The Perfect Fit – How to Size your Persian Rug

Sizing Your Persian Rug Perfectly

Size, as they say, is everything.

When it comes to Persian rugs it is easy to get lost in the detail of the rug itself. Which colours you like, the various styles, wool or silk etc. There are lots of exciting choices, and one of the most important is size.

There are a few important things to take into consideration. Whether or not you want to cover the entire floor space. If you’d like more than one rug in the room. How the furniture in the room will sit in relation to the rug… To help with these, we have a number of tips that we pass on to clients, bearing in mind that there is no firm rule and it is up to each person to decide what looks best.

When choosing a rug, its useful to think about how it will be used. Do you want an exquisite antique rug that will be a statement piece? Or a more neutral palette which will blend seamlessly into the space, giving an overall tranquil appearance? Perhaps you want the rug to harmonise various design features of the room (the diverse colours of Persian rugs are amazing at bringing a design scheme together). Another option is using a few smaller rugs to break up the space, creating pockets of interest.

To get you going, here are our tips for places in the home that most benefit from the presence of a beautiful rug.

Living Room.

There are three options for placing a rug in a living room.

1.  It’s best to avoid choosing a rug that is too small as this can look lost. It’s better to go for a generous size that sits under the furniture, leaving sufficient space so that furniture doesn’t hover on the edge of the rug.
2. As another option, it can look good to have sofa and chairs half on the rug. What’s wanted is a precise placement, rather than one that looks awkward.
3. Some heavier styles of furniture work best when left off the rug entirely and smaller pieces of furniture such as side-tables are generally best either on or off the rug and not half-half. In this case, the rug should be slightly longer and wider than the furniture, and not too far from the seating.

Dining Room

A large rug under the table in your dining room will help to absorb the sound in the room, bring comfort, and also add all-important colour, pattern and texture. Ideally, the rug should be in proportion to the table but larger than it so that there is sufficient space to pull out a chair and sit down without the back legs coming off the rug. However, half on and half off can also still work well.

Hallway

For a hallway you’ll need a style of rug known as a runner. These rugs help to bring life to a stretch of corridor, and whether you need something light to help expand the space, or something patterned and in darker tones to bring a cosy feel, there are many style to choose from. In terms of size, what you need is something that runs a good length of the hallway, though leaves some space either end for the carpet or floorboards beneath to be visible. We often customise runners for our clients, so that they can get the perfect length to work with their space.

Stairs

We work closely with our clients to find the right fit for stair runners. These rugs often need to be customised, and we offer a free measuring and installation service. Straight runs of stairs are more simple but angled or curved stairs will require shaped pieces of rug to cover them, something our workshop can easily have done.

Bedroom

For a bedroom, the rug is best placed half underneath the bed, so that it creates a frame around the bottom end of it. Ideally there is a nice gap between the edge of the rug and the sidetables. An alternative is to have a larger rug placed under the bed, forming a frame around both bed and sidetables.