Ormeggio rug by Mariantonia Urru | Styling Karin Bochnik | Photography Dylan James for DOMO
Finding the perfect rug for your home can be difficult. There are many things to consider beyond its style, including its size, shape and placement. The right rug in the right place can enhance and define your space and also has the ability to make a room feel more spacious and inviting.
The placement of a rug will vary depending on the room and furniture configuration. Many of our rugs can be custom made to size or shape which makes finding the perfect rug for your space easy. For one-off pieces such as Vintage, Moroccan or Classic rugs, keep in mind that if we don’t have the size you are after, we can look at sourcing a similar piece in your ideal size.
As a general rule, we suggest going for the largest sized rug your room can accommodate, as it will help tie everything together and make the space feel bigger. Measuring your room carefully and knowing where your furniture will sit is the most important step in the process of buying a rug. There is nothing worse than an undersized rug, as it will make your room appear smaller and give the furniture a disjointed feel.
To help you get it just right, we have put together a rug placement guide of tried and tested layouts for each room.
The Living Room
For living spaces, there are many options to play around with. Marking out the size of the rug with masking tape or newspaper on the floor can help you visualise how the size will work in your space. Regardless of your room configuration, we suggest that you allow at least 15-20cm of rug on either side of your sofa.
As a general guide, if you have a 3 seater sofa no longer than 260cm, you could opt for a standard 200×300 cm rug as it will give you a 20 cm border on each side. For a 4 seater sofa no longer than 300cm, you could opt for a standard 250x350cm rug or go for a custom option. For large modular and L-shape sofas which accommodate larger living spaces, you might prefer for the rug to extend to the back of the sofa and encompass all of your furniture. We often find that 300x400cm rugs and custom sized options work best in that case.
Beach Life rug in Silver | Pandolfini Architects | Port Melbourne House | Photography by Rory Gardiner | Styling by Nina Provan
Option #1
This option is ideal for smaller living rooms, especially suitable for sofas with legs. We recommend having enough rug, around 20-30cm under the sofa so that you don’t see the edge of the rug.
Fantaisie Impromptu Orange rug by Reuber Henning | Architecture by Vitale Design | Interiors Arent & Pyke | Queens Park House | Photography by Anson Smart
Option #2
This option is ideal for smaller living rooms, especially suitable for sofas with short or no legs. To create the feeling of more space, centre the rug and ensure it is close enough to the furniture so that the edges don’t get kicked up.
Nobsa rug in Ochre / Grey by Ames | Art Direction by Marsha Golemac | Photography by Jenah Piwanki for Modern Times
Option #3
This option is great in rooms where the furniture is up against the wall, and also works well with L-shaped sofas. Ensure the rug is large enough to fit under the front legs of all lounge suite items.
Moroccan Atlas 5 rug | Sisalla Interior Design | Barn House | Photography by Tess Kelly
Larger Living Room Placements
These options are great for large or open plan living rooms as they help to define the space and create a sense of luxury. Always ensure there is enough of the rug showing behind the furniture, we recommend having at least 20cm of the rug bordering the outside of the sofa.
Custom hand knotted rug | Flack Studio | Middle Park Project | Photography by Anson Smart
The Bedroom
Bedroom rugs can change the look and feel of your room by adding warmth as well as providing a soft landing for when you wake up in the morning. The size of your rug will be determined by the overall size of your room and what size bed you have. Regardless, we suggest allowing at least 50-60cm on either side to ensure there is enough rug for you to step on when you get out of bed.
Tibesti Montan rug in 700/81 | Styling by Ruth Welsby | Photography by Annette O'Brien for Ettitude Store
Option #1
This option is great for larger sized bedrooms with a queen or king-sized bed. Opt for a 250x350cm or a 300x400cm rug and have it sitting under the bed, stopping approximately 20cm in front of the side tables to provide a soft surface for bare feet.
Option #2
This option is ideal for smaller sized rooms. For a queen sized bed, we recommend placing a 200x300cm rug at the lower two-thirds of the bed. Aligning the sides of the rug with the edges of the bedside tables gives a nice balance to the space.
Option #3
Ideal for children’s rooms or a spare bedroom. Adding a circular rug to the end of the bed adds a sense of playfulness to the space.
The Dining Room
In most cases, for the dining room, the rug needs to be quite precise. Our general rule is to ensure that the rug extends at least 70cm out past the table so there is room for your chairs to move in and out. We recommend looking into our custom size rugs and shape options for more precision to help you get it just right.
Hand Loomed Tie-Dye rug in charcoal | Architecture & Interiors by Workroom | Toorak Residence | Photography by Dave Kulesza | Furniture Art Objects by Simone Haag | Styling Bea & Co
Option #1
For large or open plan dining rooms we recommend having a generous amount of rug on all sides. It is also important to consider whether you’ll have chairs placed on each end of the table or not.
Left: Salsa Jamaica 2 rug | Whiting Architects | Photography Tess Kelly. Right: HLC tufted rug | Flack Studio | Photography by Sharyn Cairns
Option #2
Round dining room sets work beautifully with round rugs or custom shape options to add symmetry and help define the space.
Option #3
For all other dining sets, you want to make sure you are able to pull a dining chair out without it getting caught on the edge of the rug.
Additional notes to consider:
It’s important to take care when working out rug sizes, ensuring that any doors can still open and close freely, particularly with higher piled rugs. Be aware of inset items like heating vents and floor recessed power boxes. We can often customise products around these items on request, prior to ordering.
