Rugs for Loft Conversions and Rooms Under the Eaves

A loft conversion is one of the most popular ways to add space to a British home, and often one of the most characterful rooms in the house. Sloping ceilings, dormers, roof windows and exposed beams give these rooms a cosy, tucked-away feel. They also break most of the usual rules about rug sizing and placement. Floor area and usable area are not the same thing under the eaves, the light comes from above, and the room sits directly over someone else's ceiling. Here is how we approach a rug for a loft, whether it is a principal bedroom, a guest room, a study or a teenager's den.

Measure the room you can stand in

The single most common mistake in a loft is sizing the rug to the whole floor. Under a sloping ceiling, the low strip along the eaves is often taken up by storage, a bed headboard or simply space nobody walks in.

• Find the line of full head height. Mark where you can comfortably stand upright on each side of the room. That rectangle, not the full floor, is the room as you experience it, and it is usually the right shape for the rug.
• Let the rug follow the ridge. In most lofts the room runs lengthways under the ridge. A rug laid in the same direction feels natural and draws the eye along the room, making it feel longer.
• Leave a border of floor. A margin of boards or carpet between the rug and the eaves keeps the room feeling generous rather than crammed.

Our guide to rugs for awkward rooms covers more irregular shapes, and if no standard size fits, many of our designs are available in custom and made-to-order sizes.

Placing a rug in a loft bedroom

• Bed under the eaves. Where the headboard sits against the low wall, lay the rug under the lower two-thirds of the bed so it extends into the standing area, where your feet land each morning.
• Bed under the ridge. Where the bed sits in the middle of the room, a rug that extends comfortably either side gives you somewhere soft to step on both sides.
• Use runners alongside. In narrow lofts, a pair of runners either side of the bed can work better than one large rug.

Browse our bedroom rugs for designs suited to restful spaces.

Think about the room below

A loft sits directly over bedrooms or a landing, and footsteps on bare boards can carry. A rug with a generous pile, laid over a good underlay, softens footfall noise considerably and makes the room itself feel quieter and more enclosed. Our guide to rugs and acoustics explains how. Where the loft has hard floors, an underlay also keeps the rug from creeping; see how to stop a rug slipping.

Light from above

Roof windows bring in far more daylight than a wall window of the same size, and they throw it straight down onto the floor.

• Expect strong overhead light. Colours can look brighter and paler at midday than they did elsewhere. If you are choosing between two shades, the slightly deeper one often reads truer in a loft.
• Rotate the rug. Where a roof window falls on one part of the rug, turning it every few months helps any change in colour happen evenly. Blinds on roof windows help too.
• Use texture. Overhead light rakes across a textured or carved pile and brings it to life, which makes a plain or tone-on-tone rug far more interesting in a loft than it might be downstairs.

Colour and pattern for a smaller footprint

Lofts are often compact, and the sloping ceiling makes them feel more so. Pale and mid-tone rugs keep the room light, while a quiet pattern or a border helps define the usable space. A simple framed design, with a plain field and a border line, works especially well, because it echoes the rectangle of standing height and makes the room look intentional. For very compact rooms, our guide to small spaces has more advice.

Getting it up the stairs

A practical point that is easy to forget: loft staircases are often steep and narrow, with a tight turn at the top. Before you order a large rug, check that it can travel up rolled. Measure the narrowest point of the stair and the turn onto the landing, and mention it to our team when you order so we can talk you through it.

A decorator's note

Before choosing a rug for a loft, we suggest marking out the standing area with masking tape on the floor and living with it for a day. It shows you exactly where people walk and where the rug will be seen, which is rarely where a floor plan suggests. Send our team a photograph of the taped-out room with its measurements, and we will happily recommend the size and design that will suit it best.