Choosing the right rugs can be one of the most challenging aspects of home decoration. An area rug can act as a space divider, a piece of floor-bound art or as a way of grounding your furniture. If you get it right, it will add depth and beauty to your room. Get it wrong, however, and it will drag down the whole space.

There are so many things to consider: size, pile, durability, colour, pattern, texture, cost, dye, practicality, and whether it’s the focal point of the room or just a way to add cosiness to a space. We talk to the experts at Fort Street Studio, Faux and Janus et Cie who share their top tips and no-nos.

Rugs and carpets have a long history – in fact, says Fort Street Studio’s Brad Davis, they were the first form of interior decoration. Nomadic people who were herders developed a way to make flooring for their tents. In the beginning, it was a way to soften space, and to add colour and pattern.

Brad also explains the distinction between carpets and rugs: On one level, carpet is something that people have talked about as being machine-made, it’s broad-scale, and designed to run wall to wall. Traditionally, rugs are handmade. But when a rug becomes room-sized, we see it as a carpet, he says. A larger sized carpet is something that gives a room character, a feeling of warmth. They’re useful in creating a space within a space, or defining a space. But a little area rug may not function that way. It’s an addendum.

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