Our guide to the shapes and sizes available in vintage rugs, and when to choose a contemporary piece instead.
One of the questions we get asked most is about sizing - shopping for a vintage Moroccan rug is a different experience to shopping for a standard, mass-produced piece. Our rugs were handwoven on traditional looms long ago, many of them decades old, by weavers who were making pieces for a home or a family rather than for a showroom floor.
That means sizing was never standardised the way it is with a modern rug bought off a shelf - every piece is unique, and the widths and lengths you'll find naturally cluster around what these old looms, and the rooms they were originally woven for, could actually produce. Here's what to expect at each size, and what each is best suited to.
Runners
Runners are perfect for hallways, long kitchens and either side of the bed - anywhere you need something long and narrow rather than a big statement piece. Most vintage runners we find sit somewhere around 90-120cm wide and run anywhere from 2.5m up to 5m in length, though every now and then we'll come across a newly handwoven piece stretching to 6m, which isn't something you tend to find in an original vintage runner.
Shape varies more with runners than you'd expect. Some are narrow and long, others shorter and wide, and occasionally you'll find a super over-sized, long piece. Not every runner suits a hallway either, so if that's what you're shopping for, you'll generally want to stick to something 90cm or under to fit comfortably.
Oversized wide and long runners are a bit of a find in their own right - we love sourcing these for open plan spaces and as feature pieces, since the wider, longer versions were traditionally woven for wide open corridors and long open-plan rooms rather than a narrow hallway. When we do come across one, it's usually a standout.
Small Rugs
Small rugs - anything up to around 1.5m in length are wonderfully versatile. They're an easy fit for bathrooms, nurseries, bedsides and studies where you don't need to cover much floor, but they've got plenty of life beyond the floor too. We love seeing them hung on a wall as decorative art, or thrown casually over the back of a couch or the end of a bed for a hit of colour and texture.
Shape-wise, small rugs are generally either a rectangular mat size or a short runner shape. Occasionally we'll find a roughly square piece, but a genuinely round vintage rug is one thing you won't come across.
Medium Rugs
Medium rugs, sitting somewhere between 1.5-2m in length and usually around 1m to 1.2-1.5m wide, are our most popular size, due to their versatility and many possible uses. They're the easiest fit for apartments, under a kitchen table, in a lounge room, or as a feature rug at the end of the bed, striking that sweet spot between statement piece and practical, everyday size.
Shape-wise, these are mostly rectangular, often close to a 1.2m x 1.5m footprint, though every so often we'll find an irregular square piece too. We love these for under round kitchen dining tables and coffee tables.
Large Rugs
Large rugs run from around 2.5-3m in length, usually no wider than 1.8m, and they're the special pieces that feel like a statement, not just a floor covering. These are the pieces we picture in open plan living rooms, under a large dining table, or grounding a creative studio with plenty of space and natural light to let them breathe.
Proportion-wise, large rugs run quite differently to a modern rug - generally narrower, sitting around 1.4-1.8m in width. If you're choosing one for under a table or a lounge, it's worth being clear on whether you want it fully anchored under the furniture, or happy for it to sit in front of the couch so the pattern can actually be seen - which also makes it easier to keep clean and move around.
Extra Large Rugs
Extra large rugs are the rarest of all - every now and then we'll find a beautiful old vintage piece stretching 4m-5m+ in length, which tends to be about as large as they come. Anything wider than 2m is genuinely rare in a vintage piece, simply because of the width the old style looms could physically weave, so when we do come across one, it doesn't tend to stick around for long. These are the big, heavy, showstopper pieces for large living areas and open plan spaces - thick, substantial and carrying real weight underfoot, and in vintage form, you'll really only find them among the Beni MGuilds, old Haouz region pieces and occasionally an old style Beni Ourain.
These pieces are often much longer than they are wide, which makes them brilliant for a long farmhouse table or a longer three or four-seater couch setup, where an elongated shape actually suits the space better than a squarer one.
Vintage or Contemporary - Which Should You Choose?
So when should you choose a newly handwoven contemporary piece over a vintage one?
If you need a wider width over 2m, an exact custom dimension, or a rug that's even and true to shape for a more formal or precisely furnished space, contemporary is really your only option - a vintage piece can't guarantee that level of perfect shape and symmetry.
But if you love the idea of a one-of-a-kind rug with real character, and you're happy working within what's available rather than dictating an exact size and shape, a vintage piece is where the magic is. Most of our customers land on falling for a vintage rug's character filled imperfections, rather than fighting against them.
Explore our full collection of Moroccan rugs
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