Amy’s Biggest Design Pet Peeve
My biggest design pet peeve is a rug that is too small. I once asked Lauren Liess what her biggest pet peeve was, and she said the same thing. The right rug size will make or break a good design. Now, I know it’s hard to find the right rug. Particularly around here. Let’s face it, Old Town is weird. The sizes of rooms are odd and nothing is standard. That’s true of a lot of old houses in this area. If the rooms aren’t too small, they are too big for an average size rug. And then there is new construction. While the room is nice and even, it’s big or there is an opening that doesn’t make sense. All that makes finding just the right rug nearly impossible. So when Dash & Albert started offering custom-sized rugs, we were thrilled!
In the beginning they only had a handful of rugs that they procured from another vendor and sized. Cut to two years later and they have over 200 styles! Many of them are their signature patterns that we have all come to love. Now you can get your favorite rug in virtually any size. That includes wool, jute/sisal, and indoor/outdoor.
When I moved into my weird little old house the living/dining area was cut so that the living space was long and narrow. I had to buy a 10’x12’ rug and have someone locally cut it down to 8’x12’. The side that was cut is trimmed in a different color than the rest of the rug. Luckily, it’s not noticeable, but how nice it is now that I can get a rug with trim that matches and fits right away. The best thing — I can get it in two to three weeks!
If you are in need of a new custom-sized rug here are a few tips on how to buy one from us:
Measure your space.
This is important and, well, the entire point. Measure the space that you want to cover with your rug. This may or may not be the entire room. If you are looking for stair runners then we recommend having your installer do the measurements.
In the living room, if you are floating the furniture in the middle of the room (meaning nothing against the wall), then, ideally, you want all the furniture on the rug. If it’s a small room, then the front legs will do. However, If your sofa is against a wall, then you only need the front legs on the rug. The chairs should be entirely on the rug, but, again, if it’s a small space then just front legs. You’ll need enough room for the side tables too. Finally, the general rule of thumb is to have at least 1’ of space between the wall and the edge of the rug.
In the dining room, center the rug under the table and add 2’ around it for the chairs. This is easy. Measure the table then add 2’ per side. When the chairs move away from the table they should still be on the rug. Otherwise the legs will get all caught up.
In the bedroom, I advocate for the rug to be under the bed. For some this feels like a waste, but I can’t stress enough how much better the room looks when you do a larger rug. The best practice is to get the side tables on as well. In my bedroom the side tables go all the way to the wall so if I did this then I wouldn’t have that 1’ clearance between the wall and the edge of the rug. Since that’s the case I stop the rug just before the side tables.
Take home samples.
Start by looking at Dash & Albert’s website. Make a list of the ones you want to see. Then bring it with you to the shop. We will pull the rug samples – or if we don’t have one then we will get one for you – so you can take them home to see them in your space. We recommend taking home anything that you remotely like. Customers are often surprised that the one they were the most unsure of was the right one for them. If you are buying a custom-sized rug that is not returnable, it’s important to see it in your home. Borrowing rugs for up to a week is a free service we offer our customers.
Once you have all your samples, spend a few days with them. You will want to see them in the light during all the times of day. It’s amazing what light can do to a room, so do not skimp on this. That’s why we give folks such a long time to sit with them.
Place your order.
This is the easiest part! After you’ve made your decision simply come into Red Barn Mercantile, or call us to place the order. We will take your payment information and place the order. Because the turnaround time is so fast we do take the full payment up front. Assuming the rug is in stock it only takes up to three weeks to get it.
Here are a few important things to note about Dash & Albert’s custom rugs:
There is a 2” variable, meaning they can be plus or minus 2” in length. It’s not a complete science so there are allowances.
The minimum size for a custom rug is 25 square feet.
The maximum length is 30’ and the maximum width is 13 to 15’ depending on the rug. That’s a lot of rug!
They cannot cut around fireplaces just yet.
If you’re buying multiples of a rug for the same room then buy them together to ensure the dye lots are consistent.
If you need a rug pad for a custom rug it needs to be ordered at the same time. Some of the rugs come with pads attached and some don’t.
Finally, for some of the rugs with borders, the borders are lost in the custom rugs. If you want that finished look you will have to make a standard size work.
Our team at Red Barn Mercantile is ready to help you find just the right rug at just the right size. Stop in today and let’s get started!
