How to Choose the Right Woodnotes Rug for Your Home?
Our rug collection is extensive, and its various material options offer the perfect rug—or rugs—for every room in your home. We’ve compiled some key points to consider when choosing a rug.
Rugs can work wonders for any space. They absorb sound, bring warmth to the decor, and protect your floors.
Additionally, they significantly influence the character—or soul—of a room. A large expanse of color, pattern, or a combination of both creates a distinctive atmosphere. A rug brings the furnishings together, acting as the foundation for the entire room.
Woodnotes rugs are ideal for creating the foundation of homes and various spaces. Our rugs are known for their aesthetic, which creates a peaceful ambiance. This calming effect stems largely from the use of textile materials, especially natural fibers like paper, wool, cotton, and linen in the design.
“The natural beauty of spun paper yarn is exceptional and its material-driven essence is highlighted by clear, timeless geometric patterns and subtle, solid-color surfaces.”
In our colors, we rely heavily on the earthy tones and natural hues of sheep wool, which emphasize the material’s natural beauty and showcase it in surface textures and the use of yarns of different thicknesses. Our rugs invite touch, and their color palette evokes thoughts of nature and its seasons: the subtle variations of natural shades.
The San Francisco aspen green-stone paper yarn rug is perfect for the spring color scheme of your home.
When choosing a rug, you can consider the seasonal mood you want to bring into your home. But in addition to aesthetics, it’s also important to consider practical aspects when selecting a rug.
Trust Soft Surface Textures for Soundproofing or Beauty
"It’s good to ask yourself why you want to place a rug in a specific room of your home," says Ahokas.
If the goal is to dampen the soundscape of your home, such as echoes, footsteps, or the noise of moving chairs, and to add warmth and softness to the floors, soft-textured, structured pile rugs are sensible choices.
The low-loop white Path wool linen rug brings together the interior in a stylish and timeless way.
We manufacture tufted wool-linen pile rugs in the desired size. Pictured is a Path rug. Interior design Joanna Laajisto. Photo Mikko Ryhänen.
If the primary criterion is aesthetics, then the beauty of the rug is, of course, the most important factor.
"A rug can either calm the decor or serve as a focal point."
Soft-pile rugs, however, may not be suitable for every room. When choosing a rug, it’s important to consider how each room is used and what specific needs the rug and its material should fulfill.
Discover more:
Tufted wool linen carpets
Atelier woven wool paper yarn carpets
Hand knotted wool carpets
Choose an In/Out Rug for Entrances, Kitchens, and Wet Areas
The most demanding areas for rugs in the home are entrances, especially if people come directly inside from outdoors. Few rugs can withstand the wear and tear of studded winter boots, so it’s best to put on and take off footwear right at the door.
"Rainy weather and, for example, the grit of winter are tough on rugs," says Ahokas.
In/Out carpets with backing are ideal for kitchens and around dining tables, which can be challenging spaces for rugs – especially in families with young children.
The yarn in the In/Out rug is dyed before spinning, so the color doesn’t fade easily. The rug has a smooth surface and is easy to keep clean with vacuuming.
Our collection includes rugs suitable for even the most challenging spaces.
The material of the In/Out rugs performs exceptionally well in areas exposed to moisture. In/Out rugs with backing are ideal for kitchens and around dining tables, which can be challenging spaces for rugs - especially in families with young children.
The yarn in the In/Out rug is dyed before spinning, so the color doesn’t fade easily. The rug has a smooth surface and is easy to keep clean with vacuuming. It is washable with water, and most stains are easy to remove.
The downside of the In/Out rug is that oil-based stains can absorb into the fibers - so if your family loves adding olive oil to every dish, it may not be the best choice under the dining table. However, without backing it works perfectly on terraces, balconies, and other covered outdoor spaces, as well as in the home’s wet areas, such as in cooling and dressing rooms adjacent to saunas or bathrooms.
The material of the In/Out rugs performs exceptionally well in areas exposed to moisture.
The thick, smooth wool yarn of the Minore rug naturally repels dirt, is durable, and wool has some self-cleaning properties.
In addition to moisture resistance, the colors of the In/Out rug have high UV resistance, and the rug can withstand both the saltiness of seawater and the chlorine in swimming pools.
A more luxurious and equally high-performance option for heavily trafficked areas of the home is the handwoven Minore rug made from natural materials. The thick, smooth wool yarn of the Minore rug naturally repels dirt, is durable, and wool has some self-cleaning properties. For example, dried mud is easily removed with a vacuum or by brushing with a soft brush.
Both the In/Out and Minore rugs are also suitable for homes with dogs.
Discover more: In/Out Rugs
Beautify Living Rooms and Bedrooms with Woodnotes Paper and Wool Pile Rugs
"For the living room and bedroom, you can choose a rug based on your preferences, whether prioritizing material or aesthetics," says Ahokas.
Woodnotes paper yarn rugs work well in both rooms.
Our paper yarn rugs come in a wide range of patterns like New York, Railway, Coast, Cut Sripe, Line or subtle designs that span the entire length of the rug Panorama, San Francisco, Willow with various stripes e.g. Avenue, Horizon, Fourways, Bridge in both natural and bolder color combinations. We can also customize the colors of our rug designs to suit the client’s wishes.
The Panorama paper yarn carpet has a restrained pattern along the entire length of the carpet. The customer can also influence the colors of the carpet. In the picture, a dark coloring of nutria-onyx.
The Willow paper yarn rug has irregular stripes which found it's inspiration in music - or rather the uneven musical punctuation to the rhythm.
The surface of a paper yarn rug is smooth, so it doesn’t produce or collect dust, and as a non-static natural material, it remains dust-free. If you prefer a soft, highly sound-absorbing rug, the hand-knotted, timeless wool pile rugs with Uni and Grid patterns are perfect for this.
The tufted wool linen Aapa rug is texture-rich, almost a rya-like.
The Sammal wool rug is highly sound-absorbing.
Our pile rugs also include structured, texture-rich options, such as the almost rya-like Aapa and Wild rugs, and the low-looped Path rug, which almost resembles natural ground.
"In children’s rooms, the handwoven Duetto and Piccolo rugs offer an important tactile experience for growing children: the three-dimensional surface makes the rug feel alive and the texture is robust," Ahokas suggests.
Duetto and Piccolo rugs are reversible and, thanks to their versatility, they work in various rooms and interior styles throughout the home.
Discover more:
Paper yarn carpets
Atelier woven cotton paper yarn carpets
Duetto and Piccolo rugs work in various rooms and interior styles throughout the home.
Duetto and Piccolo rugs are reversible use.
Consider How Much Maintenance You’re Willing to Do?
When choosing rug materials, it’s important to be realistic about how clean the home is and how much time you’re willing to spend on rug maintenance.
"Can you tolerate the gentle care, wear, and tear that comes with natural material rugs, or do you expect high durability and easy cleaning?" asks Ahokas.
How quickly rugs get dirty varies greatly from one home to another. In some homes, delicate materials last for decades, while in others, the same rug may disappoint within a year.
It’s a good idea to learn about rug cleaning and stain removal before making a purchase. Woodnotes provides care instructions for all our different rug types on our website. Every textile material has its pros and cons when it comes to cleanliness.
"I personally believe it’s not practical to buy delicate materials for homes with small children. Homes should be child-friendly, and children shouldn’t be surrounded by too many restrictions. It’s easier to teach cleanliness when, for example, a spilled drink doesn’t cause major stress," Ahokas says.
"The small child stage passes quickly, and you can enjoy more delicate materials for much longer once the kids grow up.”
Play with Colors and Different Sized Rugs
Rugs can be considered in multiples, too. A room doesn’t need to have just one rug—there can be several!
You can create a beautiful composition with two or more, where colors blend harmoniously and textures vary.
Listen to your heart: which color and pattern speak to you?
“You can add personality to your home by combining rugs boldly: instead of one large rug, you can create a beautiful composition with two or more, where colors blend harmoniously and textures vary.”
You can even layer rugs slightly, with a thinner one underneath and a fluffier one on top.
By using multiple rugs, you can break the traditional rectangular shape and create a unique ambiance in the room. For example, a large, smooth paper rug can be paired with a smaller, soft pile rug in matching colors. We can produce all our rug types in custom sizes, and many of our rugs can also be made in a round shape.
Rugs make the space, and it’s worth experimenting with them. Once you’ve considered practical factors, listen to your heart: which color and pattern speak to you? What kind of character do you want to give the room?
Rugs make the space.
