Interiors guide · 6 min read
How to choose the right carpet size for every room
By the IndoArtistry atelier ·
Most carpets look too small because they are. The standard sizes sold in shops — 5 × 8, 6 × 9, 8 × 10 — were set for convenience, not for rooms. These are the rules interior designers use to size a carpet properly, and the reason our clients usually end up commissioning one to the exact dimensions of the space.
Living rooms and drawing rooms
The rule: all the front legs of the sofas and chairs should sit on the carpet, and ideally all four legs of every piece. The carpet should extend beyond the seating by at least 20–30 cm on each side, and leave a margin of floor — 30–45 cm — to the walls so that it reads as a carpet, not a fitted floor.
For a medallion design, place the medallion at the centre of the seating group, not the centre of the room. A coffee table with a glass or open top keeps the medallion visible.
Dining rooms
Measure the table, then add at least 60–75 cm on every side so that chairs stay on the carpet when they are pulled out. A table for eight typically needs a carpet of around 8 × 10 ft or larger. Choose silk on cotton for a dining room in daily use, or silk on silk for a room reserved for occasions.
Bedrooms
Three good options. A large carpet under the whole bed, extending 60–90 cm beyond it on three sides, so that your feet meet silk when you rise. A carpet placed across the lower two-thirds of the bed, clear of the bedside tables. Or a pair of runners, one on each side. For a bedroom, silk on silk is entirely practical — the traffic is light and barefoot.
Halls, corridors and stairs
A runner should leave 10–15 cm of floor visible on each side and stop short of doorways. Standard runners are about 2–2.5 ft wide; length is whatever the corridor needs — which is why runners are so often commissioned. A hunting or garden design suits a runner: the story unfolds as you walk.
The wall
A silk carpet hung as art follows the rules of a painting: its centre at about eye level, 145–150 cm from the floor, with generous wall around it. Pictorial silks are made for this, in sizes from 2 × 3 ft to 3 × 5 ft.
Made to measure — the real answer
Because every carpet we make is hand-knotted to order, the size can be drawn for the room: 11 ft 4 in by 15 ft 8 in if that is what the seating needs, a runner of exactly 24 ft, a pair of matching bedside pieces. We ask for a floor plan or simple measurements, and our naqash scales the design so that the borders and medallion sit correctly at the new dimensions.
Measure the room, mark where the furniture sits, and send us the drawing. We will propose the size, the design and the weave.
- Living room — front legs of all seating on the carpet; 30–45 cm floor margin to walls
- Dining room — table size plus 60–75 cm on every side
- Bedroom — 60–90 cm beyond the bed on three sides, or a pair of runners
- Corridor — 10–15 cm floor visible each side; stop short of doors
- Wall — centre at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor
Questions
What size carpet do I need for a living room?
Large enough that the front legs of every sofa and chair rest on it, with 20–30 cm beyond the seating and 30–45 cm of floor showing to the walls. For most living rooms that means 8 × 10 ft or larger — and a made-to-measure carpet can be knotted to the exact dimensions.
Can Kashmiri carpets be made in custom sizes?
Yes. Every IndoArtistry carpet is hand-knotted to order, so any dimension is possible — from a small wall piece to a carpet of 12 × 18 ft or more, and runners of any length.
From the atelier
Explore our silk carpets
Every piece is made by hand in Kashmir, with its materials, dimensions and making time declared.
