A client and I recently spent the day shopping and exploring furniture options for her new home. We had a good idea of what we needed and how her house would come together. Armed with paint colour and fabric swatches we photographed sofas and tables that we liked. The entrance hall was paved in stone, leading past a formal living room, master suite and into an open plan kitchen-living space with dining area. We had been told about a new shop further down the road with competitively-priced stock, which had recently received a delivery of hand-woven Afghan rugs. As we approached the shop window we knew that this was going to be the most exciting part of the day!

One of the advantages of beginning with an empty room is that you can start with any surface for inspiration; I enjoy beginning with the flooring, possibly the largest surface in the room. Whether the floor surface is wood, concrete, stone or tile, all benefit from softening their hard surfaces with either fitted carpets or floor rugs. Woollen or natural fibre floor coverings retain heat and minimise drafts.

We were in rug nirvana! We both agreed the hallway needed a floor runner. We soon found the perfect rug with a medallion pattern repeating every 90cm, coloured in very traditional navy and burgundy reds, with occasional mustard gold details. As this was the entry to the house, a more traditional rug suited perfectly, complementing a mirror and chandelier purchased earlier.

Both the formal living room and master bedroom suite had fitted sisal carpets installed, which I particularly like using. In these areas, rather than needing large floor rugs we could drop down to smaller-sized rugs for a stronger visual impact. Most rug manufacturers will produce a basic rug measuring roughly 155 x 245 cm, which fits most situations perfectly. We eventually decided to use silk wool blend Bokhara design rugs on either side of the bed, giving a luxury sensation when one steps in or out of bed.

For the living room we found a similar sized and coloured rug, this time with a large central medallion, to sit neatly between two sofas facing each other. The rug is a piece of artwork in its own right, with the front of the sofas framing opposite sides of the design; all the colour and pattern are exposed, making the room feel complete.

Continuing the same colour scheme through to the more casual kitchen area and stone floor, we used a much larger sisal floor rug, which visually anchored the room. The modular sofa sits on the rug with a large coffee table in the middle. As the selected sisal rug had a natural weave pattern we could place all the furniture on the rug; if we had used a patterned rug, the furniture sitting on it would have compromised the design, confusing the room’s look and vibe.

When selecting floor rugs I always start with the design pattern and colouring, I then look at the rug’s dimensions and whether furniture will distract from the visual style. Too much furniture on a rug obscuring its design is a bit like a big smile with blackened or missing tooth.

Your dining table will always look more anchored when placed centrally on a rug, as well as helping with noise reduction. Just remember to ensure the rug is large enough to accommodate all legs of the chairs when the table is occupied, as there is nothing worse than getting your legs tangled in the edge of a rug as you move your chair in and out.

Published in the September 2021 Issue of The Trentham Trumpet