Picking out rugs can be a pain if you don’t know what you’re doing. And so, from all of us at 1-800 Get-a-Rug, here is our very own Rug-Buying for Dummies guide.

First, figure out what size rug you want. A large rug that takes up most of the floor can make the room seem bigger than it really is.

Next, figure out what shape you want. Round? Oval? Square? Rectangular? Round and square rugs usually don’t work, because rooms are so rarely equilateral and it looks strange to have so much more bare floor on one side of a rug than on the others. (However, if the rug is meant to be used just under a piece of furniture, a round or square rug could work nicely to match the shape of the furniture. Oval and rectangular are better for area rugs, and you could easily draw out a few sketches of the room and see how different shapes would look in it.

Then, decide what color and/or pattern you want. If you have lots of patterned furniture, you might want to stick to a simpler design for the rug, maybe with just 2 or 3 of the colors prominent in the room.

Finally, choose a weave. Do you want a hand-knotted rug? Needlepoint? Remember to take durability and cleanability into account.