HGTV Star Jasmine Roth's Smart Advice For Finding The Best Rug For Your Living Room

Wall-to-wall carpeting seems to be a dwindling trend. According to Realtor.com, millennials are responsible for the shift away from carpeting to more sleek and pet-friendly surfaces like hardwood, tile, and laminate floors. These kinds of flooring are durable, timeless, and easy to clean, but there are times when we all crave something a little softer under our feet. Who wants to slide their feet out of bed and hit the cold, hard tile in winter? Not us. While millennials may be "killing" carpet, Realtor.com explains that they're choosing to cover their bare floors with statement rugs instead. Rugs are great because they're easy to install, easy to clean, and easy to replace when they're damaged or out of style.

Choosing a rug that complements your home and satisfies your needs can be a bit of a challenge, especially when they come at a high price tag. That's why HGTV star and designer Jasmine Roth offers some sage advice for anyone hunting for the perfect living room rug. How does Roth nail her rug selection every time? She follows a few simple but clever rules.

When you're staring into a void of floor space, where should you begin? Jasmine Roth tells rug shoppers, "Probably the most important thing is thinking about the room as a whole, from the floor where the rug will be all the way to the ceiling" (via Yahoo!). Think about the size of your room and recognize existing elements of your home that you can play up with your rug. Will a rectangular rug highlight the modern tray ceiling? Or should you choose a round rug to compliment your bubbly light fixture? Roth says she loves to pair rugs that "tie the entire design together and draw the eye all the way from the base of the room to the top."

One of the biggest mistakes that people often make is choosing a rug that's too small. Rugs can be expensive, but Roth says it's better to forego a rug altogether than have a rug that's too small, making the room feel disjointed. Instead, invest in a rug that is large enough to fill the space between furniture pieces. The perfect rug will be longer than the front edge of your couch and touch at least two legs of all the other pieces in your living room. A rug that's too big is a lesser sin, but if it's touching the walls or it's underneath every single piece of furniture, it's not a good fit.

Rug size and shape may be the most important elements, but don't underestimate the value of color, texture, and pattern. Unless you're overhauling your entire interior design, try to choose a rug that complements and enhances your existing furniture. For the most flattering results, Jasmine Roth says to avoid too much similarity. If you're couch, chairs, pillows, and décor all match, you'll need to mix it up with your rug. Despite the fact that neutrals go with everything, Roth warns "there is such thing as too many neutral colors, and often it's the boring and blah rug that takes a neutral color palette too far" (via Yahoo!).

Color isn't the only way rugs influence your space; texture and pattern are essential too. For example, if you already have a lot of flat, solid canvas furniture, add interest with a faux fur, jute, or cowhide rug. "While you don't want everything to be the exact same tone or color, you also don't want a rug that's just too much," Roth says, recommending that you stick to either bold throw pillows or a bold rug pattern. Roth also loves to switch up her rugs seasonally by layering them, a trend that's essential to bohemian design, according to Foter Magazine. To pull it off, Roth says, "The smaller rug should be about one foot smaller on each side to make the layered rug look work."