Mismatched rugs in the living room

[lisbapalea]

I am redoing my living room in our cottage and need rug advice. We have flagstone floors which are cold and greyish so I want rugs to add warmth and some interest.

I really like the look of flat weave kilim style rugs but I have been struggling to find them in colours that aren't too dark (as well as having dark flagstones our ceilings are low so I am really trying to make things lighter and warmer, but still feel a bit grown up).

Curtains are fairly neutral but with a Moroccan ish pattern in some subtle rust, sage, beigey colours. We are getting a sagey coloured sofa and already have a beigey ottoman thing and a chaise longue. Mustard/gold/rust colours work really well with the curtains even though it's not part of the curtains themselves so I have a few cushions in these colours and am looking for rugs in those kind of colours too.

Today I ordered this one - quite contemporary but also felt neutral enough in pattern to compliment the curtains:
www.modern-rugs.co.uk/page/product.cfm?id=11802&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=feed&gclid=CNbe3-3BpsgCFSGc2wodMt0OYw

And then found this one in the sale at Laura Ashley - much more traditional in colour but the colours are great (the red is more subtle in real life):
www.lauraashley.com/uk/invt/malmaisonbsru

Are they too different in style to be in the same room?

What a long and boring post, sorry.

I really don't like the second rug, but that's personal preference. If your room is dark, is there a reason you wouldn't carpet / floor it? We're in a 200 year old cottage and took the decision to lay oak flooring.

I have stone flags & would never cover them fully, but I agree they are cold.

I like the 2nd rug but the 1st looks a bit too bright, I don't think they need to match but I'd probably choose something more neutral.

I saw an under rug heater recently, no idea how it works but it was toasty.

Just flicked through the m&s catalogue and spotted this which is a sort of bolder interpretation of the curtain fabric - think I just need a 20% offer and I would be very tempted (although just checked availability and large is out of stock)

www.marksandspencer.com/rebecca-floral-rug/p/p22357690

I figured if I got that (instead of the Laura Ashley one) more patterned rug, in the high traffic area of the room, the brighter mustardy coloured rug could go under the pouffe thing which, being beige, would soften its brightness.

Does that make sense?

Oh jealous of your flags! Our original flags were concreted over by previous owners and they made a real mess of it - can't wait to save up enough to get flags put back down!!

I think mismatching rugsooms great and we have mismatched ones in the living room. But depends on how much space you have and how they all pull together I suppose.

Can highly recommend a look on eBay for antique (second hand) kilim rugs - have had a few Persian type rugs from there over the years and they always come immaculately clean and in great condition. You tend to get a lot more rug for your money m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Old-Traditional-Hand-Made-Persian-Oriental-Kilim-Rug-Wool-Red-Orange-310x174cm-/351521910170?nav=SEARCH

But then with dogs and toddlers I don't want to spend a lot on nice rugs at this point in my life - you might feel differently!!

Yes have been trawling eBay but just haven't come across any in the right colours and/or sizes - still looking though!

Definitely don't want to spend a fortune - £250 max per rug is prob my budget.

Could you not buy two the same and swap them over every few months to even out the wear? Or are you dead set and two different ones?

For me they're far too different in style. But that's a personal thing, I guess.

Have a look at habitat. They have got some very nice rugs at the moment and a couple that would go quite nicely in style and colour with the first one you've linked to.

Oh and on the non-matching vs matching rugs, I always think a room looks much more put together if the furnishings are complimentary but not actually matching.

On the question of the overall look i suppose it's actually hard to say without knowing what exactly the curtains look like. But I guess if they're quite traditionally Moroccan in style then two more modern rugs might jar a bit. In which case I'd probably go for two more traditional rugs that complement each other.

But do have a look at habitat.

Habitat is a great shout, will check it out, thanks.