How to choose the right rug for your space ~

A common question we’re often asked by a lot of our clients, is how to choose the right rug for your space. Whether that be the correct size, right shape or even right texture, and there’s three things you need to remember when it comes to choosing a rug - colour, style and SIZE!

Now don’t take this the wrong way, but size matters. There is absolutely nothing worse than choosing a rug you think will fit only for you to get home, roll it out and realise it’s too small and now you’re left maybe unable to return it and try flogging it on marketplace. So how do you choose the right rug size then? Well we recommend measuring your sofa and your room before heading to the shops or clicking ‘add to cart’.

For a living area, always ensure that the rug is longer than your sofa and that all of the main pieces of furniture (armchairs, side tables, ottomans/coffee tables) all have at least one leg sitting on the rug (this is called ‘grounding’ FYI) and it helps the room feel warm and homely and it also ‘zones’ the space in the case of an open plan living/dining area.

source: warugs.com.au

When it comes to choosing a size for under the dining table (IKR controversial opinion on rugs under the dining table) personally I don’t like them but if I was to use one I always ensure that the chairs remain on the rug not only when pushed in but also pulled out. Allowing a minimum 70cm of rug showing on all sizes of the dining table is ideal.

source: warugs.com.au

Rugs in bedrooms are probably my favourite thing ever and serve a multitude of purposes. Hide a stain – tick, warm up floor boards – tick, the opportunities are endless! If you’re wanting to add a rug to your bedroom, make sure that it runs lengthways underneath the bed not parallel (see diagrams) so that there’s enough rug either side of the bed and at the end so that your feet are always warm and toasty when getting in and out of bed.

source: warugs.com.au

Let’s talk about the more difficult part when choosing a rug - the material

When walking into a speciality rug shop, your chain homewares and furniture store or even shopping online it’s incredibly easy to feel overwhelmed by choice and not knowing where to start, sometimes I find myself in my warehouse looking at my rug rack wondering which rug to choose for the house we’re styling so I get it.

You’ve got to consider durability if you’ve got kids and pets, the area in which the rug will be placed and whether or not it gets a lot of good traffic and also colour when pairing with key furniture pieces and also price because good quality rugs aren’t cheap and you want to ensure they stand the test of time.

When it came to me choosing a rug for my own home with 2 Cavoodles and a Bernese Mountain Dog who likes to bring the outdoors in I chose a rug which would hide the dirt relatively well with a texture that stood up to irregular cleaning and dirt but also one that didn’t compromise on the look I wanted for the space.

Unless something like allergies is an issue for my clients, I don’t tend to specify polyester or synthetic fibre rugs to my clients as these don’t tend to give the look and feel many people are after and you’ll also find yourself pretty limited in your options of texture - there is only one! My go-to rug fibre for living rooms and bedrooms is 100% wool or a wool blend, why? - it’s naturally stain resistant, it looks clean even when it isn’t, it’s a hypoallergenic fibre, it keeps your room warm and most of all, it’s environmentally friendly.

Under a dining table or in a kid’s room I always like to use a jute fibre as it doesn’t absorb as quickly or as much as another blend and they’re easy to clean (if you act quick). My go-to’s are the IKEA Lohals range (they’re affordable and look great with variety of different styles.

I thought I’d end this post on selecting a colour of rug as it’s actually probably the easier choice to make. My advice - when in doubt, go NEUTRAL! But ensure there’s a fleck through it as well. For example, one of my favourite rugs The Arabella by Unitex has a natural, light grey, charcoal and brown fleck throughout which pairs beautifully with a beige, leather or grey sofa and also goes with every single timber colour, making it a full proof piece with the longevity to survive furniture/decor changes over time.