Rug size is what separates a room that feels considered from one that feels slightly off, and most people choose too small. A rug wants to sit under your furniture rather than float in the centre of the floor, because it is the piece that gathers a seating arrangement into a single zone. Match the size to your space before you choose colour.
Which size suits which room
230 x 160 cm. Bedrooms, studies, and compact living rooms. Use it to define a small seating area with the front legs of the sofa resting on the rug, or across the lower two-thirds of a bed to frame the foot.
290 x 200 cm. The size most people want for a living room. It anchors a three-seater and chairs with the front legs of each piece on the rug, and it sits well under a queen or king bed placed lengthways.
330 x 240 cm. Larger living and open-plan rooms. Every leg of a full lounge setting can sit on the rug, which reads more generous and pulls the whole setting together. It also works under a six-seat dining table.
400 x 300 cm. Great rooms and large open-plan spaces. It holds a full lounge with room to spare, or a six to eight seat dining table with the chairs staying on the rug as they are pulled out.
Runners. Hallways, kitchens and the space beside a bed. Leave 5 to 10 cm of floor showing on each side so the runner reads as a deliberate line rather than wall-to-wall carpet, and let it stop short of doorways by about 15 cm.
Placement rules
In a living room, keep at least the front legs of every major seat on the rug, and all legs on if the size allows. Leave roughly 10 to 20 cm of bare floor between the rug and the walls so the room can breathe.
In a dining room, let the rug extend about 60 to 75 cm past the table on every side, so the chairs stay on the rug when someone pulls them out to sit.
In a bedroom, either run the rug under the lower two-thirds of the bed so it frames the foot, or place a larger rug fully under the bed with an even border showing on three sides.
