Save Money On Carpeting With Vacation House Rules' Simple Design Tip

According to Scott McGillivray of HGTV's "Vacation House Rules," the best type of flooring is hardwood. "Hardwood all the way. It's the most popular flooring type across North America, and I would always choose it over carpet," McGillivray tells HGTV. However, he also doesn't think you should keep your hardwood floors bare. "Don't get me wrong, I know that carpet feels nice underfoot — especially in bedrooms — but I usually advise people to lay area rugs on top of hardwood instead."

However, one large concern that many have with area rugs is that large sizes can be quite expensive, even costing up to thousands of dollars. At the same time, you also don't want your area rug to be too small, as this can make it feel like something's off in your design. Luckily, McGillivray has a great tip that will save you money while also covering your entire floor. He says to layer multiple smaller area rugs, which will definitely be cheaper than using one large one. 

Besides being much cheaper, layering multiple area rugs also comes with a few other benefits. To begin, it allows you to mix and match colors, patterns, and textures. In one of Scott McGillivray's vacation homes, he uses a solid-colored gray rug, a patterned white and gray piece, and a tan natural fiber type in the living room. McGillivray says that he "layered three different area rugs just to add a little something to the floors," per YouTube. Therefore, if your floors are looking a bit bland, or if you can't decide between a few different pieces, try mixing and matching styles in the space.

Another benefit is that layering rugs creates multiple seating zones. "One of the best ways to define a space — especially in open concept homes — is with an area rug," McGillivray writes on Twitter. "An area rug will help anchor a space and it immediately gives you a spot to place furniture." Perhaps your living room is quite large and you want to include multiple seating areas. You could add one rug underneath the couch, another underneath a pair of armchairs, and a final piece at the base of the fireplace, to create different zones in the room.

While layering rugs is a great idea, it's important to do it properly, as incorrectly placing the rugs could give your design a less-than-appealing aesthetic. To start, every rug should ground something in the room, since you don't want any of them to simply float in space. "Your area rug should be large enough for at least the front legs of the sofa and all chairs to rest on top," McGillivray says, per YouTube. When layering multiple pieces, think of all the individual rugs as just one piece, and make sure they're anchoring the furniture.

You also need to make sure that you don't layer them too much, as simply placing a corner of one over the edge of another is typically enough. In rare cases, a much smaller rug can be completely placed over top of a larger one, but keep in mind that this won't add more square footage, it will only add an additional pattern or color. Further, don't feel like you need to cover the entire hardwood floor with rugs. It's okay to leave a section uncovered, as long as all the furniture feels anchored.