5 Different Ways to Style a Round Modern Rug

The round rug is as old as rag rug weaving and yet as perplexing as a Rubik’s Cube. 

How do you style it? Is its only natural home under a round dining room table? Can you put one in your kitchen? What about in a large space with more than one rug? Do they come in sizes bigger than a bathmat? Should you buy one in more than one color? Won’t a patterned round rug make guests dizzy? 

Great news: the round rug is not as complex as you may have made it out to be. In fact, modern round rugs can play a number of roles in pulling different spaces together. 

With the right color themes, size, and design, a round rug can completely alter a space, making it more cohesive and warm. By how do you master that look? In this guide we’ll examine five different ways to style a round modern rug.

Large & In Charge

According to Apartment Therapy, one key to round rug success is to “make it big enough that it touches all of a room’s major furniture pieces.” Essentially, you want to relax the eye by allowing the rug to expand to every element in the room. If it doesn’t touch some pieces, things could look off kilter and out of sync. 

Don’t make the rug compete with the furnishings

As mentioned above, a round table atop a round rug makes geometric sense. 

So one might assume that they should rule out a round rug with a square or rectangular table. Not so. You can marry the two if and when your round rug is significantly bigger than the table. In fact, Homes to Love says that provided there’s enough room for the rug under the chair legs to pull chairs back when seated at the table, you’ve got yourself a winning design element. 

Use a round rug to soften a space

Harsh lines can make a room feel cold and sterile. Adding a round rug can actually soften the space making it feel more inviting. Domino says that in addition to adding some level of comfort to a harsh space, the use of texture in a round rug can amp up the cozy vibe, creating a warm aesthetic. 

Highlight curved architectural details

Have a dramatic curved alcove or columned corner? Show it off with the use of a round rug. Houzz says that by using a round rug to highlight curved details you can “pull the overall feeling of the room together and underscore the room’s curves, turning them into an even more notable design feature.”

Connect the Details

Another great use of round rugs, according to Apartment Therapy, is to use them to highlight a room’s statement piece. For instance, have a great piece of art on the wall? Use your round rug as a visual focal point and you’ll draw the viewer’s eye between the two. You could pull the elements together by color, texture, or design, depending on your style.

So how should you get started shopping for a round rug? 

The first step is to create a mood board of ideals and styles you like. From there, it’s a great idea to set a budget. There are all kinds of levels of rugs you can buy. If you’re interested in something more affordable, however, you need to do your homework. Search for rugs that are both durable and well crafted from vendors that have a good return policy and customer service. Then, begin to look into different designs. 

For modern rugs, a good place to start is with your color palette. 

Modern aesthetic these days often features crisp, cool colors in patterns like Ikat, Greek key, animal print, and houndstooth. The better you speak rug lingo, the easier it will be to navigate shopping sites and showrooms. Be prepared to ask questions via email to an online retailer or in person. And, most importantly, ask if you can test run a rug. Many places will allow purchasers to give it a test run in their homes before they commit to purchasing. By testing it out, you can see if it will really work, then adjust (size, color, shape) accordingly. 

And if you ultimately decide that maybe a round rug isn’t right for you, be sure you keep in mind all of the above in your quest to find a traditional rectangular rug.