We’ve teamed up with the lovely folk at Habitat to get your November off to a warm and cosy start. I’m often banging on about ‘layering’ a space. Whether it be piling the cushions and throws on the sofa or layering blankets and duvets on the bed, it’s a sure way to add texture and cosiness to your home. Floors can really benefit from this approach too by adding a rug or two so here’s Gemma from Habitat to give you the low-down on choosing a new rug.

There are lots of things to consider when you’re choosing which rug is best for your space, from colour and material to how much of the room you want to fill.

The first question is, of course, where are you going to put the rug? A rug for a playroom, for example, will differ from a one for a kitchen. Both need to be hard wearing, but in material and format they’ll contrast. Hand-tufted rugs are great for playrooms, because they’re warm but very robust. Kitchens favour a flat woven rug for lacking pile and being easy to clean. This is the reason flat-woven also work for home offices – wheeled chairs can easily move over their smoother surfaces.

Next – do you want to fill the floor or define or zone a space within it? A hallway, for example, can look smaller if the rug within it pushes right out to the skirting boards. Meanwhile, an open-plan living room/playroom/ dining room setup can be subtly subdivided with three different designs or textures of rug. These should tone in with or complement one another so they don’t battle for attention.

The design of the rug you choose is of course entirely up to you. But as a general rule of thumb, it’s worth considering other pattern and colour within the room’s decor before you make your selection. If your pictures or textiles are busy, a neutrally-patterned or block coloured rug will sit better among them. Hand knotted and flat-woven styles are both ideal for this. For rooms that are minimalistic in look, or plainer and more pared back in their design details, texture, pattern and a mixed palette can add interest. Think hand-tufted or flat-woven in these cases.

Whether starting your room with a rug and letting its palette inform other accessories, or adding the rug to an existing scheme, remember that a bold pattern or print will likely become a focal point, while textured and plain rugs will blend in beautifully.

Gemma Pengilley, Buyer for Textiles at Habitat.

I bet you’d quite fancy getting your hands on a rug now wouldn’t you? Well you’re in luck. You can either take a look at Habitat’s rug selection over on their website or alternatively enter our prize draw! One lucky winner will bag themselves the Habitat Heerden Large Multi-Coloured Cotton Rug (pictured above). All you have to do us tell us where you’d position this beauty and we’ll select a winner at random from all the entries. The prize draw closes on November 15th 2015 at 23:59 and T&Cs apply. Good Luck!