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After growing up in a house of wall to wall-to-wall beige carpets, rugs have become one of my most favourite parts of grown-up life. I bloody love a good rug. I was never a handbag or designer shoes kind of girl, but I am definitely a rug kind of girl! So as a rug enthusiast and interior designer, I feel it’s my duty to help you get the best out of your rug.
So if you are wondering whether or not to buy a rug the answer is definitely YES!
And if you’re wondering what colour, pattern and texture it should be then that is totally down to your style and personal preference.
But when it comes to the size and placement of your rug there are three common mistakes that you can easily avoid with a little bit of planning. So let’s get down to it.
Don’t make these mistakes when choosing a rug
#1 Going too small
Your rug should be large enough so that your furniture can sit nicely on it. At the very least you want the front legs of your sofa or any armchairs on top of your new rug. By allowing as much of your furniture as possible to sit on top of the rug you will be creating a good foundation for your seating area, making the area look as large as possible and creating a physical and visual connection between your pieces of furniture.
Rugs that are too small make a space look smaller than it actually is, this is because the eye perceives the edge of the rug as the edge of the space. If you see the rug going under the furniture you will perceive the space to be much larger than it is. Rugs that float between pieces of furniture with nothing sitting on them, in a room will also make the items of furniture feel disconnected, the complete opposite of what we want to achieve!
Don’t make these mistakes when choosing a rug
#2 Creating a one-foot-on / one-foot-off scenario
What I mean by that is you don’t want someone to be entering or walking through the space with one foot on the rug and one foot off the rug. This isn’t physically very comfortable and also it will look and feel like a mistake.
So when you are planning your layout and working out how someone will move through the space, plan the placement of your rug and the size of the rug to make sure their route through the space is either both feet on the hard floor or both feet on the rug, no straddling please!
Don’t make these mistakes when choosing a rug
#3 Creating a wonky side table
Just like point number 2, you don’t want to have a side table straddling your rug either. If a small side table sits half-on half-off a rug it’s going to create a slight gradient on the tabletop which is not going to do the stability of your wine glass any favours (unless it’s a totally flatweave rug). So when planning the size and placement of your rug make sure your side tables can sit either entirely on or off the rug. This usually means moving your rug in or out a bit or going for a larger or smaller size. This is why it’s always a good idea to use some free software to draw up your furniture layout, use old-school graph paper, or mask everything out on your floor using tape. This will help you plan the best position and size of your new rug.
✅ The rug size is perfect because the front legs of the sofa and the armchairs are sitting on the rug.
✅ It allows a clear flow of traffic through the space, no straddling here!
❌ But the side table is straddling which is a big no-no in real life, no one wants a wonky table to put their drink down on (but it’s very likely this table is just staged here for the sake of the photoshoot 😉).
How can I help you?
Let me know if you have any rug-related questions in the comments below.
And if you would love a face-to-face chat to talk through any interior design dilemmas or projects you are working on then check out my design surgery service here. New appointments will be released in a couple of weeks 😀. We also have other online interior design services and resources to help you with your project.
Happy decorating
Sarah x
