June 30, 2022

Tips for Rug Sizing, Wall Hanging, and Lighting Installation

When it comes to those finishing touches in the home, we all know how important these details are to complete the look!

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Each deserves such attention! In addition to layering, adding texture, and complementing with different tones, there is so much more to consider!!

And, we get it - it CAN be totally overwhelming.

So, we sat back and gathered the most popular questions we receive from our followers, which is, ‘how do we measure and style our decor appropriately.’ From that, we compiled a PRO LIST full of interior design tips when designing various rooms in your home. We have included suggestions to help steer you in the right direction when you're selecting your rugs, hanging your lighting, and even hints as to where to place your artwork and televisions!

Now, of course, if you know us well, you know that we love to turn the design rules on their head. And therefore, each project IS uniquely different and we, most often, will indulge our creative liberty, however here are some guidelines to consider when you're beginning to tackle your design at home.

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Rug Sizing Tips for Your Living Room

If your room is large enough, similar to The Heights Home Project pictured here, we prefer to have all furniture legs on the rug. Our thought, bigger is better, particularly in this application. By choice, we placed our rug about one foot from the wall and then allowed for about one foot of exposed rug behind the sectional. This gave us approximately 24” of clearance from furniture to wall.

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In a smaller space, we typically place just the front legs of the furniture on the rug as seen in The Heights Home Project pictured here. All other rules could apply. Place the rug about one foot from the wall and allow for exposed edges all around.

Leave 18” between your sofa and coffee table, this will accommodate a comfortable traffic pattern and ease of use when entertaining.

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Rug Sizing Tips for Your Dining Room

The two most popular dining room rug shapes are rectangle and round and each has a few rules when it comes to placement. With that said, we also have to be cognizant of the scale and proportion of our space. Typically, we like to have about three feet of clearance to pull out our chairs from the table. This could look different per application. For example, we could place our rug 12” from the wall and then allow for 24” of rug under the chair. Or, perhaps less rug under the chair, as shown in our Cottage Farmhouse Project pictured below with more floor space to maneuver.

Be sure to allow at least two feet per seat and a minimum of 8” between chairs. This will give each guest appropriate space and ample room to enjoy the dining experience.

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What About Bedroom Rugs?!

Wondering how to size a rug for your bedroom? Head over to our Modern Farmhouse Bedroom blog.

Bedroom Rug Sizing Guides

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Lighting Tips for Your Home

We like to call the lighting the jewelry, it is that final touch that can set the tone for the room. Whether it be formal, informal, dressy or casual, we love its importance. And, what can be more important than to get the placement perfect.

Of course measuring for lighting depends heavily on the user's height as well as the wall dimensions. Scale and portion will play a very big role with each application and therefore the following suggestions may need to be tweaked per project.

Above we shared our Cottage Farmhouse Project which is the perfect image to demonstrate a chandelier over a round table. We like to hang our lighting about 30” to 36” above the table for scale and the table top should be at least 12”-18” larger than the diameter of the fixture for proportion.

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Shop Lighting for Circle Tables

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Same goes when hanging a rectangular light over a rectangular table, as shown in our Kappa Delta Sorority Project. We will hang the chandelier 30”-36” above the 30” height table and allow for a minimum of 12 '' from the fixture to the end of the table on both sides.

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Shop Lighting for Rectangular Tables

When selecting a rectangular chandelier, the width of the light should be at least 6” smaller than the table, on both sides.

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We like to place our wall mounting fixtures, center of junction box, at about 60” to 66” from the finished floor. Again, depending on function and location, there is a little wiggle room on purpose. Our primary bathroom in the Issaquah Alps Project was set to accommodate two people with largely varying heights.

Countertop pendant lighting, whether it be two or three fixtures, is probably our MOST POPULAR question of all! Our rule of thumb is placing the pendants a minimum of 24” apart, approximately 12”-24” from the counter edge and roughly 30”-40” from the top of the counter to bottom of the lighting fixture. With that said, ‘eye-balling’ is used A LOT when we are on-site. Measure and then stand back to double check, what feels best is always right! Here we have our two pendant example with Ahtanum Ridge Ranch Project and our three pendant example in our Lone Dove Homestead Project.

And, last but not least our beloved lamps! The key to both table and floor lamps is function. They are meant for task and the bottom of their shade should be at eye level in order to cast the lighting that is desired. A favorite is this beauty from our Gromore Hideaway Project. We love the drama the placement provides!

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Tips for Hanging Art in Your Home

Awh the magic of hanging wall art! It CAN be a mystery, yet we wanted to give you the secrets. When hanging multiple pieces of art, over a sofa or bench as we’ve shown here in the Primary Bedroom of The Heights Project, space each piece about 3” to 5” inches apart. Then, check that the art encompasses about two-thirds the scale of the furniture below. This tip will assist you when you are selecting your art pieces to begin.

For height, we typically hang our art about 6” above console tables and approximately 8” above seated furniture. If hanging a solo piece, you can measure approximately 60” from the floor, using your eye level while standing, as the guide.

Now, give me a gallery wall and I will def break the laws! Yup, while we have provided some safe suggestions, we believe art is personnel and a gallery art wall is SUPER personal!! Let your creativity wander with this one. Depending on the project, you can add family art, portraits, paintings, mirrors, collectables and more to generate a special look. Or, you can create symmetry with a repetitive art scene, similar to our home office in the Wide Hollow Sunset Project.

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Tips for TV Mounting in Your Home

Okay the TV! You know where I’m going with this one. This subject, at times, can be a humorous and heated conversation with the homeowners. Some like it high, and some like it low. Take a peek at The Heights Project for reference.

We prefer the Goldilocks approach :) Our go-to is to create a distance of about 7’ to 15’ from the television for viewing and we typically center the TV at eye level for height, while sitting tall.

Our preferred height to hang a TV is at 42” while using eye level as our center. And, we do see many TV’s at 50” to 60” on center. Depending on the size of the room, how the television is being used and of course, personal choice, there are many ways to mount a TV. From the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers, they state that we should not tilt our head up more than 35 degrees from eye level in order to view the top of the screen. So there ya go!