How To Mix And Match Rugs Like A Pro

It’s really not hard to mix and match rugs in a home. When done right they exude beauty and cohesiveness and the flow of a home is seamless. Rugs should talk amongst themselves and say nice things to one another. They should get along. Today let’s learn some easy to do basics for mixing and matching rugs beautifully in your home!

This post contains affiliate links. The links for many of the rugs in this post is at the bottom of the page.

We need to pay attention to the rugs we put in rooms so they promote the overall beauty of a home. They are a very important part of our home’s decor and play a very practical role. Rugs not only add decor value to our home but offer comfort too!

For many of us choosing rugs that work together in our homes is a daunting task. Don’t worry! Here are some smart and doable ways to mix and match rugs in your home!

MIX AND MATCH RUGS OF THE SAME RUG

One of the easiest ways to solve the mix-and-match rugs issue in your home is to use the same rug. This is easy and certainly will add a lot of rhythm or repeated elements to your home with will give it a cohesive look.

Using the same rug works best if you use a solid color or natural fiber rug. And using the same rug probably works best in a home that embraces a neutral color palette. The same jute rug can add tons of texture without adding to the visual noise in a room. The rugs will be a nice background and backdrop for the furnishing in your home.

However, if you want to use patterned or rugs with color then using the same rug might be playing it too safe. It can be done if these rugs are in the same room but not spread throughout your home.

Here are my very favorite solid or almost solid jute rugs…

1 Waldenburg Handmade Flat Rug | 2 Jeremy Flat Weave Natural | 3 Nevis Sand Jute Woven Rug | 4 Twiggy Natural Jute Rug | 5 Garette Jute/Sisal Rug | 6 Wicker Sand Woven Sisal Rug | 7 Dunes Bleached Oak Roven Jute Rug | 8 Dunes Bleached Oak Light

To illustrate how to mix and match rugs with different colors and or patterns I chose two color palettes to work from, blue and neutral. They are the most popular colors most people use in their homes. Just so you know, any color rugs will work with these tips.

ONE SOLID ONE PATTERNED RUG

This is such a wonderful solution for many home decor enthusiasts who aren’t so sold on mixing and matching patterned rugs in their home or don’t feel confident mixing and matching rugs.

Choose one solid or almost solid rug and then choose a patterned rug that a good bit of the first rug’s color.

A solid jute rug is a great rug to pair with another rug. It’s a pretty safe bet! Most often this type of rug plays well with other rugs.

The rug on the left is in my sunroom and I just LOVE the rug on the right. It will end up in our home somewhere.

link to rug on left

I’ll be using some of these rugs over and over to show just how versatile they are! And how different they can look when paired together.

A more formal oriental style rug seems a bit more updated and relaxed paired with a jute rug!

Same jute rug with different rugs. The jute rug looks great with rugs of different colors and different styles.

This is a nice, casual look.

The rug on the left is a pretty blue and white classic herringbone rug. And the rug on the right is a made-for-today, vintage-style oriental rug with rich beautiful colors. They work because both rugs both have blue in them and the rug on the right has colors of orange which is blue’s complementary color.

I would love to see the rug on the left in a breakfast room and the rug on the right in a living space. Again, the casual blue rug relaxes the more formal oriental rug. It’s a good updated look for today’s homes.

Here’s other pairings that keeps the rug palette very tight.

The oriental rug below has a lighter color palette with blue being the predominant color.

What makes this blue and white rug work?

Although the blue rug is blue and white it reads blue. And this type of rug is so generic it will work with almost any rug it is paired with.

Rugs with different pile can be used when mixing and matching rugs in your home too. I off-roaded a little with the colors here!

And one more. This solid color rug would work with so many of the rugs above.

MIX AND MATCH DIFFERENT PATTERNED RUGS

If you are a little braver you can mix and match different patterned rugs. It’s really not hard. Remember these are rugs that are in close proximity of each other.

There are a few things you should know about mixing different patterned rugs…

SAME COLOR FAMILY RUGS

I think the easiest way to mix different patterned rugs is for the rugs to share at least one color. Trying to match more colors gets a lot harder. Easier is better!

Here’s an example of my living room rug and my dining area rug.

They share a very similar color palette. The dining area rug is from Ruggables and is perfect in high spill areas! And I just fell in love with the living room rug the minute I saw it. I knew these rugs would play well together!

Here are a few other patterned rugs that mix and match well.

Blue…

Or this combination using one of the rugs from above.

Neutral…

And here’s a combination using one of the same rugs. The rug on the left can almost read as a solid so it’s easy to coordinate them.

SCALE AND PATTERN

Another important thing to think about when mixing and matching different rugs in your home is scale and pattern. When you mix different patterns follow the same rules for mixing and matching fabrics.

I like to use one big pattern, one smaller pattern/ busy pattern, and one solid/geometric/stripe or some variation of those. I think you need to play around with the patterns to see how they look together. Here’s one BIG tips when mixing and matching multiple rugs… make one rug a solid or “reads solid rug!

Let’s pair up three rugs to illustrate scale and pattern. All three of these rugs work together. AND any two of these rugs in the mix and match trio work together too!

All the following links to the rugs can be seen above.

Here’s a neutral color combination…

Or how about this neutral combination. The pattern on these rugs are similar in scale but I think they would work fine if separated by the light jute rug or space. The cheetah rug reads busier and smaller in print.

Here a couple blue rug patterns that will work together. The darker jute rug adds richness to blue and white.

One of the easiest way to mix and match more than two rugs in your home is to choose a solid or jute rug to the mix. Remember jute rugs go with almost any other rug.

Here are three blue and white rugs that do play nicely together. Remember they will be separated and in different areas in a home.

If a solid color jute rug would be added just think how rich these rugs would look.

Our home has a semi-open concept layout and three rooms can be seen from the kitchen. Here are the rugs I have in the dining area, the sunroom, and the living room.

IMPORTANT MIX AND MATCH RUG THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

Here are a few more things to keep in mind when you mix and match rugs…

  • Today, many rugs can be put together that don’t seem to mix and match at all. This may look easy but it is not! Unless you love a boho look stay clear from this look.
  • Scale, color, texture, and style are four big things to keep in mind when mixing and matching rugs.
  • The further apart the rugs are in your home the easier and more forgiving it is to perfectly match them.
  • The patterns and colors of mix and match rugs will vastly affect the decor you put in your home.
  • Whether to choose rugs first then furnishings or to choose furnishings first then rugs is an age-old debate that won’t be settled here.
  • You can layer one rug on top of another but make sure the pile on both rugs is super low.
  • Many rugs come in collections and the guesswork is taken out of mixing and matching.
  • If you love it, do it!

Here are all the links to the rugs in this post…

The most important thing to get out of this post is don’t let the fear of making a mistake keep you from having beautiful mix and match rugs in your home. Make sure you can return any rug or rugs that don’t work and try again!

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41 Comments

  1. Thank you Yvonne for this post! As you know, I am in the midst of this mix and match thing. Still struggling to find a rug for my office thats reasonably priced to go with the mustard entry rug which is seen from my great room that has a jute rug.

    1. Connie follow these tips and go to Annie Selke:https://annieselke.com/

      The rugs are a bit pricey but they are just gorgeous. You can probably find a rug there.

      It was your comment in The Decorating Panel that inspired me to write this post. I hope it helped!

  2. All of the rugs that you featured are absolutely beautiful and I would love to have them in my home but they are way out of my price range. Could you possibly post some rugs that would work and are not as expensive?

    1. These rugs are so beautiful! They are just examples to go along with the tips. Check Target, Wayfair, Walmart and Amazon. Hope this helps.

  3. Hello, this post is so timely for me and want to send a big thank you your way! I’m right in the middle of being overwhelmed by choosing several rugs to go in an open floor plan. These tips have already helped get me thinking in the right direction! Thanks so much!! Robin

  4. Vicki Dennis says:

    GREAT POST! I especially appreciate that in addition to th pictures, you actually provide links to the rugs that are shown! I’m in the process of decorating a new house, and will definitely be coming back to this post for some purchases!!!

    1. Hi Vicki, once you understand how to use the tips you will be able to choose rugs that work together. Congratulation on your new home!

  5. This is a very helpful post. When I first moved into my open concept home, rugs were a mystery to me. Afraid of making a mistake, I bought two of the same pattered rugs for the living area and dining space. I know! Boring, right? I’ve since changed my chairs & toss cushions in the living room and bought a new rug. I’ve left the dining area bare. I’m going to take this advice and find a coordinating rug for under my table. No more matchy, matchy.

  6. I am a lover of area rugs.I have done the mix and match in my home.The dining and living room are close to each other so I chose a medallion rug for the living room and a diamond pattern for the dining room both in neutrals and grays, looks so good together.Also have the diamond pattern in a rug at the front door entrance.After much searching, all rugs are wool and bought at Target.I was lucky to get one of the rugs on sale.The rugs in your post are beautiful.

  7. Yvonne, thank you so much for this amazing info. I will certainly do a great job choosing my rugs now.

  8. Hi Yvonne,
    I was wondering your thoughts about rug pads? Do you think they are needed for the rugs in this post?

    1. What a great question! A rug pad pad keeps a rug from slipping and extends the life of a rug. I buy felt rug pads that are backed in a non-skid material. Here’s my favorite:https://amzn.to/3tzIhCj

  9. Thank you so much for posting this! I plan to buy 3 different rugs in for the main area of my home and this was so helpful!

  10. Thank you so much for sharing this post. I am absolutely in love with your living room rug. May I ask where you purchased it?

  11. Audra Taber says:

    What a perfect timing for this topic! I’ve been on a rug hunt…how did you know? ? And of course I need help! ..I have a off white braided round jute rug in my kitchen and immediately next to the room is a sunroom that I need to add a rug in. I will be using a much larger rug and was going to go with another jute rug to keep it simple for me to decorate seasonally yet have some texture. Should I go with the off white jute since they would be so close to each other or can I try the natural jute? Also would it matter what pattern of jute I got since it will be near the braided one? Although separate rooms, these rugs would be about 4 feet apart.thank you so much for the advice!

  12. June becklin says:

    Perfect timing Yvonne. I am shopping for kitchen rug and one coming in from my garage. I have an open floor plan. Great tips!

  13. June becklin says:

    Me again…
    Are jute rugs a challenge to keep clean? We live in Minnesota…but we are also empty nesters. Considering one as you enter from my garage. Unfortunately I do not have a mud room. Thoughts?

    1. Great question June. The place where you enter from your garage is probably not the best place to put a jute rug. they clean up easily but real ground in dirt can be a bit of a problem. Use them in an area that does not get dirty feet fresh from the outdoors.

  14. This article is very informative! I just got my first apartment and have spent countless hours searching for rugs! I have a living room/dining combo and the living room rug I selected was a multicolor tribal shag with tassels. I’m now searching for a round rug for my round dining table.

    I appreciate the insight and I may take your suggestion to pull a solid color (gray/cream) from the living room rug. All the other colors in my living room rug are too bright- blue/yellow/orange/pink/green. Initially I was going to do the same tribal design (gray/cream) but I’m not sure !

    Would love to know your thoughts! Thank you

  15. Joy rowell says:

    Where can I find a rug on your post

  16. MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!) says:

    Thanks, Yvonne! This is such helpful advice! I liked seeing all the pictures you used. Have a great weekend!

  17. Thank you for the informative rug blog. Do you think Ruggable rugs are a good choice?

  18. Oh how amazing these ideas of yours are. I would have never thought to do these things. I love them, and plans to put them to work in my own decorations.

  19. Gail Martin says:

    Yvonne, This has always been my problem area…. rugs. But you made this so easy. You gave us the basics in a language that newbies can understand. Thank you so very much. I think I can do this now.

  20. I love your work. RE: how to mix and match rugs
    Can you tell me or provide the links for the gray oriental and the light jute rug. I tried calling them up but it just went to Wayfair and not directly to the product. Please advise. Much appreciated.

  21. Love all your rug combinations. They are beautiful. Most have tan hues however, I do not want to let go of my colors of grey and white wool rugs and subtle gray white (BM Collingwood) walls in my open concept ranch home that has a bit of contemporary minimalist appearance with corner white wood fireplace. One wall is painted a contrasting color of weimaraner My question addresses my entrance. I am in need of a recommendation for my entry, either a wool round area rug in grey and white or gray and some other color that can blend for entry and in some pattern or no pattern. Tan hue will not be a fit I do not think. My two area rugs are both wool gray and subtle white geometric on the perimeter with subtle gray small gray areas within them in sizes 10 x 14 and 8 x 10 respectively . The entry door door is deep brown beveled with beveled side lite also. I feel the a round rug placed in the entry lends to it presenting in a more sophisticated appearance than what a rectangular rug would appear all the way down the hall. The problem is that I do not know what colors to make it. Currently it is just a tan with black round wool pattern. The entry has side rooms off either side. One side opens to a smaller hall with two bedrooms and a full bath in between that I have decorated to be a powder room. The room on the other side serves as a library/den and has double glass doors. Wood floors throughout in medium brown. White crown molding throughout and the entry hall is 6 ft x 15 feet and opens into the open concept living room dining room kitchen with white cabinets & white kitchen island (am open to painting the island). Just do not want to put $30-$50,000 in this home that is only 8 y/o because I will likely next move to a condominium as I am age 72. Would have changed to navy with total white walls, however, my granite countertops are white, deep gray, and light gray. So I do not want to replace all of the granite even though that is going out of style also. Any suggestions regarding a color or style or both in a rug that would blend with neutral or gray hues instead of tan in the entrance would be appreciated. And then if you have a site for me to view please present it. Thank any of you that have taken the time to read this lengthy comment- really a question!!

    1. Hi Deb, your home sounds beautiful. It’s really hard to consult you on what rug to put in your entryway without seeing lots of pictures. Although your description is very thorough, what I am imagining might not be at all what your home actually looks like. I do have a few suggestions for you. I would put a rectangle rug in the entryway. A round rug would “cut off” the hall. Also it seems you have a lot of gray, black and white in your home. I’d bring in other neutrals too. You can use beige or cream or other warmer colors if you watch their undertones. You might like to read: Can I Mix Warm And Cool Colors here: https://www.stonegableblog.com/can-you-mix-warm-and-cool-colors-in-decor/. Your decor sound just beautiful, Deb. If you want to email me lots of pictures of your home I can probably help you out better.

  22. Great article! Is there anyway to find those particular rugs? A link?