Rug Size for a Queen Bed: 6x9, 7x10 or 8x10

The rug normally starts a few inches in front of the nightstands, so the top third of the bed stands on bare floor. From there, a 5-foot-deep rug ends almost level with the foot of the bed and shows nothing. That is the real weakness of a 5x8: you see two narrow strips at the sides and no rug at the end.

A 6-foot depth leaves about a foot and a half beyond the bed, and 6 ft 7 in leaves about two feet. An 8-foot depth leaves three and a half feet, enough for a bench to stand entirely on the rug. If you want a bench or a pair of stools at the foot, that is the argument for the 8x10.

Leave a border of bare floor around the room, ideally a foot or more and never less than about eight inches. In a bedroom 11 feet wide, a 6x9 turned across the bed is the largest rug that still leaves that border. An 8x10 wants a room at least 12 feet wide, otherwise it runs under the wardrobe or up against the skirting board.

Then open the doors. Closet doors, the door to the hall and any door to a bathroom all need to swing over the rug or stop short of it. Thick wool pile can catch a door that clears a hard floor easily. Tape the outline on the floor and test each door before you order.

When the bed is pushed into a corner, a rug laid across it is half wasted. Turn the logic around and put the rug on the open side only: a 4x6 or 5x8 lying alongside the bed, or a runner about 2 ft 6 in wide and as long as the bed.

Two runners, one each side, are also the tidy answer in a narrow room where a 6x9 would leave no floor showing. They cost less wool than a large rug, they are easy to lift and shake out, and they put the softness precisely where it is used.

One hundred and thirty-two rugs between 6 ft 3 in and 8 ft 10 in wide and 9 ft 2 in to 11 ft 6 in long. Eighty-eight are in the 7x10 group, about 6 ft 7 in by 9 ft 10 in. Forty-four are 8x10 or close to it. Fifty-nine are dense, heavy Beni Mrirt, fifty-four are lighter and more colourful Azilal, sixteen are Beni Ourain, and there are two Beni Mguild and one vintage piece.

Thirty-seven have an ivory or cream ground, thirty-three are multicoloured, and twenty-one are sand or taupe; terracotta, greens, blues and caramel make up most of the rest. Each rug is one of a kind, with its exact measurements on its own page. Delivery is free worldwide, duties and taxes included.