Underfoot in New York: The Two Directions Grounding This Season's Living Rooms and Lofts

New York living rooms and lofts are being finished from the floor up this season, and the choices span a wide range. On one end sit subdued jute weaves, the quiet, natural-fiber rugs that let architecture and furniture do the talking. On the other, maximalist Moroccan-style rugs bring pattern and color into rooms that might otherwise read as spare. A design guide surveying the best area rugs for living rooms and lofts places both approaches side by side, treating the rug not as an afterthought but as one of the room's defining decisions.

With reporting from Architectural Digest.