The first choice
If you are selling your home then there is only one place to turn - your local paper. Our property pages are the must- turn- to section for anyone selling or buying a new home. For decades our extensive range of homes for sale have been the must-buy for anyone who wants to see what is out there. We have the potential to reach thousands of readers every week - we are at the heart of every community and we have the power to reach more potential buyers than any other local paper. So make sure your estate agent isn’t missing a trick and place your property advertisement in your local paper For Sale section. Where else would you look if you were buying a new home or selling your house but your local paper’s property section? All the latest houses and flats for sale are right here in your classified section. Lorraine Howard
A simple rug can give a room a whole new look and here we offer some top tips on choosing the right one for you. Budget
You should buy the best rug you can afford, even if it means living with bare floors while you save up your pennies.
Look for good quality natural materials such as wool and silk.
Some experts say a good quality rug should cost around the same as a sofa.
A high-quality wool rug will wear well and even look better over time. Size matters
Choose a rug that is two feet shorter than the smallest wall in the room.
So for a10 x12-foot office, you should look at rugs no more than eight feet wide.
For a bare front hallway, the guideline is that you should swing open the front door and then measure the floor from that point, so the first three feet or so remain clear.
Hall rugs should have at least six inches of floor showing on all sides.
Dining room rugs should extend at least 18 inches beyond the edge of the table so that the rug accommodates the dining chairs.
In bedrooms, try runners at each side and even the foot of the bed or place a rug one-third of the way under the bed so the rest of the rug creates a nice mat at the bottom of the bed.
In large rooms, rugs should fit the configuration of the room and furniture.
A 15 x 20 foot living room, for example, is arranged in one large conversation area, so we should look for a rug to cover and frame that entire area, big enough so that at least the front third of the furniture sits on the rug.
A big room set up with two smaller conversation areas would look best with two separate rugs, as long as they’re linked by colour or material (they don’t have to match exactly). Prime Position
If your sofa and chairs are up against the wall, your rug should be large enough to fit under the front legs of all pieces.
If your sofa and chairs float in the middle of the room, your rug should be large enough to fit under all four legs of each piece of furniture.
In bedrooms, extend a rug from the bottom 2/3 of the bed. Alternatively, you could also place two runners on each side or a single runner at the foot of the bed.
For dining rooms, measure the length and width of your dining table and add 2 feet on each side. Most dining room tables require a rug that’s at least 8 feet wide. Shopping time
Ask friends for referrals to good rug dealers. And all the experts emphasize the importance of seeing and touching and experiencing a good rug before you buy. What if you have the opposite dilemma: you own great area rugs but buy a new house with wall-to-wall carpet? Hang it on the wall.