There are so many beautiful carpet styles on the market, your choices can be daunting. If you’re selecting a solid color, you can choose a color that compliments the theme in your room, but what about selecting a patterned carpet? How do you choose a pattern that compliments your room without overwhelming the rest of your décor? Here are some helpful tips and ideas for selecting patterned carpets for your home.

The Basics

During the process of picking patterned carpets, it’s important to consider the size, shapes and colors of the patterns to make sure they will compliment, not fight, your existing room’s design elements.

  • Size – Large scale patterns can create a lot of visual energy in a room. They often become the room’s focal point, so you don’t want to compete by adding a lot of other patterns in the room. When selecting a large pattern, keep the rest of your room simple with solid colors or small patterns and textures that won’t overshadow the importance of the carpet. Let the carpet showcase itself.
  • Shapes – Patterned carpets and rugs come in great geometric designs like stripes, squares, rectangles and circles, as well as beautiful floral and free-form designs. When choosing shapes, consider other design elements in the room. If your room has arched doorways and windows, circles and free-form designs will emphasize curves. In a modern room with straight lines and angles, geometric patterns will complement those features.
  • Colors – No matter which pattern size and shapes you choose, your colors should certainly compliment the rest of your room’s design and style. For formal, traditional rooms, soft subtle colors will add elegance. For contemporary and eclectic rooms, bold colors will add depth and drama. Select your carpet and rug colors to repeat or compliment shades of existing colors in your room’s décor.

Patterns Based on Room

  • Living Rooms – Whether your living room is traditional or modern, it’s one of the first rooms that you see when entering your home. The carpet pattern you choose should make a design statement that sets the tone for the rest of the house. If you have a formal living room, choose a beautiful floral or free-form pattern that anchors the room with style and elegance. If your living room is a casual space that you use on a daily basis, choose a great geometric pattern with stripes or squares that adds comfortable atmosphere. If your living room opens up to the kitchen, you can repeat patterns found in the living room carpet in the kitchen with a runner. Choosing the right pattern will impact your room’s design style and can create more openness for other connecting rooms.
  • Dining Room – Your dining room is a great space for a patterned carpet or area rug. If your dining room is a casual, comfortable area that you use each day, select a pattern that emphasizes comfortable ambiance. Stripes, geometric rectangles or squares, and bordered patterns work well. For a formal dining room with an elegant atmosphere, choose a floral or free-form pattern that won’t feel so casual. If you use wall-to-wall carpeting, you’ll have more pattern options. If you use an area rug, consider the size and pattern carefully since the rug will be sitting under the table area.
  • Home Entertainment Room – Since a home entertainment room is usually a gathering space for family and guests, your carpet can create a fun, comfortable atmosphere. Striped patterns in bold colors, overlapping circles in various shades, or free-form patterns with stylized elements will create energy and visual interest for the room. A home entertainment room is a place where you watch movies, play pool, listen to music and relax. When choosing a patterned carpet or rug, don’t choose a boring or stuffy pattern design that will hamper the mood of the room. This is a room where you can experiment with fun patterns and colors.
  • Nursery – A nursery is a great place to add a patterned carpet or rug. Depending on the style and existing colors in the room, you can choose large patterns that add interest or small patterns that just anchor the room with subtle appeal. There are a lot of great nursery ideas for patterns. A girl’s nursery is a great room for a beautiful pink and green floral carpet or rugs with soft, subtle peach circles. Accent a boy’s nursery with blue and yellow pinstripes or small red and green squares. For an older child’s room, you can use brighter, bolder colors in geometric or stylized patterns that they can grow with through the years.

When selecting carpets for you home, you don’t have to use solid colors. There’s a world of great patterned carpets on the market that will add style and visual interest to your home. Have fun and explore, just make sure you choose patterns that compliment your existing design style and décor.