How the right rug can transform any room*

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So you've decorated a room, painted it the perfect shade, and styled the space with lots of lovely new accessories. But something’s still missing. Choosing the right rug can totally transform a space; making it feel bigger, warmer and even brighter. But how do you go about choosing one that’s not only right for your home but something you won’t want to replace a couple of years down the line? 

I’ve been living with the wrong choice rug in my living room for five years. It’s too small, started to look shabby really quickly (not helped by the fact that a toddler and puppy have come along since of course!) and I’ve always felt it made the room look ‘unfinished’.

So if you’re currently searching for a new rug, and don’t want to make the same mistake here are my top tips for choosing one that will complete your room:

Choose material that’s right for your family, and how you use the space. If it’s a high-traffic room like the hallway or kitchen, go for something made of tougher material, such as jute or seagrass. If you’re after something a bit cosier for a bedroom for example, then wool will be softer underfoot. Bear in mind though that this is perhaps not as hard-wearing, especially if you’ve got kids or pets that spend a lot of time in the room.

A cost-effective way of choosing the perfect rug for your space is to use a carpet remnant or offcut, which will also increase the amount of choice available to you, as you’re not just restricted to pre-made rugs, but can choose any piece of carpet. The remnant can be cut to your exact measurements, edged and finished off creating a bespoke rug, perfect for your room. If you’re stuck with flooring you’re not happy with, or are currently renting for example, then how about going for a room-sized rug? Not only will this completely transform the space at a heavily discounted price, but you could potentially even re-purpose the rug in the future if you move house, having the piece re-sized again.

Choose a colour that will boost the light in the room and not drain light from it. For example, if you don’t get a lot of natural light, like in my living room, a dark coloured rug will suck the light out. Going for something lighter and brighter will work to open up the space.

Size matters - go for the largest rug you can afford, which is the mistake I made with our first living room rug. At the time I didn’t consider the impact the size of a rug can have on the way a room appears, and it's something that’s bothered me for the past five years. I’ve since learnt that a small rug will draw the eye in and make a room look smaller, whereas a larger rug will do the opposite. Try to go for a size that will sit underneath your furniture if you can, as this will draw the eye out and create the illusion of space.

My previous rug - I chose something far too small for the space

Using a bespoke rug design service

As I mentioned, I’ve been looking for a new rug for my lounge for a long time - it’s an awkward narrow shaped room, and everything I found was either too busy in pattern for a small room, the wrong size or way out of our budget. I hadn’t previously considered using a made-to-measure service, but this means you can choose the exact size for your room.

Naturally, I was over the moon when Designer Carpet got in touch to offer me a beautiful bespoke rug made from their premium carpet remnants, which they specialise in. Using a remnant or offcut equals so much more choice at an affordable price, and there are literally hundreds of different options to choose from. They offer free samples too, which was fab as I’m always nervous about making large purchases online without being able to see them in person.

After I’ve gone with an Alternative Flooring remnant called Wool Pebble in the shade Birdling, which is a lovely light grey, and my rug is edged with a Cotton Herringbone border in the colour Sand. It’s super soft underfoot and has filled the space perfectly, sitting under the sofa to make the room look wider. I also feel that the neutral tones have created a calming feel to the room, and am looking forward to seeing if the larger size will make a difference to the warmth of the room during the winter months – something the smaller rug definitely didn’t help with.

I used Designer Carpet’s online Rug Builder feature to put my order together - a really simple step-by-step way of choosing and personalising your rug, in order to make sure it’s perfect for your home. Using this I could choose the exact size for in here – I went for 2.4m by 1.5m, a size I’d previously found difficult to track down. I also went with their Stain Guard option available as it protects from the absorption of stains - an absolute must if you’ve got a messy toddler and dog running around on it!

I’m so pleased with the difference this has made to this small room – what do you think?

Thanks for reading,
Sam Xx