Rugs add so much to any room

"Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), French military and political leader, Maxims (1804-15)

Other than a great coat of paint, nothing else you can do to your space will signal a greater change than adding an area rug. I absolutely love them because — regardless of your style, color preferences or the space in question — the addition of an area rug will make that space more comfortable and a lot more interesting.

Choice in color, pattern and material of rugs is absolutely endless. Picking out your rugs will be a most difficult decision.

Area rugs can add to your home in many ways.

They warm up your space. While we love our hardwood or solid-surface floors, they can sometimes be cold and, well, empty. Adding a rug will warm up the space instantly.

Area rugs add color and pattern. Plain, unadorned floors need a spot of color. A rug is a very easy way to introduce color or a new pattern to your decorating scheme.

Area rugs help to muffle the sound of footsteps on a hard surface. Clomping around on a hardwood or tile floor in high heels, or just shoes of any kind for that matter, can produce a very annoying sound. Did you know that in some areas, when you are about to purchase an apartment or loft space, you are required to cover a certain percentage of floors in carpet or rugs? Nobody wants to hear somebody in another unit walking around. Area rugs keep the sound down and feel good on your feet at the same time.

Area rugs are a great soft landing place for your feet. If you walk around all day in your home on marble, concrete or tile floors, by the end of the day, you will feel it. Area rugs will soften the blow and at the end of the day, help promote healthy feet and legs.

In addition to these great reasons to invest in area rugs, they also will protect expensive marble or hardwood floors from excessive foot traffic. And regardless of what you may have been told, you can put an area rug over a carpet.

And, area rugs don’t necessarily have to go on the floor. Rugs are often used as wall art, and in some instances, table coverings.

So if I’ve convinced you to look into area rugs, shop around for different styles and materials. Buying an interesting rug is your opportunity to add a shot of color that you may not necessarily want in a large dose. This also is a chance to mix styles. A more contemporary rug will give a traditional setting a little pizzazz and a bit of the unexpected.

I also just found some eco-friendly, cotton rugs that look great in a contemporary room. Prairie Rugs (www.prairierugs.com), which touts "The World’s Finest Cotton Rugs," is the only rug maker that is a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council, a nonprofit industry association committed to promoting sustainable practices in the home-furnishings market. Prairie Rugs’ area rugs come in five sizes and 10 colors.

Carolyn Muse Grant is a founder and past president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home section of the Review-Journal. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.