Flooring Trend: Layered Area Rugs

Nicole Gibbons, blogger and creative director of So Haute, mixes style and texture in her New York City apartment. "I'm not one to follow trends, but the layered rug look is definitely a hot design trend," she says. "I see it everywhere from popular home furnishings catalogs to the portfolios of top interior designers."

Her advice for getting started: If you're layering your rugs on a hard floor, allow at least 12-18 inches of space on all sides so that you can see the contrast between the rugs. Photo courtesy of Nicole Gibbons.

Sometimes one rug just won't do — not when you can add several in the same pattern and color family to fill a room with a sense of place. Consider layering kilims to anchor large pieces of furniture. "The idea was to make a big patchwork collage out of different kilims for a playful and nonchalant effect," says photographer Mieke Tacken.

Do know, however, when to edit your rug design to avoid the unkempt or "Ali Baba's tent" look, recommends designer Don Raney of Civility Design, Chicago. Try Orientals lined down hallways for a similar effect. Photo courtesy of ICE.

Kelly Burt-Deasy, trend manager for Cost Plus World Market, has seen the layered rug trend surface in the past few years. Interestingly, customers always buy more than one rug from the company at a time, she says.

If you're looking to layer, Burt-Deasy says the key is choosing rugs that have the same fabrication/construction. "It makes your rooms feel very individual and one-of-a-kind," she says. "That's the bigger trend: People wanting to add their own personal touch instead of the room looking like a catalog." Photo courtesy of Cost Plus World Market.

Large, rectangular living rooms are blank canvases for rug layering. Dress up a jute with a more expensive wool rug like Los Angeles-based designer Kristen Hutchins did here. "I love jute because it is softer than sea grass and more stain friendly than sisal," says Hutchins, who says the key to layering rugs is making sure the larger, main rug is neutral. "If you start out with a larger, neutral rug as the base, you can add a fun, patterned rug to define just the seating area." This means your top rug would fit within the sofa and chairs and be anchored by the coffee table. Photo courtesy of Kristen Hutchins.