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Rug designer Luke Irwin says an old copy of the Financial Times can help homeowners visualize a rug’s size before buying. In an interview with Livingetc, he also recommends fitting all furniture on a rug in large open-plan rooms and, elsewhere, placing at least the front legs on it.
Rug designer Luke Irwin, whose clients have included The Rolling Stones and members of the British royal family, recommends laying old Financial Times pages on the floor to help judge how a rug’s size will work in a room. The practical tip appeared in an interview with Livingetc, alongside Irwin’s advice on furniture placement and the choices that shape a rug’s fit.
Irwin’s proposed test is simple: arrange newspaper pages on the floor to approximate a rug’s footprint and see how that scale relates to the room and its furniture. He singled out the Financial Times because, he said, its paper color is useful for visualizing scale. The method is a planning aid, not a substitute for checking the actual measurements of a rug and room.
For placement, Irwin says that in a large open-plan space, all the furniture should sit fully on the rug so it helps define the area. In other room arrangements, he advises having at least the front legs of the furniture on the rug. He said furniture that is partly on and partly off can look odd.
Irwin identifies design, color and size as the three main elements of choosing a rug. In his view, size is the most critical because a rug that is too large can overwhelm a room, while one that is too small can look out of proportion. Color can require more deliberation, he said, while people can often judge more quickly whether they like a pattern and whether it suits their room.
A Simple Test Before Buying a Rug
The advice addresses a common practical problem in decorating: it can be difficult to picture a large object’s footprint in a finished room before purchasing it. Irwin’s paper-layout test gives readers a low-cost way to try different dimensions and furniture arrangements first. That can help clarify whether a proposed size will anchor a seating area or leave furniture awkwardly divided across the rug’s edge.
His guidance also shows why choosing a rug is not only a matter of pattern or color. The piece can help define an open-plan zone and relate furniture to one another. Irwin’s suggestions are design guidance rather than a universal rule; room shape, furniture and personal preference still affect what works.
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Irwin’s Bespoke Rug Practice
Livingetc describes Irwin as an Irish designer and creative director whose namesake studio was established in 2003. The studio designs and makes hand-knotted, made-to-order rugs, with customers able to personalize factors including size, color, weave, textile and design. The report says the rugs are designed in London and made by traditional artisans in workshops in Jaipur and New Delhi, India, and Nepal.
The article presents Irwin’s sizing tip as part of a broader interview about how rugs affect a room. It also reports that his clients have included U2, The Rolling Stones, Barack Obama and British royals. That description provides context for his profile but does not identify specific commissions or establish details about individual clients.
“A great hack for being able to visualize the perfect size is to lay out an old copy of the Financial Times on the floor, as the color of the paper is perfect for visualizing scale.”
— Luke Irwin, quoted by Livingetc
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Limits of the Newspaper Mock-Up
The interview does not specify how many Financial Times pages to use for a particular rug size, or provide a measurement chart or a step-by-step layout. The paper is intended to help visualize scale; the source does not claim it will reproduce a rug’s exact dimensions or predict how its texture and color will look in the room.
Livingetc does not state when the interview was published in the supplied material. It also provides no independent data on how frequently homeowners choose rugs that are too small, nor details about the specific commissions behind the named clients. Irwin’s advice should be understood as his professional opinion, not a measured finding about all interiors.
large area rugs for open plan living room
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Measure Before Making a Purchase
Readers using Irwin’s approach can first mark out a proposed rug footprint with newspaper, then check the layout against the room’s dimensions and the position of the furniture. Before ordering, they should confirm the rug’s measurements with the retailer or maker and consider how the intended placement works with doors, walkways and the room’s other furnishings.
The Livingetc report does not announce a product launch or a scheduled follow-up from Irwin. The immediate takeaway is a planning technique and a set of placement recommendations; no further development is specified in the source.
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Key Questions
What is Luke Irwin’s trick for visualizing rug size?
He suggests laying old Financial Times pages on the floor to approximate the rug’s footprint and judge its scale in the room.
How should a rug sit under furniture?
Irwin recommends putting all furniture fully on the rug in a large open-plan space. In other settings, he says at least the front legs should sit on it.
What does Irwin say matters most when choosing a rug?
He names pattern or design, color and size as the three main considerations, and calls size the most critical because a rug can look too dominant or too small for the room.
Does the newspaper method give an exact rug measurement?
No. Livingetc presents it as a way to visualize scale. Buyers still need to check the room and rug measurements before ordering.
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