together to create a designer rug that their readers would like and enjoy. They realized that rugs are more than floor covering, they are an expression of a person's personality and style - the reason why our selection on RugSale.com is so diverse, we have a lot of customers with differing tastes.

They created a series of rugs that are ideal for teenaged girls and guys that would work well in either their room at home or even their dorm room at college. They are different and, more importantly, they are durable. They created 56 different styles, all designed by the people at 17 Magazine, that will work great in nearly any room, hallway or study place.

They even have certain styles in shapes too - like an oval or circle.

RugSale.com is proud to feature these rugs on their site since Labor Day is almost here and everyone is thinking of school and what they need for their "Back to School" setups too. Rugs make the room - not only cooler, but warmer. Those early morning classes might be a bit easier to make if the floor wasn't so unwelcoming in the morning.

Keep these and other kids rugs styles in mind when Back to School comes to mind. Each and every one are first-quality and highly durable from the reputable manufacturer Surya Rugs. Remember RugSale.com has the biggest selection and highest value for everything you need to keep you covered for the coming school year.

RugSale.com - Match not - want not

You remember prom? How cute it was to have his cumberbun match your mauve dress? Or her hair match the bandanna on your leg? You know who you are - Ralph Macchio wasn't the only one.

In the decorating world, matching is a sign of shaky confidence in one's decorating abilities. It sends you back to safe harbors where you know that if everything is pink, it will look okay. Guess what - it won't. It will remind your family and friends of prom - and that bad perm too.

The rugs you own should be the foundation of your home (big or small) and not the afterthought. The best possible scenario is to get the rugs first and then the rest of the room can go from there - trying to shoehorn a rug style into a room that doesn't work is often a source for disaster and misery.

Here are some simple suggestions that will help deal with your desire to match your rugs with everything else.

1.) Treat black like a canvass. Do not purchase a solid color rug  - it's the first thing you will notice that collects all the debris and dirt. But if you are looking for a darker tone, you can use a dark or even black tone that is laced with beige or mauve. Black accents often pull character out of the rug and give it a great dimenion. Most modern rugs are designed in this fashion - such as Momeni's Andy Warhol collection or Shaw's Accents collection.

2.) Traditional rugs are your friend. Just because mom owned one doesn't mean you should avoid them - you're a grown up now, make your own choices. Traditionals are great for dining rooms, hallways and even the kitchen. The right rug can change the entire look of the room. Look for burgundy, ivory, and navy rugs from manufacturers such as 828 International or Kas's Cambridge collection.

3.) Braided Rugs are great for the front door, bathroom or sunroom. Places where there is often a lot of sunlight and/or ambient light. They are often pastels and lighter designs, so you can take heart that the rug is naturally that color. Anji Mountian Bamboo rugs have some good examples of this as well as Colonial Mills Seascape collection.

Use these suggestions as a starting point to build your own look. Stay away from the matchey-match of high school and be more open with colors and styles in your home. It's the best way to enjoy home without having to remember high school for another year - and the perm and bandanna too. :)

Rug ideas for your studio apartment

You live in a major city, doesn't really matter where, and you have found the coolest studio apartment that your 2010 salary can afford these days. Whether you are in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, points North or areas in the South End, your studio apartment is the coolest place you've found to call home.

Now what? Studio apartments are cool, but they are also cold - a usual by-product of wood flooring used when it used to be a factory or mill. So a rug is the usual solution, but you don't want just any rug, you want rugs that will accent your studio apartment.

Rugs make the room  - and that couldn't be more true than with a open floor plan like a studio apartment. Usually, you get the privelege of walls to help you dictate which room is the bedroom and which one is the living room, but not here - you have to be creative.

But you are creative - aren't you? That's why you own a studio apartment, after all. So let's start.

When you are deciding on a rug for a space (aka - the "Living Room" or "Kitchen") you want the colors to place nice with each other - so don't get a zebra pattern and then try to put a red shag within eyesight. The joke "What's black and white and red all over...." will be your apartment.  Not cool.

No instead, choose on an overall tone for your studio apartment. Earth tones are very much in-style these days, but that's just one example. You can choose lighter tones if the general look of the space is too dark or darker tones if the apartment just gets too much sunlight. The trick here is balance - find the right tone and you can then decide on the right look and finally, your rugs.

Momeni has some great collections complete with the latest tones and styles that would play in nearly any setting. Deco, Elements, New Wave and Innovations are all popular collections you can use. They all have differening styles with colors that coordinate, yet are individual enough to be able to give you the distinct look you want each "room" to have.

The key here is creativity. Use your space wisely with an underlying style tone, complete with a simple budget and your studio apartment will shine.

How Your Floor can Celebrate the Fourth in Style

Nope- not kidding here, you acutally can make your floor as patriotic as your backyard barbeque with just a few quick changes.

I mean, think about it, your rug dictates what the rest of the room looks like doesn't it? If you want a jungle theme, you're not buying a red shag rug. If you wanted a traditional study, pink is out. Patterns on your rugs can make or break the design of the room faster than any yard sale trinket or ebay find.

But back to patriotism and and the fourth - Betsy Ross is credited as the designer of the American flag. She sat down with George Washington and figured out a general pattern for the flag, which had many stages before it was really decided upon in late 1777. Betsy Ross first input to the American Flag was the stars. George Washington wanted six pointed stars, Betsy showed him five pointed stars would work a whole lot better. Here's where you can put a little history into your room's presentation.

Find a rug with stars in it - five pointed ones to be specific. Look for contemporary rugs, that's your best bet. Momeni and Oriental Weavers are great providers of these styles.

If you aren't a fan of star, or stripes, then Anji Bamboo Mountain has a red shag rug that would work perfect as a balancer for all the other smaller decorations that you're going to have around your room. Simple is always better. You've had enough to do and it's time to relax. Have a great, happy and safe Fourth of July and we'll see you on the other side of the fireworks.

Protecting your rug from the sun

Rugs are often the last item of the room to be thought of. After all, they lie on the floor that we all walk on, when was the last time that you looked down at your rug lovingly and cooed about that time you walked on it last?

Rugs really are the one of the better definers of your room(s). If you want a jungle themed room, a leopard patterned rug is your first choice, not a traditional red rug; if you are looking to increase the elegance of your dining room, you don't buy an Andy Warhol styled rug with pastels.

But homeowners don't typically think of rugs until something happens. A stain, a rip or a complete change of design are usually the reasons - Rugs need to be thought of first and then walked on, not the other way around.

With that said, you need to learn how to protect your area rug from the sun so as to increase it's lifespan and ensure that your investment lasts longer. Some rugs are colorfasted, especially a handmade or Persian rug, but others are not, especially if you bought it from a department store or from Aunt May's friend in the school parking lot - not all rugs are created equal.

You can protect your rug(s) from the sun with a few simple steps:

1.) turn your rugs around every so often - like every two months, especially if there is a direct sunbeam coming from the window on only part of the rug

2.) alternate rugs - switch them around from room to room every six months to keep them breathing and away from direct sunlight

3.) take them outside and beat them to keep them looking fresh. Vaccuuming doesnt' always do the trick.

The idea is to keep them moving and away from direct sunlight so they aren't exposed for any real length of time. Keep them moving around, give them a little care and they'll last a much longer time.

Making Use of Smaller Living Space

It’s a really cozy and warm experience if you have a small home or apartment. Many people have small homes, most people live in a small apartment because they can’t afford a bigger one. But there are many people also choose a small apartment or home just because they're tired of organizing and taking care of a larger place and want to reduce the size of their residence to get a more cozy and relaxing experience.

Here are a few tips and tricks which may help you out while planning the interior décor of your small residence. Always remember that you can adapt techniques that can help you make small places look much bigger and airy and these tips will help you with them:

1. The color of the walls plays a vital role in the overall look of any room. If you have small space always select soft tones of blues and greens or simply off white. Light and soft colors will make the place look much more spacious.

2. Be sure that any furniture does not block walkways such as the lobby or an entrance. If the sofa, couch or ottoman blocks the entrance or one room’s view from the other room it will make the space feel crowded and thus much smaller.

3. If you have furniture that is pretty much in contrast with the walls and the rugs that would be best. Because pairing up colors and making different color combinations makes the place look more occupied and crowded.

4. If you hang a very large mirror on one of the walls it will reflect the whole room and this makes the room look more spacious.

5. The lighting effects in your room should be perfectly in contrast with your rugs and walls, Never choose too dull or dim light as it makes the room look very dull and small. Bright lights on the other had added a cool touch to small rooms. Especially if you have a large mirror in your room.

Rugsale.com has a complete variety of rugs in all different sizes, colors and designs that can suite your small rooms efficiently and effectively.

-Rugsale.com