The single most common rug mistake is buying one too small for the room. A rug that's undersized makes furniture look like it's floating, disconnected from everything around it.
As a starting rule: the front legs of your sofa and any chairs in the seating group should rest on the rug. This visually ties the furniture together as one arrangement, rather than scattering pieces around a small rug island in the middle of the floor.
For a standard sofa (around 7–8 feet), an 8' x 10' rug is usually the safest choice for a living room of average size — it's large enough to anchor a full seating group. In a smaller room, a 6' x 9' can still work, provided you're comfortable with only the front legs of your furniture on the rug rather than all four.
Leave roughly 12–18 inches of bare floor between the rug's edge and the wall on each side — enough to frame the rug without the room feeling like it's wall-to-wall carpet. If you're unsure, our Size Guide covers the other rooms too, and every House of Souravi design is available in custom sizing if none of the standard options fit your space exactly.