Formats and sizes
Which rug suits which size is the most common question when buying. This page sets out the classic formats, their traditional dimensions, and the right size for every room.
#The classic rug formats
In the oriental rug trade, fixed formats have grown over centuries, mostly carrying their names from Persian or Turkish.
The most important: tablet rug (around 60 × 90 cm, originally a sitting cushion), scatter rug (around 110 × 160 cm, the classic small living-room rug), gallery (around 80 × 250 cm and longer, the narrow hall rug), runner (60 to 80 cm wide, 200 to 600 cm long, for halls and stairwells), salon or main rug (around 200 × 300 cm), and oversize from 250 × 350 cm.
These sizes are no norm, but conventions that have grown. With antique pieces you can often see that they were knotted for a particular room, because their measurements do not fit this grid.
#Which size for the living room
In the living room the question is rarely "which absolute size" but "how should the rug sit relative to the seating". Three options are established.
Option one: the rug lies completely under sofa and chairs, with at least 30 to 60 centimetres of clearance to the wall on every side. This looks generous and needs around 250 × 350 cm in a typical 4-by-5-metre living room.
Option two: the front feet of the furniture stand on the rug, the backs sit beyond it. This is the most common compromise. Here 200 × 300 or 200 × 290 cm is enough.
Option three: the rug lies in front of the seating, with no furniture on it. This works only in very large rooms or with small seating groups; otherwise the layout falls apart visually. Here 170 × 240 cm and smaller fit.
#Which size for the bedroom
In the bedroom less depends on how the furniture stands than on the feeling underfoot in the morning. Three solutions work well.
First: a single large rug that extends from beneath the lower third of the bed and clears at least 60 cm on each side and at the foot. With a 180 cm bed that means at least 250 × 300 cm.
Second: two narrow scatter rugs, one on each side of the bed, around 80 × 200 cm. Classic in the Persian style and especially practical, because you step onto the rug in the morning without having to walk past the foot of the bed.
Third: a gallery or runner at the foot of the bed, closing the bed off across. This works well in narrow rooms.
#Which size for the dining room
In the dining room, chair movement decides the right size. When someone gets up from the table and pushes a chair back, all four chair legs should still be on the rug.
Rule of thumb: extend the table's measurements by at least 60 cm on each side. A dining table of 90 × 180 cm therefore needs a rug of at least 210 × 300 cm, ideally 240 × 320 cm. With round or oval tables, correspondingly round or oval rugs work, around 120 cm larger in diameter than the table.
Important: in the dining room, easy care matters. A flat-woven kilim or a robust low-pile wool rug handles spilled food better than a high-pile or fine silk rug.
#Runners, galleries, and special sizes
Narrow, long rugs are a category of their own.
Runners (60 to 80 cm wide) belong in halls, in front of kitchen counters, in stairwells, or in front of long sideboards. They should leave 5 to 10 centimetres of floor on each side, and never sit flush with the wall.
Gallery rugs (80 to 110 cm wide, 250 to 400 cm long) are slightly broader and fit larger entry areas or accent a long room. Classic Persian galleries come from workshops like Heriz or Bidjar and were originally made for reception halls.
Special sizes such as square rugs, very large oversizes, or unusual measurements are usually made to order and accordingly more expensive and longer-lived.
#How to measure properly
Before you buy, measure. Three points matter.
First: take a tape measure, do not estimate. Rooms look different visually than they really are.
Second: measure in several places. Period buildings and renovated rooms are rarely truly square, and a rug that fits perfectly in one spot can hit a wall in another.
Third: mark out the rug on the floor before you buy. Use painter's tape or an old bedsheet to lay out the area the rug should cover. Only then do you see how the room actually works with the rug.
When buying online, also clarify the delivery measurement. Some rugs are shipped rolled, others folded, and folds need a few days to relax.
Keep reading
Buying guide
Quality, size, price: what to look for when buying an oriental rug.
ReadMaterials for oriental rugs
Wool, silk, cotton, jute, and synthetic fibres. What sets each apart, what it suits, and how it feels.
ReadCare and cleaning
Vacuuming, stains, moth protection, storage: how to keep your rug beautiful for generations.
Read