7x10 Rug: Our Most Common Hand-Knotted Size, Around 6 ft 8 in × 10 ft

On paper the two sizes share a length and differ by one foot of width. In hand-knotted pieces the gap is wider: ours at 7 × 10 average about 6 ft 8 in across, ours at 8 × 10 about 8 ft 4 in. That extra foot and a half is depth in front of the sofa. On a 7 × 10, the coffee table sits near the far edge and armchairs opposite the sofa stand with their front legs on the rug at most. On an 8 × 10 they can stand on it entirely.

So choose by the layout. A sofa against a wall with a table in front and little else suits a 7 × 10, and it leaves more floor for a walkway. A sofa with chairs facing it wants the extra width. In a room less than eleven feet deep, the narrower rug is usually the one that keeps a proper border.

The Azilal rugs are the most numerous here. They have a lower pile and a free drawing, most often in several colours on ivory, and they are easy to live with under a coffee table and where people pass. They are also lighter to lift than the deep-pile rugs.

The Beni Ourain rugs bring a long ivory pile with dark diamonds and lines, the look most people have in mind when they say Moroccan rug. The Beni Mrirt rugs are denser and heavier, with a restrained graphic drawing, a few lines or none at all, in terracotta, sand, taupe and cream, with the odd piece in teal or sage. With this many pieces to choose from, it is worth deciding on pile and colour first and letting those two narrow the field.

First, doors. If one has to pass over the rug, measure the gap between its lower edge and the floor and compare it with the kind of pile you want. Second, the sofa. The rug should be longer than the sofa by at least 6 to 8 inches at each end, or it will look skimpy.

Third, the exact size. A hand-knotted rug may measure 6 ft 5 in × 10 ft or 6 ft 10 in × 9 ft 8 in, with sides that are not quite parallel. In an open room that makes no difference. Between two walls or in front of patio doors it can. The measured dimensions are on every listing.

This is our largest group at any single size. Azilal rugs lead, followed by Beni Ourain and Beni Mrirt, with a single Beni Mguild in burgundy. Multicoloured and ivory pieces are about equally common and together make up most of the group. Terracotta, sand and taupe follow, and there are a few rugs in teal, sage, rose and gold.

Each rug is one of a kind and leaves the page when sold. The measured width and length are on every listing. Delivery is free worldwide, duties and taxes included.