By Megan Murray

A rug brings warmth, comfort and style, so its impact should never be underestimated. We use lots of rugs in our Houses, especially under beds, to add layers to a room, and make walking around barefoot feel homely.

After working with soft furnishings in our club spaces and creating a selection of rugs for Soho Home, our design team is brimming with advice on how to get the buying process right. Here, we share practical tips to consider when you're shopping for your own.

Buy by colour, not construction. Don't worry about the technical elements, such as whether it's hand-tied. Blues and reds are the most versatile, and are a common colour scheme for the types of rugs we feature in our Houses. These hues look great with intricate patterns and add a sense of character to a room.

Areas with a lot of footfall require a rug that's hardy and, ideally, hides stains well. Generally speaking, shorter pile rugs are better positioned in hallways where lots of people will be walking. Opt for hand-knotted over hand-tufted in these areas, because they're less likely to shed. Also, choose a patterned design, as it's more forgiving when something is spilt.

It can be difficult to decipher the right size rug for a dining set-up. When buying one to go beneath a dining table, our interior designers recommend allowing for at least 2ft of rug on each end to accommodate the chairs. For example, if you have a 10ft table, you need a 14ft rug.

Thinner, flat-woven rugs have a tendency to slip around on wooden floors. Prevent any accidents by laying down padded underlay to keep them in place.

When measuring for a large rug, make sure you open all your doors. Most of them won't open over a rug, so you need to get a more specific idea of where it will sit in a room.