Rug Shopping Tips on a Budget

One of my blogging goals this year was to get a budget decor series completed that shares some of the tips and tricks I've learned over the years that has helped me save thousands when decorating my homes.  Depending on the size, etc of my rooms, I normally spend only $500-$1,000 top-to-bottom for furniture, accessories, window treatments, etc and my kid's rooms are even less. While part of that is due to using re-furbished, secondhand furniture, there are always items that need to be purchased new and I'd thought I'd share my shopping tips with you starting with rugs.

    

After many years and three different houses where the flooring was predominately hardwood or tile, and after having both rug successes and failures, I've learned a few things on what to look for in a rug as well as where to find affordable, quality rugs. Rugs play such an important part in both the functionality and the overall design of a room that I've learned to allocate a little more of my decorating budget to get what I want the first time around, but you still don't have to break the bank to get quality.

I mentioned last week that I'd been shopping for new rug for my living room as the one I had been using was from a different house and was too small for the space.  I just needed a change.  When weighing my rug options, I knew that I was going to go with jute/sea grass/sisal/bamboo or wool, which leads to my first tip:

1) Go all-natural for most living room/family room spaces.  If you're bargain shopping for a rug, you'll immediately notice that almost all the rugs that are in your budget are most likely made of polypropylene, olefin, or other synthetics and that's why they are significantly less expensive.    Polypropylene definitely has its place in the rug world (see below), but if your room gets quite a bit of traffic from kids or pets, save your money for the real thing.  Trust me...I've learned my lesson.  It's amazing how those pretty, wool-looking rugs that were such a good bargain were trashed and basically throw-away rugs way too soon.

I may have picked out a jute rug for my living room, but be aware that jute/sea grass/sisal/bamboo are not really cozy or soft rugs.  If you have small children or your family sprawls out on the floor to play games or have wrestle-mania night, then invest in wool.  Our great room above is where the family hangs out, watches TV, and even an occasional wrestle-mania event is held here so I needed a thick, quality rug that will last forever.  Wool rugs are virtually indestructible and worth every penny...more on the costs and sources below.

So now that I've hopefully convinced you to go all-natural for those spaces, now I'm going to tell you to consider synthetic for other living areas of your home!
2) Get a stylish, durable, and completely washable indoor/outdoor rug to save hundreds of dollars.  Depending on your living situation (kids, pets, entertaining, etc), indoor/outdoor rugs are stress-free for busy eating areas, hallways, and foyers.  Outdoor rugs aren't just for outdoors anymore!  Manufacturers make such beautiful indoor/outdoor rugs with hundreds of designs that mimic that high-end designer look that will make you do a double-take.

For example, this indoor/outdoor rug in my dining room has a soft, raised pattern, but I'm still able to take it outside and clean it with a hose and some dish soap and it was only around $100 for an almost 8'x11' rug!  The black and cream stripe rug under my breakfast table has already seen many spills and gets the most wear out of all the rugs in the house...

I've been pretty happy with it so far and once again, it was a little over a $100 for this large size.  

Yes, the days of plain-jane, plastic-like outdoor rugs are over...

source

My mom and I both have these houndstooth runners in our hallways coming in from the garage.  For $25-$30, you can't beat it.  Inexpensive, durable, easy to clean, and cute too! Seriously, I get overwhelmed with all the stylish outdoor rug options out there.

Alright...so you can see that indoor/outdoor rugs are completely affordable, but what does an all-natural rug going to cost you?  This leads me to the last tip...

3) Don't pay retail prices for rugs!  I hardly pay retail for anything, including rugs.  Shop discount stores, online distributors and stay away from rug shops unless you can get a discounted floor model that you can have cleaned or clearance rugs.  I've scoured and scoured the best places to get rugs and these are my favorite sources:

Great room before adding coffee table and ottomans

a) Overstock.com - Hands down, my favorite!  I'm not affiliated in any way with Overstock, just my opinion.  I purchased my dining room rug, houndstooth runner, my new jute rug for the living room, several outdoor rugs for my patio and the 9'x12' rug for my great room above (links are to the source).  After moving into our new home over a year ago, I was seriously overwhelmed with how I was going to afford rugs for all these rooms, including the large great room. It's a huge room and once again, I'd already decided on wool...until I found that easily could run over a $1,000!  I was going to go with the less expensive option of a jute rug, but my husband put his foot down (remember wrestle-mania).   Kinda scratchy.  After months and months of online searches and shopping all over creation, I bit the bullet and ordered the Hand-Tufted Coliseum Wool Rug from Overstock... one of my biggest house purchases to date at $500.  Yes, doesn't sound like decor on a budget, but this was a splurge that was worth it, but almost everything else in that room is from Craig's List so it evens out.  I should also note that this same rug was selling for around $1,200 on every other site that I found it on.  Overstock also has to hard-to-find sizes like my new 8'x8' jute rug in my living room after my searches in discount stores for 8' square rugs were futile... and for $165, it didn't break the bank. Note: if the rug you find on Overstock isn't on sale, save it in your cart and periodically check the price...they always run additional sales on their rugs.

One of the risky things about ordering online is not seeing the rug in person.  Colors of rugs on your computer screen can be completely off from what actually arrives so make sure you read all the reviews before you order.  Overstock has free or $2.95 shipping (and it's super-fast), but return shipping can be expensive if it's not right for you. If you really need to see that rug in person there are a few other sources that I love to find rugs...
b) Discount stores - HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Tuesday Morning, and Ross.  We all love these stores and I stalked the Raleigh-area HomeGoods for months because I was afraid to order my large wool rug online.  I was hoping that the perfect rug would miraculously show up for that room.  The prices run about the same as Overstock for the large rugs and you can see exactly what you're getting and can easily return it if it doesn't work out.  These places are also great for scatter rugs and smaller-scale rugs for the bathroom, kitchen, etc.    

I've also found an unlikely source for sisal, sea grass, and bamboo rugs at Ross discount stores of all places.  While this isn't my favorite place in the world to shop, they carry the most affordable natural rugs out there, including my $20, 5'x8', chenille-edged sisal entry rug (I'm going stencil this one soon).  I also found my white ceramic garden stool in my living room there for only $30 and those are very pricey.

I almost always find large bamboo mats as well and they are usually under $30.  I scored this one that I use in my booth for only $8!  These also make great stenciling projects.  It's hit or miss at any discount store, but be patient and you'll most likely find what you're looking for.

c) Walmart.com and other online distributors  I used to think everything from Walmart.com was manufactured by Walmart, but like Target.com, they sell and distribute from other retailers and manufacturers, but many times are able to discount their items heavily, which is also similar to Overstock.  This goes back to "don't pay retail"!  Most rugs are manufactured by only a handful of companies including, Safavieh, Capel, etc and then retailers will chose which styles/sizes to carry.  Here's an example:

I found through online rug searches that retailers will sell the same rug, but will change the names making it harder to do price comparison searches.  It helps to find the true manufacturer's name, like Safavieh's "Cambridge Welsh", and then "Google" that name to find the best online deals.  It's also helpful that these large chain stores will also have free shipping to the store and many times allow returns there as well saving tons of money and the headache of return shipping. 

As with shopping for anything...vacations, home decor, cars, etc, it just pays to do a little research before plunking down the cash.  Unless they are small, scatter rugs or bath mats, take your time to find the best deal because you'll most likely be stuck with your decision for several years and rugs are one of the hardest-working design elements in your home.  I hope some of my rug shopping tips and tricks helps you along the way!

Kristen

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