Furniture legs on the carpet, or off? Find out, here!

Photo: Minimo & Minimology

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The wrong-sized rug can make a room look cluttered, too small or unbalanced. Determine the reason for the carpet: Is it to unify the room by bringing together multiple pieces of furniture, or to define distinct spaces within a large room? Your furniture configuration, not just the room size, will also determine the carpet size. 

Sotiria Kostavara, senior branding consultant at one-stop lifestyle store , acknowledges that, traditionally, all furniture should sit on the carpet, but today’s smaller homes call for alternative approaches: 

Front legs only on the carpet – Part of the carpet goes under the sofa and if there are armchairs, only their front legs sit on the carpet. Balance is important, so leave an equal amount of uncovered floor around the furniture grouping. 

All furniture off the carpet – Your coffee table sits on the carpet, but the rest of the furniture sits around the outside edges. This creates a cosier space by drawing the furniture grouping inwards. Select a carpet that is the same length or a little longer than the sofa so that the carpet still feels proportionate to the room. 

There should be no stinting in the dining room, as you need a carpet large enough so that the chairs are completely on it, even when they are pulled out by guests. This typically means the carpet needs to be 120cm wider than the table for guests to pull their chairs all the way out without catching the edge of the rug.