The rug is the stage

Nobody ever tells me they’re excited about their rug.

They talk about the sofa, the lamp, the art above the sofa.

The rug is the last thing on the list, usually bought in a hurry, usually too small!!

Then I walk into the room and it’s the first thing I see.

Because the rug decides everything…

It tells you where the seating starts and where it ends.

It draws a quiet border around the part of the room that’s for sitting, talking, and staying a while.

Take it away, and the furniture floats.

Put a small one down, and the sofa looks like it’s trying to escape.

I think of a rug as the stage.

The furniture are the actors.

You can have brilliant actors, but if the stage is too small, nobody knows where to stand.

Here’s the mistake I see most!!

A rug the size of a doormat, sitting in the middle of the room like an island.

The sofa is on the floor. The chairs are on the floor. The rug is somewhere in between, doing nothing.

A better rule is simple — 

Make the rug big enough that the front legs of your main furniture sit on it.

Now the whole group belongs together.

The room has a center, instead of a few things that happen to be near each other.

That’s it. That’s the trick!!

It’s also the cheapest way I know to make a room look like someone planned it.

A bigger rug costs more than a small one, and I’d still choose it over a new sofa.

The sofa you can see. The rug you feel.

It’s the first thing your feet say hello to when you come home.

So the next time a room feels slightly off, don’t buy another cushion.

Look down.

The main character may have been waiting there the whole time..!!