Beni Mguild Rug: Deep Colour from the Middle Atlas

Many Beni Mguild rugs are long in proportion: wide enough for a room, and half as long again as you expect. That format is awkward in a square room and exactly right in others.

A rug of about 6 ft 6 in by 13 ft suits a long living room, the space between a kitchen island and a dining table, a wide hall or gallery, or the side of a bed in a large bedroom. Measure the room before falling for one, and remember to leave a margin of floor at both ends.

A deep red or blue rug changes a room more than any pale one. It absorbs light, so use it where there is plenty, or where you want the evening warmth of a den or a library. Pale walls and upholstery let the colour glow. Dark furniture on a dark rug disappears.

Burgundy pairs with camel, tan leather, olive, cream and brass. Deep blue pairs with white, grey, oak and rust. Both hide red wine, coffee and mud far better than ivory does, and both show lint and pale pet hair. A patterned piece hides the most of all.

The choice is between warmth and light. They are the same kind of object, thick wool pile from the same region, in opposite moods. In a small or north-facing room the ivory rug is the safer one. In a large, bright room that feels bare or cold, the coloured one does more.

They also combine well in one house: ivory in the bedroom, burgundy in the study. If you like the idea of colour but not a whole field of it, a Beni Mrirt in terracotta or camel sits between the two.

Eleven rugs. Six are in burgundy and wine reds, four in blue, from navy to cobalt, and one in teal. Four have diamonds or a diamond lattice, three are built from blocks of colour and two have horizontal bands. One is a gradient running from burgundy through orange, and one is scattered with signs in coral, gold and cream.

Seven are long, between 5 ft 8 in and 7 ft 3 in wide and 10 ft 10 in to 13 ft 10 in long. The other four are smaller, from 5 ft by 7 ft 10 in to 6 ft 7 in by 9 ft 6 in. Each rug is one of a kind, with its exact measurements on its own page. Delivery is free worldwide, duties and taxes included.