People usually start out with noble intentions when they decide to keep their living rooms quite sparsely decorated. They hope that the sparseness will look clean and tidy. However, all too often the effect is quite cold. A home ought to look as though it is lived in otherwise it won’t seem all that welcoming. The living room is a crucial space when it comes to providing that welcome.

The best way to combat the cold effect of sparse decorating is to use rugs. Textiles in general provide the soft texture that immediately redresses the imbalance between warm and cold. Few other pieces are able to transform rooms quite so quickly, largely because rugs take up a lot of visible space without actually becoming too dominant.

The best tactic is simply to lay a rug of a decent size – something that’s not too big that it suffocates the room and not too small as to look like a token gesture – in the centre of the space, perhaps beneath a coffee table or with your seating placed neatly around it. Choose from modern rugs, traditional rugs and natural rugs according to your décor.