How to Make a Statement and Decorate Gracefully with Rug Runners

Rug runners are the unsung heroes of exceptional home decoration. Once used in great 18th century homes to protect large Persian rugs from wear in high-traffic areas, they are now considered lovely accents in their own right, especially if they are superior quality antique Persian, vintage kilim, tribal, or berber, or modern updates of traditional style. Here's how to make the most of the intimate and not-so-small spaces of your home with exquisite rug runners:

1. Turn a Staircase into a Decorative Statement:

All too often, a staircase is left forgotten in the decorative plan. Use a beautiful Persian or berber runner to bring a lovely accent to your staircase, lending color and texture to your staircase area. An antique or modern rug runner will add just the right touch, transforming a staircase from nondescript to a stand out.

2. Add a Touch of Class to a Footworn Foyer:    

The foyer is an area where frequent traffic tends to wear down wooden floors and larger area rugs. Use a colorful antique or vintage runner in your foyer to cover and protect that footworn area, while adding a luxe accent. Antique Persians and kilims have the added advantage of being crafted from natural fibers such as wool, which both hides and repels dirt.

3. Coordinate Staircase and Hall Runners

When you are decorating a larger open area where the staircase and hallway are contiguous, floor coverings do not have to match exactly. Antique Persian and vintage kilims can have hues and textures that echo one another without being exactly the same. This works perfectly when decorating with antique and vintage rug runners, as part of their value is that each piece is individually created. Use this natural coordination to your advantage, and add a graceful note to your staircases and hallways.  

4. Use a Runner to Lengthen and Add Drama to a Hallway Space

Putting a long antique rug runner into a hallway can emphasize the length of the space and create a sense of drama in an otherwise bland space. Balancing the deeper colors of a vintage Persian against lighter wall colors will set off the rug and play up the space to its best advantage.

5. Use Runners to Warm Up the Kitchen

In the new, open floorplan kitchens that center around an island area, there are often narrow spaces in the aisles around the island. Warm up the floors with a few vintage or modern reproduction Aghani kilim runners by laying them around the four sides of the island. These runners are durable enough to withstand the traffic in the kitchen, while giving the area instant warmth. Rug runners also make standing on hard kitchen floors while preparing meals more comfortable.

6. Use a Runner to Define the Area of a Space

Runners are versatile pieces, and their flexibility lends them to being moved around to freshen up many spaces of the home. Whether you put the vintage or antique runner alongside your bed to cushion your feet when you rise, in front of a focal fireplace, or even to add some unexpected glamour to a bathroom, they are wonderful tools for defining and setting off spaces in the home. And by selecting a vintage runner that you love, it will bring you joy for years to come.

7. Invest in a Classic

Persian, Oriental, and kilim rugs never go out of style, because they are true classics. Make sure you put those perennially beautiful antique and vintage runners in places where they will really be showpieces, such as grand entrance staircases and foyers. You will never tire of these time-honored beauties, and your investment will provide countless years of enjoyment in your well appointed home.

For an extensive collection of exceptional antique Persians, vintage and modern Afghani kilims, tribals, berbers, and more, visit The Rug Warehouse web site.