Living Room Rugs

What size rug for a living room?

Size is the number one cause of regret. A rug that is too small floats in front of the sofa and makes the room feel narrower. Three layouts work, depending on the floor area you have.

• All the furniture on the rug: the sofa, armchairs and coffee table sit entirely on it. This is the layout for large living rooms, from 250x350 cm upwards.
• Front legs on the rug: the sofa and armchairs overlap the rug by 20 to 30 cm. This is the most common layout in a flat, with a 170x240 or 200x300 cm rug.
• The rug in front of the sofa: it carries only the coffee table. Best kept for living rooms under 15 m², with a 140x200 cm rug.

Guidelines for a straight two to three-seater sofa. With a corner sofa, go up a size.

Round or rectangular rug?

A rectangle follows the line of the sofa and suits almost every living room. A round rug, best chosen at 200 cm in diameter or more, softens a square room, pairs with a round coffee table or defines a reading corner around an armchair.

Wool, jute or cotton: which rug material should you choose?

More than eight in ten living room rugs in the selection are made of wool. That is no accident: it is the fibre that stands up best to daily footfall, and the one favoured by design brands such as Layered, Nanimarquina and Ferm Living.

Deep pile, short pile or flatweave

A flatweave rug, such as a kilim, is thin, easy to vacuum and lets doors open over it. A short-pile tufted rug is the most versatile. A deep-pile or Berber rug is the most comfortable barefoot, but it holds on to more crumbs: it is better suited to a living room where nobody eats.

Styles and brands: from Berber rugs to graphic rugs

A rug sets the tone of a living room faster than any other object. Four families keep coming up in the selection.

• Berber: thick wool, ecru background, irregular diamond patterns. It warms up a living room with understated lines.
• Kilim and flatweave: geometric patterns, bold colours, very little thickness. It slips under a coffee table without making it wobble.
• Textured plain: looped or deep-pile wool in a single shade, often a light one. This is the choice for Scandinavian and contemporary interiors.
• Graphic and colourful: blocks of colour, stripes, freeform shapes. It becomes the centrepiece when the sofa is neutral.

As for brands, Layered is the best represented, with wool rugs in muted shades and large sizes. Nanimarquina works with designers on hand-knotted and hand-woven rugs. myfelt assembles wool felt balls into round or rectangular rugs. Ferm Living and HAY offer Scandinavian rugs in wool and jute, and Lorena Canals washable rugs in wool and cotton.

A few living room rugs from the selection

Layered Long pile bone white wool rectangular rug 250x350cm Fallingwater - Layered €1.950,00 HAY Sand wool rug 170x240 cm Raw Rug NO2 - Hay €629,00 Ferm Living Black jute rug 170x240cm Athens - Ferm Living €609,00 Lorena Canals Wool rug beige 240x170 cm Steppe - Lorena Canals €699,00

What colour rug goes with your sofa?

Start with what will not change: the sofa, the floor, the walls. The rug comes next. A simple guide is the 60-30-10 rule: 60% of the room in the dominant shade (walls, sofa), 30% in a secondary shade, 10% in an accent colour. The rug usually carries the secondary shade.

• Neutral sofa (grey, beige, ecru): every option is open, including a patterned rug or a bold colour.
• Coloured sofa (green, blue, terracotta): choose a plain, light rug, or a pattern that picks up the shade of the sofa.
• Dark wood floor: a light rug creates contrast and brightens the room.
• Light floor, tiles or concrete: a deeper-coloured or textured rug avoids a tone-on-tone look that falls flat.

Which rug for which living room?

With children or pets

Go for a flatweave or short-pile rug, in a mid-tone shade or a pattern. Machine washable cotton rugs are the easiest to live with in small and medium sizes. In wool, a tight weave cleans more easily than a deep pile.

On an old wooden floor

A wool rug, plain or with a subtle pattern, lets the wooden floor remain the main feature. Keep a strip of wood visible all the way round and lay a non-slip felt rug underlay, which protects the varnish.

In an open-plan living and dining room

The rug acts as a boundary: it defines the seating area without a partition. Choose a large size, 250x350 cm or more, that takes all the living room furniture, and leave the dining table on the bare floor or on a second rug in a different material.

With underfloor heating

Choose a thin rug, flatweave or short pile, without a thick latex backing. A very thick or deep-pile rug slows down the spread of heat.

On a tight budget

Jute rugs, cotton rugs and wool flatweaves are the most affordable: several hundred designs in the selection are available for under €500, mainly in 140x200 and 170x240 cm. For the same budget, a simple rug in the right size is better than a precious rug that is too small.

How to care for a living room rug

• Every week: vacuum in the direction of the pile. On wool, remove the rotating brush, which pulls out the fibres.
• Every three to six months: turn the rug round by half a turn to even out wear and the effect of light.
• If there is a stain: blot straight away with a clean cloth, without rubbing, from the edge towards the centre. A little cold water is enough on wool.
• Once a year or every two years: have a wool rug deep cleaned by a professional.

Jute cannot cope with water: soak up the spill and leave the rug to dry flat in the open air. Avoid bleach and harsh stain removers on all natural fibres. A non-slip rug underlay reduces creasing and extends the life of the rug.