When we think about shaggy rugs we usually tend to think about the swinging sixties. With their extremely loud colours and styles they seem to symbolize the cultural revolution that occurred during those years. Most of us tend to think of these rugs as a fairly new development but in actuality they have been around for quite a long time.

Shaggy rugs were known as Rya rugs and they were developed in Scandinavia long before the swinging sixties. These Rya rugs were introduced by Viking traders to Scandinavia from the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires over a thousand years ago. Rya rugs were first produced in Norway during the 15^th century and when compared to the rugs of the sixties and today were quite tame in appearance and design. The rugs were made using the same techniques as Persian rugs which is hand knotting and Rya rugs were originally used as warm covers for beds.

As time went by and more efficient and experimental methods were discovered to make these rugs, they became more intricate in design and those of higher status such as noblemen, began to use them as floor covers as opposed to covers for their beds. In the middle of the twentieth century Scandinavian carpet manufacturers began to produce these Rya rugs in more innovative designs and they soon became a loud and bold fashion statement during the sixties.

Today, shaggy rugs can be produced a lot faster than they were in the days of the Vikings and they can be transported a lot cheaper from the Far East. This benefits the modern day consumer as they have a wider selection to choose from. So the next time you see or think of a shaggy carpet, instead of thinking of the trendy sixties, why not go way back and think of the Vikings too!

When you decide to decorate your room, you might consider adding a rug to help spruce up the look of the room or just because you would like how it would look. Rugs are an extremely overlooked part of room design and if carefully taken into consideration can really make a room look that much more special. Although subtle, the style and colour of a rug can inject so much personality into a room. Carefully selected styles and colours can also help centre a room or help with the overall coordination.

Think about the size of your room when deciding what rug to get as its size will have an impact on the type of rug you should buy. Rugs can be found in a variety of sizes and shapes, the most popular being oval and square. Large rugs are able to cover most of the floor and small or scatter rugs can be used to cover certain areas in a room.

Rugs can also be placed under coffee tables to help frame the furniture. Carefully placed rugs can also make a room look more inviting and give it a welcoming feeling. Rugs on hardwood floors can also make them look softer and as well as adding a feeling of warmth to the room they also literally provide some warmth when walking on them.

A well-selected rug can add interesting hues to your room and make them look very stylish. It might be a good idea to pick a rug that matches your home décor, so as to give your rooms a tasteful look. Choosing the right style and colour for your rug might be a hard task, especially with all the patterns available to you. Try deciding what you want the focal point of your room to be; is it the rug or something else? Choose a subtle rug if you want the focal point to be something besides the rug, if you do decide on a bright rug, do not make it overpower the other features of your room as that can be a bit too much on the eyes. Try picking a rug that compliments a number of colours in the room so as to make the room as a whole, more interesting.

If you put a rug in a high traffic area of your home such as a hallway or living room, make sure to put a stain guard on your rug to protect it from all the dirt and grime that it will accumulate over time. Put together a cleaning schedule for your rug and make sure you vacuum it on a regular basis. Putting a rug pad underneath your area rug will keep it from sliding around and make it easier when it comes for vacuuming. It will also protect you flooring from getting scratches from the back side of the rug and it will also make it nicer to walk on because of the extra padding under the rug.