I just read somewhere that they are frequently left out of design photos and real estate photos specifically to showcase the flooring. The photo you attached has an amazing herringbone floor. In real life, I love area rugs...but that floor <3!

No matter the floor, rugs can enhance it. A mile of flooring with hard furniture as the above photo provides no softening effect, and actually is noisy. Too much dark furniture on a dark floor......and sign me not a fan. Sorry!

I wasn't aware that there was any kind of trend to not have a rug! If there was, I'd kind of welcome it.

I love the way rugs look in other people's spaces and I think they're invaluable in putting together a room, but I'm really struggling with getting one for my own space for 2 reasons: I have rather severe allergies and I've always been told hard floors are better for my health. And second, I have cats that either claw the rugs to shreds or do other unmentionable things to them.

Has anyone else had to deal with those issues? How did you solve them. I'd sure appreciate any tips on how to get a living room to look great without a rug, or be pointed towards rug options that are more hypoallergenic and are very durable and easy to clean.

Not having rugs in the floor is like not having art on the walls. A space will never look finished without both.

i think that photo looks terrible! Especially in open concept you need rugs to define spaces or it just looks like a big jumble.

Rugs anchor the furniture and soften the acoustic. In open plan, they help define the areas of function.

Real people have rugs on the floors when they are not selling their houses. In my area, wool Oriental rugs are the most popular choice (and have been for decades). In areas with newer developments, a popular choice is a large neutral rug that is custom cut from a roll of wall to wall carpet, then edge-bound.

I don't think they are going out of style but I personally can't imagine having a rug in the dining room. Why would I cover my nice wood floors that are easy to clean with a rug? Maybe if the room was just for show, but that isn't the case for us at all. It has also been found that older people tend to trip and fall at the edge of rugs (while we are young with little kids I would imagine they could trip on them too) so probably not the greatest idea in a practical sense. They are beautiful but I don't know that they are necessary if you plan on actually living in your house. When we get living room furniture I do plan on getting a rug, but that is the only place (at least until my kids are big and it would make sense to put one in the toy room-for now in our toy room we just have mats where we can change diapers and sanitize with rubbing alcohol).

I have an outdoor rug under my dining table. Food and even dog puke Has come out easily

Rugs are the heart and soul of any good design. I draw everything from them typically. They are often the design inspiration for the room. I sell the only shag rugs used on HGTV. There's nothing better than shag to frame the furniture and soften the room. Call me at 727-798-1101 if you're interested. The reason you don't see a lot of rugs probably is because so many people have pets and they ruin everything. Personally I'd rather have a soft rug under my feet than pets.

You can have both pets and rugs. You just have to pick the right kind of rug

Good discussion. I'm the one who wrote the original question. It may be, like one person wrote, that some of the absence of rugs in photos is to showcase the floors for resell. To the person who wrote about rugs and allergies, perhaps a cotton or jute area rug would work for you? We have rugs in rooms in our house on wood floors and one concrete floor. We have pets, so they get vacuumed and shampooed and we have never had problems with doing that. Some people don't shampoo wool rugs, however it's never been a problem for us. Thanks for all the replies! This is my first time on these community boards!

I agree, pets and rugs can work. It's more work, but probably worth it.

My biggest problem is more with the allergies. I've done shots and I still have to take 2-3 different kinds of antihistamines every day. I've also installed thousands of dollars of extra air filtration and air scrubbing (with UV light) equipment and I run those all year round. (They've definitely helped).

With allergies as severe as mine, I'm realizing I will have better health (and quality of life) if I stick to the guidelines outlined in articles like these that I found here on Houzz. I'm coming to grips with the fact that I just might never have the kind of home that will be featured in a magazine or site like Houzz.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/10-keep-the-dust-down-cleaning-tips-for-allergy-sufferers-stsetivw-vs~73775193

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/18-ways-to-allergy-proof-your-home-stsetivw-vs~10186599

I think if one is going to have a home without rugs it's very important to have furniture that fully contrast with the floor. So that means fabrics or painted or a drastically different color of wood

And the furniture should be very impressive and soft. It's very very hard to pull off good design without an area rug. Even if you have bright orange Verner Panton S chairs, which are beautiful, an area rug still softens it and welcomes you to the furniture.

Thanks truey and Mid Mo. I just moved into a new place and will be buying new pieces/redecorating as budget allows over time. It's the upstairs floor of an 1890's carriage house and I think the oak hardwood floors date back to the 1950's when it was converted to living space. They are in good shape and a darker walnut brown stain. I will keep your tips in mind as I start my design adventure. :-). I'm fairly new to Houzz and am not quite brave enough to post my own design dilemma yet (plus I have no budget for interior design right now), but will probably do so when I'm ready to tackle it.

I would love to have more rugs, but I can never afford ones in my taste or big enough!

I like rugs and I don't care if designers use it or not

I work with any budget and can design online. So if you get to a point you want help, call me. My website is midmomodern.com

I provide full design services and sell carpet, HGTV shag area rugs, recycled glass countertops, furniture, grabber window coverings, etc. And provide discounts below retail for all of it.

MidMo - oh how I like Mid Century Modern. My generation grew up with it. I don't have my home decorated like it because I like antiques and traditional, too. Just really started to like Mid Century in the past few years. We actually have some family original pieces, dishes and accessories. It was something about that generation of people who built and furnished their homes in the 50s-70s that many kept and cared for their furniture for decades. They were less like the "disposable" generations that followed. We probably won't ever decorate our home in 100% mid century because we have many other older pieces. However, if we were to ever build a new house or happen to be able to purchase a "time capsule" 50s or 60s house, then I would consider doing all the decor that way!

You'll like my work then. midmomodern.com

@DH I hear you about allergies, somehow your post got passed by. Many of us can't have rugs as they harbor allergens as you mention. Include a rug pad under and it's a petri dish of germs/allergens. I am learning to decorate with very few rugs, if any. It is so much easier to clean a floor without the pesky rug in the way. When I do roll up the rug to clean under, the amount of dirt sitting in our rugs (vacuuming doesn't get it all) is alarming. I am all for no rugs. Sadly it goes beyond rugs when you consider upholstered furniture, mattresses, pillows etc that harbor allergens too.