Carpets and rugs provide warmth and comfort, reduce slips and falls, absorb noises and add a beauty and style. This blog post will help you choose the right carpet for every room.

Living room

Depending on the arrangement of your furniture and on your budget, you have at your disposal several options:

All furniture legs on the carpet: As carpet prices largely depend on their size, this is the most expensive solution. It gives the room a unified feeling and goes well with a floating arrangement of furniture, with no major pieces positioned against a wall. The carpet itself should not touch any of the walls either. A rule of thumb is to leave about half a metre wide clear space.

Front legs on the carpet: For this look, choose a carpet that is large enough to accommodate the front legs of all major pieces of furniture. The carpet should also extend about 15 centimetres on either side of the couch. This option works well when one edge of the furniture grouping is placed against a wall.

Off the carpet: This solution can also look nice, especially in small spaces. Just put a small carpet under the coffee table, without having it touch the feet of your couch and armchairs.

Do not be afraid to experiment with variations on any of the above themes! Try putting all four legs of your couch on the rug, and only the front legs of the armchairs, or vice versa. Breaking all the rules can look great! Take a look at this intentionally asymmetrical arrangement:

Dining room

Here, you are limited by safety considerations. The dining room carpet has to be big enough to accommodate the chairs when they are drawn away from the table, so let it extend 60 to 90 centimetres beyond all sides of the table. The shape of the carpet should follow the shape of the dining table. Round dining tables usually go with a round rug, although square or even rectangular rugs can look good too.

Open-space living

Modern homes often come with one fairly big space that is meant to serve as both living room and dining room. If you want to bring together multiple pieces of furniture, go for one large carpet. To visually divide and define the dining area and the conversation space, go for two separate carpets.

Bedroom

You can have one big carpet under the bed and the side tables. However, it is more common to have the carpet extend beyond the bed in the front and on both sides, stopping clear of the side tables. An even more affordable alternative is to put two smaller carpets or rugs on each side of the bed, with perhaps a third rug at the foot of the bed. For a kids’ room with two beds, opt for one rug between the beds.

Halls and entrances

In transitional spaces, less is more! Just make sure that the rug is as wide as the door, or a bit less. If you want to have a round carpet or rug in your large entrance hall, position it in the centre, under the light fixture. As for any furniture in the hallway, the rule is to keep it off the rug.

General considerations

The size: Correct size is of utmost importance, so take time to measure and re-measure, taking into account the advice given above about leaving some space around the carpet and so on. Even better, secure packing paper with masking tape where you plan to put the carpet, or carpets, to see whether the arrangement feels right. Unless you are going for a specific look, choose the largest carpet or rug you can afford, because big rugs give a luxurious and flowing feel to a room.

The shape: As already mentioned, a round dining table demands a round rug. As for the conversation (or TV watching) area, most living room groupings feel natural when defined by a square or rectangular rug. Of course, this rule can be broken and still give good results.

The design: In most rooms, you cannot go wrong with a neutral carpet or a carpet with relatively small patterns and harmonious colours, as usually seen on a Persian carpet. In any case, avoid making the error of buying a rug with a beautiful design… only to cover crucial parts with furniture.

Carpets and rugs are the artwork for the floor. They go well with almost any type of flooring, be it concrete, tile or wood. Only wall-to-wall carpeting does not take well to additional carpets and rugs, unless it is very flat. But if you are stuck with a beautiful rug that does not fit anywhere, you can always hang it on the wall!