The Rug Buying Guide: How To Choose The Right Rug

It’s one or the other: your hard floor needs the soft touch of a rug or you want to add some textured interest to a room. Many would be tempted to go for the rug that catches their eye and then somehow make it fit a space. But if you take a little extra time, and a few tips from us here, you’ll see how teaming a beautiful rug with a beckoning space and your lifestyle, comes down to a handful of simple considerations.

Size and Layout

First and foremost, start with the size of the rug. Larger is better. We’re not saying to cover the entire floor with a rug but it must be big enough to ‘unify’ the furniture that’s in close proximity. For example: if it’s to go under a dining table, it should be large enough to still have the chair legs on it when your guests are sitting at the table. This means the rug should be about 1.2m – 1.5m wider than your dining table.

Generally speaking, there are four rug sizes to consider:

• 160cm x 230cm
• 200cm x 290cm
• 250cm x 350cm
• 300cm x 400cm

Remember that hanging up in the store, a rug can look crazy big – too big for your space at home. Once in place, its size will seemingly diminish. The solution to being awestruck by size: play with the supposed borders of your rug-to-be by laying out masking tape or string around your dining table/lounge/bed.

Arrangement Options

There are two main ideas of rug layout: the Classic Layout and the Floating Layout.

The Classic Layout involves a rug large enough to fit under the front legs of a couch and under at least two legs of a coffee table. Don’t include the coffee table and you create a disjointed space which can make your room look smaller than it is. The same ideology can be applied to a bed – two legs on, two off.

The Floating Layout is for furniture that sits in the middle of a room. The rug needs to be big enough to sit under all four legs of: the couch and two armchairs; the bed; or the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Styles and Patterns

What a world you’ve stepped into here! The style of your rug you choose comes down to:

• Your home’s current style and what you’re transitioning to.
• How hard wearing it needs to be – does it have to weather young children/pets or less traffic in a bedroom?
• Is it to be a room’s feature or to add interest to a space?

If you already have some busy patterns on other furniture or textiles, it’s best to keep the rug one colour or a simple design. To make it a feature of the room, traditional and transitional styles offer a huge variety of choice.

If it’s to be hard-wearing, consider a natural style rug that’s made from jute, wool, sisal and cotton. These fibres also add a lovely warmth to a design scheme and are not only durable but affordably priced.

Consider a round rug

Round rugs have so much versatility – excellent choices for large and small areas. Yes, they’re a perfect addition to a round dining table but they’re also at home when played off a square or rectangular shape. At the end of a bed or a floating rug under your lounge is a popular option to contrast shapes, patterns and textures.

A popular choice in natural fibres, Jute is trending now in round rugs. They’re the perfect choice for rumpus rooms and living areas that are crying out for some symmetry.

Rugs From Stan’s Rugs

It’s a fact that some families’ most treasured heirlooms are rugs bought decades ago. That’s why we ensure that every single rug from Stan’s Rugs is chosen for its outstanding fabrication as well as its looks.

You’re obviously close to making a decision, so take the time to buy from Perth’s greatest rug collection. You’re welcome to visit our Inglewood showroom and ask as many questions as it takes, or you can stroll through our online store until the right rug speaks to you.

There is an ideal rug for you… it’s waiting for you now at Stan’s Rugs.