Great interior design doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, a few simple rules can make a huge difference in how your home looks and feels.

If you want your space to feel intentional, balanced, and professionally designed, start with these three foundational design principles: rug placement, drapery height, and art positioning.

Rule #1: Rug Size and Placement

Area rugs play a vital role in interior design because they ground a space and make it feel complete. Rugs can also be a great source of inspiration when designing a room. In fact, I often start with a rug when merchandising the showrooms at Montgomery’s.

Whether your rug is bold and colorful or neutral and cozy, it helps define the room and connect your furniture together. While rugs can feel like a big investment, they are absolutely worth it. Without one, a room can feel cold, empty, and unfinished.

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The most important factor when choosing a rug is size and placement.

  • Dining Room Rug Placement: If you place a rug under a dining table, all four legs of each chair should stay on the rug even when the chairs are pulled out. This keeps the dining area functional and visually balanced.
  • Living Room Rug Placement: Ideally, your rug should sit completely underneath the legs of your sofa, chairs and coffee table. If that is not possible, make sure the front legs of your sofa and chairs sit on the rug. This prevents the rug from looking like it’s floating in the room.
  • Bedroom Rug Placement: When placing a rug under a bed, position the bed so it sits on the top half to one-third of the rug, allowing about two-thirds of the rug to extend past the foot of the bed.

The most important factor when choosing a rug is size and placement.

Rule #2: Drapery Height and Width

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Window treatments and draperies can make a beautiful statement in your home. If you decide to use them, following two simple rules will instantly elevate the look of your space.

  • Hang Curtains High: Always hang your drapery as high as possible and let it extend all the way to the floor, just grazing the surface. This simple trick draws the eye upward and makes the room appear taller.
  • Hang Curtains Wide: Your curtain panels should extend beyond the width of the window frame. The inside edge of each panel should align with the outside edge of the window frame, allowing the fabric to sit mostly on the wall when open.This creates a beautiful frame around the window and allows more natural light to enter the room.

This rule does not apply to café curtains, which are designed to hang within the window frame.

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Rule #3: Art Height and Size

Nearly every home has art, photos, or portraits on the walls. However, one of the most common design mistakes is hanging artwork too high.

The ideal height for artwork is eye level, which is about 60 inches from the floor to the center of the piece.

That’s right! The middle of the artwork, not the bottom, should land at approximately 60 inches.

This rule works for most spaces regardless of the homeowner’s height.

When placing art above furniture, keep it visually connected to the piece below it.

  • Leave 4–8 inches between the bottom of the art and the furniture surface.
  • Use the lower end (4–6 inches) above cabinets, dressers, and buffets.
  • Use the higher end (6–8 inches) above sofas or chairs.
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If the gap becomes too large, the artwork will feel disconnected from the furniture.

For artwork above a headboard, keep the spacing tight. Leave about 2–4 inches between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the artwork.

Gallery walls are a bit different. These displays usually fill an entire wall area, starting just above furniture and extending nearly to the ceiling.

Gallery walls are highly customizable, it’s helpful to look for inspiration online before creating your layout.

These three simple design rules can dramatically improve how your home looks and feels.

By focusing on proper rug placement, curtain height, and art positioning, you can create spaces that feel more intentional, comfortable, and professionally designed.

Sometimes the smallest adjustments make the biggest difference.

Yours in Design,

Karli 

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