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Beginner's Guide to Decorating with Area Rugs

 

Back to Basics: A Beginner's Guide to Decorating with Area Rugs

Copyright © Rugs Direct ®

There is no easier way to re-decorate any room in your home than by placing (or replacing) the area rug on the floor. It's a quick, simple and relatively inexpensive way to make a desired change. Certainly much easier than painting, wallpapering or hanging new window treatments - and incredibly less expensive than buying new furniture, light fixtures or artwork.

If you're lucky enough to have wood floors in the room you want to energize, all the better. Area rugs and wood floors were made for each other. But even if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, a new area rug can overcome a lot of deficiencies in the way the carpet affects the ambiance of the room.

Don't limit yourself to placing one large area rug in the center of the room. While this is a great way to warm up a large area, it can also make the room seem somewhat ordinary. Instead, consider creating focal points - places within the room that draw attention. A rug with some boldly contrasting colors to the room's main scheme can work wonders. Smaller rugs placed strategically near or underneath furniture can break the room's space into more inviting units. And remember - as easy as it is to pull up and replace area rugs - consider seasonal changes to the room to make it unique and inviting all year round.

OK. You've decided you want to decorate with area rugs. Of course your best source for ideas is going to be a website like Rugs Direct. But what should you consider as you start shopping?

First, determine the main purpose of the rug. Are you going to take our recommendation and use it to define a focal point in the room? Does the room need to be brightened? Softened? Warmed up? Or is the main goal to protect your valuable hardwood floors?

Is one rug going to do what you want to do, or should you consider several smaller ones? If there a place for a long runner? How would a round or octagonal rug look in this room?

Is this room particularly noisy? Are you hoping the rug will cut down on the sound of footsteps or other annoying echos in the room?

How much sunlight does the room get? You need to consider the material - or fibers - used to create the rug. Although wool is by far the most popular fabric for area rugs, a synthetic such as polypropylene (olifin) or acrylic can be more durable, more resistant to stains and easier to clean.

How much traffic does the room get? Again, wool is popular because it is durable and soft. But it is not a good idea to get it wet. There are many other more suitable fabrics for that situation, so you need to consider whether muddy, wet feet are going to come into contact with your rug.

Lastly, don't cheap-out and think you can get away with not putting a rug pad underneath your rug. This is critical on hardwood floors, but important for rug-on-carpet applications as well. Apart from the safety issue of not wanting your rug to slide underfoot, a pad will make the rug lie flat, extend its life tremendously and make it much easier to regularly vacuum.

Most importantly, with all the thousands and thousands of rug styles, colors, shapes and materials available, don't get overwhelmed! Decorating with an area rug can - and should - be fun. Look at photos in magazines and imagine what would translate well to your space. Then visit an online store with enhanced search capabilities to help you quickly narrow down the possibilities to the ones that appeal to you. Again, we recommend the Rugs Directory at Rugs Direct.

Good luck!

Team Rugs for All Football Fans

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To many people autumn means much more than cooler weather, shorter days and the kids going back to school. No, it means one thing and one thing only - FOOTBALL!

The college and pro seasons are under way, and there is not better way to show which team you root for than by displaying a rug with the logo of your favorite team on it. Fortunately there is a great resource available to you where you are sure to find it - Rugs Direct.

In the NFL collection from Milliken there are 96 different rugs available. Each team comes in three different designs - a repeat logo, a centered logo on a football field and a large, centered logo.

These rugs are made in the USA of 100% nylon and feature Stainmaster protection for those inevitable, uh, "spills" that happen during the exciting moments in the 4th quarter. They come in multiple sizes, from a basic door-mat all the way up to one that will fill the entire rec room.

If college football is more to your liking, Rugs Direct has over 350 rugs available, featuring the logos of almost any school that participates in the sport. Again, multiple designs and numerous sizes are available, so you're sure to find a great way to display your school spirit for many years to come.

Good luck this season. We hope your team does well!

Rug Attributes Part Three - Pattern

Copyright © 2008 Rugs Direct^®

One of the most important features of an area rug is sometimes the most difficult to describe. It is the basic pattern woven into the rug. But articulating what you see on the face of that beautiful rug can be challenging. And when searching for that "just right" rug, people frequently don't know the terminology to use to narrow that search when they have a specific pattern in mind.

Pattern is closely related to style and theme but can be defined more broadly. Basically the rug's pattern is determined by the way lines and curves are used to generate shapes. The industry generally recognizes three main categories of patterns: geometric, curvilinear and pictorial.

As with most things related to area rugs, there is a tremendous amount of overlap between these categories. Still it is useful to understand them. One or the other will probably be more dominant in the rug's pattern than another. This then becomes the best way to describe the pattern of that particular rug.

Let's take a look at the three categories of rug patterns and examine a sample that fits into each group.

Geometric

A geometric rug is created with straight lines, often using a variety of shapes - triangles, squares, diagonal lines, etc. In a way it is somewhat more primitive than the other two patterns. Southwestern and Navaho rugs frequently make use of a geometric pattern, but it's not uncommon in older traditional designs as well.

Curvilinear

When a pattern makes use of a variety of smooth curved lines it is referred to as curvilinear. In fact, that's the definition of the word! It's a bit harder to weave rugs in this pattern and frequently the overall knot density of a curvilinear rug is higher than other, simpler patterns. With the advent of machine-made area rugs, it is much easier - and more economical - to weave a curvilinear pattern than when everything was done strictly by hand. Curvilinear rugs are common in just about all styles and themes of rugs from traditional to contemporary.

Pictorial

A rug with an image of people, animals, flowers or nature falls into the pictorial category. The first rugs created of this type depicted historical events, mythological creatures or famous people. They truly were art forms, often made to hang on a wall instead of placing them on a floor. Today you can find an image of just about anyone or anything on an area rug. Still, as in ancient times, they are not as common or popular as the other two patterns of area rugs. A room's decor has to be just right for a pictorial rug to fit in appropriately.

Rugs Direct carries well over 60,000 area rugs representing all of the above patterns. Our proprietary Rugs Directory search engine will help you find exactly what you are looking for in no time. Click here to visit the Rugs Direct online showroom to find the perfect area rug for your home.

Rug Attributes Part Two - Color

Copyright © 2008 Rugs Direct^®

For many people shopping for an area rug, about the only thing that matters is color. And why not? The rug might be the main focal point of the entire room, and if its color isn't right, then nothing else is going to matter. Plus, rightly so, many people consider area rugs not to be just pieces of fabric that you place on the floor, but true works of art. Few artists create their works without detailed considerations of color; the same is true of the great artisans who design and weave area rugs.

In esoteric circles where they discuss such things, there are some area-rug experts who argue that color is even more important than the overall design of the rug. Their position is that even an outstanding, intricate and appealing design can be ruined with the wrong combination of colors. However, a weak design can be made appealing through the application of a unique color scheme. Plus there are many people who find a solid color area rug useful and attractive in certain situations. This is an example of a rug with NO design, but only color. I think those experts might have a valid point.

In simplest terms, area rugs have a background color and a border color. As noted above, sometimes a rug is made of only a background color. But the vast majority have more than one.

Probably a better term for background color would be dominant color. If you were asked to describe the color of a rug and could only use one word, this would be the color name you choose. Although you can find area rugs with just about any background color imaginable, the most popular are red, blue, yellow and tones of brown or beige. Burgundy, which is a hue of these colors, is probably the single most popular background color used in area rugs - especially traditional, Oriental and Persian ones.

Border colors are often not as easy to identify as the background color. The design and pattern of the rug might be so intricate that you really can't isolate the colors used to create it very well. That's OK, because the goal is to create an impression with color rather than display unique shades. Often a tint or hue in the border of a rug serves as inspiration for the other colors used in a room. Painting your walls the same color as part of the rug's border can create an extremely attractive, coordinated look to the room where everything simply "comes together" in the way professional designers work.

So where do the colors in area rugs come from?

Some rugs are made of natural fibers and often that's were the color originates. Typically these aren't the most vibrant colors and the design possibilities are somewhat limited. So to take wool and infuse it with a rainbow of colors, rug-makers use a variety of dyes.

For the first several thousand years of rug-making only natural dyes were available to color the fibers woven into rugs. The sources for these were a wide variety of plants, animals and minerals. Mixing and blending these components to create just the right color was an impressive skill in and of itself. Often the artisans would work hard to create a collection of primary colors, and then combine these in various ways to come up with just about every perceptible color. It worked a lot like the way we mix paint using a neutral base today.

In the middle of the 1800s, as rugs started to become more and more popular, European rug-makers worked on ways to come up with cheaper and easier-to-manufacturer dyes. The result was synthetic dyes made from coal tar. There were some problems. They were easy to use, but they faded rapidly when exposed to light or water and had a rather unpleasant order. Nobody realized it at the time, but the fumes are also highly toxic. Nevertheless, these dyes were imported in great quantities by Persia (Iran), Anatolia (Turkey) and other rug-making centers throughout the Middle East. The difficulties in using them came to a head in 1903 when the King of Persia officially banned their use in his country!

Fortunately a new type of synthetic dye, chrome dyes, were developed in the early years of the 20th century. Chrome dyes hold their colors perfectly in most all situations and have absolutely no limitations when it comes to blending a specific color or shade.

Rugs Direct carries over 60,000 area rugs in every combination of color and hue you can imagine. You may easily shop by color using our proprietary area-rug search tool, the Rugs Directory. Click here to visit on online showroom.

Outdoor Rugs are IN

Copyright © 2008  Rugs Direct^®

Spring has finally arrived! Now is the perfect time to transform your patio, porch, deck or gazebo into an attractive space for entertaining or relaxing. And the best way to do this is with a durable, easy-care outdoor area rug.

Here are some tips and suggestions to help make the process of finding the ideal outdoor rug a little easier:

First of all, don’t be confused by the difference between an outdoor area rug and a door mat. The latter is designed primarily as a place for people to wipe their dirty feet before entering the house. A typical door mat sacrifices style for function. It may have the world “Welcome” embedded (or printed) on the front – or perhaps the name of your favorite sports team – but “attractive” is not a word many people would use to describe door mats. They are also typically rather small – on the order of 3’ x 2’ – because they are designed to sit in front of a door and nothing more.

Also, many people still think of outdoor “carpeting” when they think about outdoor rugs. Remember AstroTurf? Fake grass? It’s no longer popular because, quite frankly, it’s awfully ugly. Whatever you do, don’t cover your patio with bright green artificial grass!

An outdoor area rug, on the other hand, is designed to add color and style to outdoor activity areas. As such, you need to pay attention to a number of factors including the colors, patterns and size. So as you begin shopping for an outdoor area rug, what are the major considerations?

Appearance
Size – start by determining if you want a large rug to cover most of your outdoor space, or several smaller ones to define seating or activity areas. Many people make the mistake of buying a rug that is too small and are disappointed when it doesn’t transform the space in the way they intended. Make a simple block diagram and try a number of different combinations until you find an arrangement you like.

Colors – of course this is a matter of personal taste, but keep in mind that an outdoor rug is subjected to dirt and weather in a way most indoor rugs will never experience. Bright colors may fade if exposed to harsh sunlight constantly and there is very little you can do about it. Dirt will show less on earth colors. So if browns, deep reds, oranges and greens fit with your décor, you might give them greater consideration.

Patterns – this is where you choice can truly add to the visual excitement of your outdoor space. Don’t lock yourself into buying a solid color outdoor rug! There are so many beautiful patterns and styles available that you owe it to yourself to explore them all.

Texture – this is closely tied to the fabric and material used to make the rug. Most outdoor rugs don’t have as thick a pile as many indoor-only rugs because this increases the maintenance necessary to keep them looking new. However, you still have many choices, including some fine braided rugs that, in addition to having prominent texture, are also reversible.

Durability
An outdoor rugs is subjected to just about every kind of abuse imaginable. Kids, pets, wind, rain – even wild animals. So it’s important to choose a fabric that is strong, durable and easy to clean. Most outdoor rugs are made of weather-resistant polypropylene, which is also known as olefin. Although this is a petroleum-derived plastic product, many manufacturers are now using 100% recycled materials to make their outdoor rugs. It is woven in the same way as typical indoor rugs and can have the same intricate patterns as the most expensive Oriental rugs. It makes good sense to try and buy an eco-friendly outdoor area rug if at all possible. Polypropylene extracted from discarded milk jugs makes this practical.

One American manufacturer, Colonial Mills (CMI), has begun making a line of braided outdoor rugs that are only available at Rugs Direct. Called the Championship™ collection, they are made from 100% polypropylene and are designed for use on outdoor porches and patios, as well as indoor casual settings. They are unaffected by water, moisture, or mildew and, because they are reversible, they offer twice the life of a single-sided rug.

CMI has developed what they call the C-Lock™ braid-joining system, which offers several features and advantages:

• Incredibly strong Sew Soft-Sew Klear™ stitching thread
• More than two inches per inch
• Extra-tight braids for long wear and joint strength
  
• More yarn ends for stronger bonds and increased durability
  
• Easy maintenance – vacuum regularly with hard-surface attachment
  
• Easy cleaning – spray with hose and hang to dry

One note: CMI strongly recommends the use of a pad underneath their outdoor area rugs to both minimize wear and prevent slippage. Rugs pads designed specifically for outdoor use are now available. Click here for more information.

Price
Compared to hand-knotted Oriental rugs, most outdoor area rugs are an incredible bargain. You can easily find a large, top-quality outdoor rug for well under $300. Most smaller, space-defining outdoor rugs are under $100. The best advice is to shop around and compare. A good place to start is Rugs Direct. Click here.

Gone are the days when you had almost infinite choices for decorating indoors with area rugs but only a few limited ones for outside. In fact, most of the rugs you now see described as “outdoor” are more accurately labeled “indoor/outdoor” because they are attractive enough to use in just about any casual room in the house. In fact, one designer of an outstanding collection of area rugs, Liora Manné, calls her new Spello Collection “EveryWear” rugs. It’s a perfect play on words that describes this new generation of outdoor area rugs perfectly!

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For more information…here are some of the top manufacturers of outdoor area rugs, with links to their collections on the Rugs Direct website:

Couristan – Recife
Colonial Mills – Championship
Trans Ocean – Terrace
Casual For Life – Four Seasons (exclusive to Rugs Direct)
Liora Manné – Spello and Patio
Sphinx – Lanai

Southwestern Style has Special Appeal

Copyright © 2008 Rugs Direct^®

Through the use of southwestern rugs it is possible to create a unique rustic atmosphere in any room in your home. Of course artwork, furnishings and accessories can enhance the look, but the bold southwestern rug is the decorating anchor that serves to define the rest of the room.

Southwestern rugs often go by other names. It's not uncommon for someone to refer to them simply as western rugs, although technically these are somewhat different. People frequently call southwestern rugs Native American rugs or will even attribute them to a specific tribe such as Navajo or Zapotec. An expert will be able to tell you the subtle differences between the rugs created by the various tribes, but to most of us the generic term southwestern does an adequate job of describing this particular style.

A common characteristic to most southwestern rugs is the combination of brilliant colors with characters symbolizing spiritual or historic aspects of Native American life. The amount of detail in a typical southwestern rug requires an extremely high density of fibers and a top-quality, handmade rug can take upwards of a year to weave. They are works of art like no others!

The designs of southwestern rugs prior to the mid 1800s were very different from what we see today. First of all, they typically weren't rugs, but blankets created to be worn around the shoulders. The fiber of choice was wool from the Churro sheep, which was introduced to the region by the Spanish in the middle 1500s. Designs tended to have  many horizontal lines and were not nearly as intricate as those we think of as Navajo blankets today.

When the southwestern tribes began making blankets - and then rugs - for export to the East Coast and Midwest of America, the styles changed considerably. First of all, the items weren't made to be worn any longer, but truly became both functional and attractive additions to people's floors. With most of the Churro herds gone, the artisans turned to commercially spun wool yarn and machine spun plied cotton. The introduction of synthetic dyes also drastically changed the look of many southwestern style rugs.

During the early part of the twentieth century an interesting transformation happened in the design of traditional southwestern rugs. The traders who were buying rugs in large quantities from the southwestern tribes and selling them to wealthy non-Native-Americans throughout the rest of the country, started injecting their own ideas into the designs. More accurately, they started telling the rug-makers what they thought their customers wanted, and insisted the southwestern weavers modify their designs to match. (Someone once compared this to opening a restaurant in France to serve Italian food to Americans and ending up with a fast-food pizza joint!)

As a result, many southwestern designs started looking a lot more like Oriental or Persian rugs. For instance, very few Native American weavers included a border in their designs. But American purchasers seemed to insist on having one. Also people seemed to want a heavier rug than what the Navajos and other southwestern weavers thought was necessary. Some people actually stopped referring to these new hybrids as southwestern and started calling them "regional rugs" or "tribal." For a short period of time - up until around 1950 - sales of southwestern rugs plummeted.

Modern southwestern rugs have gone back to the basics while continuing to show a great deal of diversity in color and design. They tend to be less regionalized than previously, and now incorporate many popular colors that simply weren't available to the original Native American craftsmen. Southwestern rugs have also made another transition, this time from the floor to the wall. More than ever people are actually hanging a southwestern rug as if it was a tapestry, but the effect on a room's overall decor can be truly stunning.

Rugs Direct has approximately 250 southwestern rug styles available at its website. One of the most popular is the Genesis Arizona made by Oriental Weavers. See it and all the other southwestern patterns by clicking here.

Think Outside the Box with a Round Rug

Copyright © 2007 Rugs Direct ^®

Guest author: Vicki Duong

When people think of a rug, the first thought that usually comes to mind is that of a rectangular-shaped covering that sits upon the middle of your floor. But who says you should only be limited to such a square piece of material when many area rugs now come in a variety of shapes and sizes? As fun alternatives to the usual rectangular or square-shaped rug, round rugs with detailed edging and half-moon or crescent shaped rugs can easily dress up your home.

For those of you who are looking to venture out from boring square shaped rugs, I suggest looking into what are often called "medallion" rugs. Medallion rugs are intricate round-shaped rugs that generally are used in an entrance way near the front door to dress up your foyer. Hotels even use these artistically styled rugs in larger sizes for their lobbies, pairing them with round decorative tables and floral arrangements. Many medallion rugs feature a decorative scalloped edging, making them ideal for placing them in the middle of your living room or at the entrance to a formal dining room.

Like rugs of other shapes, round rugs come in a variety of styles and fibers. Many round rugs use a combination of fabrics for improved appearance or strength. Some common round rug fibers are:

• Acrylic — resists sunlight, stains and mildew
• Polypropylene (olefin) — stain-resistant and extremely popular
• Nylon —versatile, durable and easy to maintain
• Wool —durable, soft and is considered the superior fiber
• Cotton —softer than wool, but less durable
• Jute — the softest, but fades easily in direct sunlight; sensitive to moisture
• Sisal —strong, durable and colorfast

A variation on round rug, half-moon rugs are ideal for those who don't have a lot of space to spare. Since they're really just half of a round rug, they don't take up as much floor space, and are designed to be pushed up against a wall. Perfect places to keep your half-moon rug include the kitchen in front of your sink, underneath your study or telephone table, and even your bathroom. You can get a little creative with these rugs and use them as the ends of your couch and place end tables on top of them. The most common use of a half-moon rug is in front of a fireplace.

Rugs in other unusual shapes and designs such as flower die cut styles and fish-shaped rugs are perfect for those who have a particular theme going on in their home. But whether you're following a certain motif, or are just looking for a completely differently way to decorate your floors, remember that it's perfectly acceptable to think outside of the rectangular box!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vicki_Duong

One of the best places to shop for round or shaped rugs is Rugs Direct. Many of the styles that are available in traditional rectangular shapes also come in 6-foot, 8-foot or 10-foot round sizes. Click here and do a search of the Rugs Directory^TM for "round" - you're certain to find the perfect round area rug for your home!

#1 Mistake When Buying a Rug

Copyright © 2007 Rugs Direct^®

Do you know what the #1 mistake is that people make when buying a new area rug? The wrong color? Inappropriate style? Fabric not correctly matched to intended use?

Nope...size. More accurately, people tend to underestimate the size of rug they will need and too often buy one that in simply too small.

Even if you carefully measure the room or area in which you want to place the rug, it can be deceptive until you actually put the rug in place. However, there are certain guidelines to follow that should help you determine the most appropriate size for your application.

If furniture is going to be placed on the rug, make sure you aren't forced to put two feet on the rug and two directly on the floor. This never works well. Not only will your furniture no longer be level, but it just looks "wrong." Get a rug that is large enough so that all four feet will fit comfortably on it with a little extra so that the feet aren't setting right on the rug's edge. Or spread the furniture out so that no feet sit on it; and make sure the rug will completely cover the area between pieces.

If you're placing a rug in a central location in a room, leave a border of no more than 24-36 inches around the edges. More than this tends to make the rug "disappear" in the room and look as if you miscalculated the necessary size. This might very well be the case! If you don't like the look of one large rug filling the room's floorspace, you can easily decorate with two rugs instead. Just avoid large swaths of empty floor surrounding the room.

In a dining room, start by measuring the size of your table and then add at least four feet in each direction. You want the chairs to fit on the rug both when people are seated at the table and when they push the chair back to get up from the table. Again, don't force two feet to sit on the rug and the other two to sit on the floor.

In a hallway where you are placing a runner, the width should be no more than four inches narrower than the width of the hall. You don't want to create a narrow path down the center, but cover the majority of the floor. As for length, 18-24 inches shorter than the hallway is ideal.

Bedrooms can be a bit of exception to the "don't buy too small" rule. That's because the bed usually takes up a large part of the floorspace and there's really no point in putting a rug beneath it where it won't been seen. It's better to decorate with multiple, smaller rugs that can define and shape the space in a way a large rug cannot do.

Some people find it beneficial to actually create a template for the rug out of newspaper or brown craft paper. Using nothing more than a tape measure, scissors and some tape, you can piece together a shape that matches the size of the rug you are considering, place it on the floor and see if it matches up with what you're expecting. You may be surprised that you really need a size larger than you anticipated. With your template, simply add on to what you already have to create the new size, and then buy with confidence.

When you're ready to start shopping and explore the various rug sizes available, be sure to spend some time at Rugs Direct.

Antique or New?

© 2007 Rugs Direct^®

Frequently when people begin thinking about making an area-rug purchase the question comes up, "Should I buy an antique rug or a new one?" Of course there is no simple answer, but several factors to consider in making your decision.

Most importantly you must consider your overall design preference. If your tastes are more contemporary or modern, you may have difficulty finding an antique rug that you will like. Most true, handmade, antique rugs are only available in the more traditional styles usually described as Oriental or Persian. Reds and blacks are going to be the dominant colors.

But suppose your taste is more traditional. As you begin shopping you're going to find that you are still limited to a much narrower range of designs and colors than what is currently being produced. And, as with furniture, automobiles or any other antiques, what you seek isn't going to always be available if the current owner isn't interested in selling. You may have to go with what you can find rather than what you want.

You also need to consider how you are going to use the rug to determine if an antique is right for you. Do you have a spot to display a beautiful but probably somewhat fragile artifact? A lower traffic bedroom might be suitable, but probably not your main entryway. Most antique rugs really are for show - not daily use.

Suppose you do find an antique rug that you feel is "right" for your application. How do you determine what it is worth? If you have the knowledge and expertise to identify and evaluate a fine antique, excellent! But most of us do not. Not that there are unscrupulous rug dealers out there waiting to swindle you out of your hard-earned cash, but the admonition of caveat emptor applies to the purchase of antique area rugs as much as it does to any other  one-of-a-kind transaction.

Lastly there is the issue of rug wear or damage. The chance of finding an antique rug that shows no signs of use is almost nil. You need to either be prepared to live with whatever imperfections the rug has, or invest in some level or restoration. Know how much this is going to cost before you invest in the rug. You could be surprised how expensive this great find could suddenly become!

Of course if you decide to purchase a new rug instead of an antique, your choice of style, color and fabric is almost limitless. Plus you can select the type of construction that is best suited to the traffic level of the area in which the rug will be placed. And the issue of pricing becomes much less of a concern, because you can comparison-shop among numerous reputable dealers to be certain that you are paying fair market value for your investment. Rugs Direct is a good place to start this process. It's also where you will probably end it, since you're not going to find a better price anywhere in the country on a fine-quality area rug - no matter what your decorating style!

Thanks to Nourison University for much of the content of this article.

Bed-in-a-Bag Makes Decorating Simple

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Some people enjoy decorating a room item by item, piece by piece, carefully selecting and coordinating each element with every other one. Although this can be incredibly rewarding and aesthetically pleasing, it takes a long time and requires a special eye for color and style than many of us do not possess. It can also be very expensive! If you have the time, temperament, skill and funds to take on this kind of home-decorating project, this article is not for you. But if you're looking for a quick, easy and affordable way to revitalize and decorate your bedroom, please read on.

The idea of buying a complete set of bedding - the concept behind "bed-in-a-bag" - has been around a while, but originally there were very few options available and, quite frankly, they were awfully plain. Today all of that has changed and you can find some very exciting, coordinated pieces in a variety of sizes, styles and patterns.

The biggest advantage to buying a complete bed-in-a-bag set for your bed is that you are assured the colors and patterns are going to match exactly. Plus you are going to save a significant amount of money over buying each piece individually. And, as mentioned above, today you are going to find some of the hottest designer-inspired themes in beautiful, contemporary, easy-care fabrics.

The three most popular sizes for bed-in-a-bag collections are Queen, King and the new California King. Typically you will find the following components included in the "bag":

• Comforter
• Tailored Dust Ruffle
• Euro-Sized Pillow Shams - two or three
• Standard Pillow Shams - two or three
• Decorative Pillows - two or three
• Coordinating Neck Roll

If you're wondering if the actual sheets, bed pillows, pillow cases or mattress pad are included in a bed-in-a-bag set; they are not. Just remember, if it doesn't show when the bed is made, it's not a part of the package!

In addition to permitting you to easily decorate the central focus of a bedroom, bed-in-a-bag packages also make it extremely practical to periodically change the look of your bedroom. Simply switch to a different coordinated bed-in-a-bag set, and you instantly have a brand new look! Change it with the seasons - or your mood - and the bedroom's decor will never bore you. They can be a bit hard to find, but there actually are some reversible bed-in-a-bag sets available.

Another advantage of using a bed-in-a-bag set comes from the fact that most all of them reach the floor and make it impossible to see underneath the bed. This gives you a tremendous amount of out-of-sight storage space for things like shoes, seasonal clothing, flat luggage, photo albums and just about anything else that will fit. However, please don't just shove things under the bed. Use specially designed storage boxes - some of which even have wheels - to keep things tidy and organized.

Rugs Direct recently introduced a complete collection of bed-in-a-bag sets in its online store. Prices range from around $275 to less than $450 for a complete 10-piece set. Compare this to department-store prices or the cost of each piece individually, and you'll see for yourself why bed-in-a-bag has become such a popular decorating choice for people looking to energize their bedroom decor!