# Open plan living/dining - matching rugs - Yay or Nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560 "2015-02-13T12:15:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560/1 "2015-02-13T12:15:54Z")
So it looks like we might be moving into a house with open plan living/dining. Being a British house, the dimensions are not huge, but the space is 13’ x 24.9’. The flooring is fake wood laminate , which is nice and practical. But we’ll want to have a rug under the dining table and a rug in the lounge area. I don’t know whether we should do matching rugs or contrasting rugs. Anyone have a similar layout with laminate and rugs? What did you do? For inofrmation, if any of you are interior design-y types, we have a [GPlan Sixty Seven couch in mustard](http://www.gplanvintage.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/66-1000x590px.jpg) which will be floating around the middle of the room, facing one of the narrow walls where the [tv unit](http://www.next.co.uk/x551012s6#780253x55) will be. There will be a brown leather couch up against the other wall. I’m thinking I quite like [this rug](http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10287370/) and [these cushions](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/265430971764198082/). Or if those cushions are too contrasty,[these cushions](http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10259070/). We’d possibly get a room divider to further split the living and dining spaces,[something retro like this](http://retrolicious.co.uk/g-plan-teak-room-divider-book-shelf-media-unit-1960-60s-danish-style/#.VN3qsfmsV8E). So yeah…we quite like retro design. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560/2 "2015-02-13T12:53:07Z")
What you need is a rug that really ties the room together. they are rare though, and much prized. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560/3 "2015-02-13T13:05:16Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > What you need is a rug that really ties the room together. > > they are rare though, and much prized. > > 😃 Dude… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560/4 "2015-02-13T13:06:55Z")
I vote rug with blue cushions. (BTW: it’s ‘yea’ not ‘yay’. Unless you’re just really excited about that rug. :)) ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560/5 "2015-02-13T15:01:08Z")
We just did this, remodeled, knocked down walls to end up with open kitchen, diving room, living room with laminate floor. We used the same pattern rug in dining room and in living room, living room rug larger than dining room. My wife is the expert, to my non-expert eye, two different pattern rugs might be too much, but maybe if the one in the dining room was kind of plain and neutral-ish it would be fine. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-plan-living-dining-matching-rugs-yay-or-nay/712560/6 "2015-02-13T15:09:14Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > We just did this, remodeled, knocked down walls to end up with open kitchen, diving room, living room with laminate floor. > > We used the same pattern rug in dining room and in living room, living room rug larger than dining room. My wife is the expert, to my non-expert eye, two different pattern rugs might be too much, but maybe if the one in the dining room was kind of plain and neutral-ish it would be fine. Yes, if I did use different rugs, I’d have one patterned (like the one I linked) then one just a solid colour from the other rug. I am veering towards keeping the rugs the same at the moment. [Here’s a photo](http://i.imgur.com/9vfjPha.jpg), taken from a corner of the dining area. [Here’s the floor plan](http://i.imgur.com/xgIGjQV.jpg) but I’m not sure how ‘to scale’ it is.