Your home is your canvas. Whether you choose to paint with a modern style or with a contemporary style, rugs help tie the room together. But do you understand the style implications of modern versus contemporary? They can sometimes be confused, so we hope this article helps to provide some clarity and lots of style inspiration.
Rugs can express the subtle differences between modern and contemporary styles, leaving both passersby and residents alike with no question about the theme of the room. Contemporary and modern styles often set the tone for the use of the room. If you want a warmer-looking room for video calls to your office or to your extended family or if you want a cooler, more abstract style for living rooms and dining rooms, modern rugs and contemporary rugs can help you achieve these looks. Let’s explore!
What’s the difference between modern and contemporary styles?
Modern and contemporary styles are two themes that define the era of style we live in. These looks are similar to each other but have distinctive key features that make them stand out. Both of these styles have been developed in the recent past and are very popular in homes and decor today.
How can you tell the difference between modern and contemporary styles in rugs? Learn which is which to determine which is which.
Modern Style: Clean, Sleek, & Uncluttered, with Design Influences Since the 1960s
Modern design in a home means clean lines, minimalist approaches (no clutter or collections or busy patterns), and pairing wood floors and furniture with sleek materials. Modern rugs are rugs with styles from the last few decades. The lines and shapes found in modern design usually elongate the room, with arches, curves, triangles, and slanted lines.
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Modern styles rely on warm, inviting colors. Oranges and vivid reds offset the kind of wood used for the floor and the furniture. This Multi Modern Abstract Area Rug found at Rugs USA would fit well in a living room or dining room designed with a modern theme in mind.
Contemporary Style: Minimalist Décor That’s Popular in the Present Time
Contemporary design isn’t from one particular era. Rather, it’s the style of the moment. Contemporary rugs typically display unique textures to bring out the depth in a room. Much like modern, contemporary is a minimalist approach that doesn’t use busy patterns, but unlike modern, contemporary styles typically use more neutral colors to make a room look more spacious. A vivid color can be used to catch the eye, like bright yellow pillows on a white couch.
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Handmade rugs and rugs with unique shapes and designs are often used in a contemporary setting to tie the neutral tones together, or to make the room pop with one or two vivid colors displayed in a simple pattern. These rugs can be works of art with the designs on them. This Shaggy Lattice Tassel Area Rug found at Rugs USA offers the unique texture and shape that complements a contemporary styled room.
Picking between Modern & Contemporary Rugs
When you’re deciding between a contemporary rug and a modern rug, think about the effect you want to achieve. These rugs make a room look bigger with their lines and approaches. Consider what would add more depth to the room. If you have a small room, a textured rug can make it feel bigger. If your room has cathedral ceilings, a rug with a series of colored shapes on it can emphasize the height.
Of course, your home can reflect multiple styles throughout different parts of the house. You might choose a modern rug for your living room, but decorate your basement bar and game room with a contemporary rug.
This Modern Abstract Area Rug keeps the simplicity of a modern design but draws the eye to other parts of the room.
What kinds of colors do you prefer? If you want a warm, cozy background that does well with wood or warmer shades of brick, a modern rug will suit you very well. But if you like the bold drama of striking colors against a neutral background, statement pieces, and lines that squiggle as opposed to curve, then a contemporary rug will best fit your needs.
Be Inspired and Decorate with Purist or Hybrid Influences
You don’t have to match contemporary with contemporary and modern with modern, but be a contemporary purist if that’s what speaks to you for your room’s design scheme. Ditto for modern. Some rugs can work with both styles equally. Since modern and contemporary styles tend to be similar, some rugs fit with both. You may even find yourself being drawn to combining modern and contemporary pieces in rooms, which tends to give a space a more organic, less “designed” vibe.
When it comes to design, the familiar adage of “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” can certainly be applied. Design, design again! Half the fun of inventing a refreshed living room, bedroom, or even outdoor living space is re-inventing it after you have the chance to live inside the design. Just keep an open mind … and an eye on our blog for what we hope is lots of ongoing decorating help–for modern, contemporary, and other home styles.
That being said, this Rust Abstract Contemporary Area Rug found at Rugs USA fits both contemporary and modern styles. The warm colors would highlight wood furniture and floors in a modern room, but would also provide a pop of color in a contemporary room.
Which comes first: the rug or the room?
You don’t have to design a room around a rug, but you also don’t have to pick a rug to match a room. Rugs can be statement pieces, or they can blend into the decor you’ve already chosen for your room.
Rug Comes First
If you’ve fallen in love with a rug, then everything else gets designed around the rug. Contemporary rugs can be beautiful statement pieces with unique lines and designs. Bright vivid colors, like the ones on this Multi Prismatic Simon Honeycomb Area Rug from Rugs USA, can set the tone for the rest of the room. Paired with gray, neutral, or blue tones, a contemporary room falls into place.
Room Comes First
You don’t have to settle for a rug that simply matches what you’ve chosen in your room. Part of the joy of working with modern and contemporary styles means that you can have a rug that stands out and speaks for itself. This Amalia Contemporary Collage Area Rug offers a unique design but fits nicely into any already built room.
The Time to Get a Modern/Contemporary Rug Is Now
You’re now much more familiar with distinctions between the style attributes that help to determine what’s a modern rugs and what’s a contemporary rugs. While the information is fresh, how about clicking over to shop Rugs USA. Your perfect, luxurious rug is waiting for you … and for your updated room too.
