Well, now that I have some of my primary furniture items figured out, I can really start thinking about their placement. After measuring and doing a scale drawing of the room, I can start dragging my furniture around in the space–at least virtually.

So I started by thinking about where I should position my area rug. I decided I’d like to use an 8’x 10′ area rug–mostly because I don’t want to overwhelm the space and also because I’d like to have 2 separate areas, or zones, for furniture within the room. I find that area rugs are wonderful for containing a furniture grouping or seating area, and for directing traffic flow.

If I place my area rug where the homeowners originally had their rug placed (which you can see by the residue of the rug-pad on the tiles), it will really affect where I place my furniture.

I’d rather not have my rug positioned this way, because it means my furniture has to be centrally located.
Ideally, I think it would be best for the rug to visually lead you out into the seating area, which I envision on the right side of the room. So I’d like to position the rug in this direction–straight out from the steps leading down into the sunroom.
OK, so I bet you’re wondering: What kind of rug will she use?

Well, I decided to really let the area rug set the tone for the sunroom and give it an updated contemporary feel. After all, it’s one of the most expensive elements in the room, and has a lot of impact on the space, since visitors will be looking down upon it when they first enter the room. Initially, I looked at many gray, traditional rugs. But the one I kept coming back to was this wonderful, funky, cowhide strip rug in a herringbone pattern. I love it!

I think this rug is ideal for my sunroom. First, the leather/cowhide will be extremely durable (after all 8-10,000 people will be traipsing across it during the month of May). Second, I love the contemporary vibe the herringbone pattern creates. And thirdly I adore that natural warm color found in the cowhide, and how it will mesh with the golden rattan from the chairs and the warm tones in the terra-cotta floors. Hmmm…seems like my color scheme is really starting to materialize!

Now, my big challenge will be cleaning the terra cotta tile so that I can use my rug in this position. It appears that the original owner had an area rug with a pad that disintegrated and left marks upon the very porous terra-cotta tile. So I think I have my work cut out for me…
I’ll let you know how it goes, since I’m finally allowed into the space this week (during March and April 2014) to begin my work. Next time, I’ll talk more about my decisions for the actual furniture placement.

I’ll share more about my plans for the BCDH Sunroom design in future posts–next time we’ll focus on the color scheme. Until then, feel free to visit the BCDH website here: http://www.buckscountydesignerhouse.org/
Make sure you take the time to post a comment and let me know what you think about my latest plans for this room and the rug placment. I LOVE to hear from you!
And please, tell everyone about Kristine Robinson’s blog. I need all the friends I can get!