Quote:
Originally Posted by 4691mls
US here - I think of a "rug" as a floor covering that is not attached to the floor (as opposed to wall-to-wall carpet)
"rug" used to mean blanket definitely gives me pause before my mental translation kicks in. If someone wraps up in a "rug", I picture them with an Oriental-pattern area rug wrapped around them  |
Wall-to-wall carpet in the UK is usually referred to as a fitted carpet. These usually come in standard widths and you buy a length off a roll. Carpets were woven as a single unit in a variety of sizes (like a large Oriental rug). I have my Mum's Wilton which lived in the dining room; it was big enough for a refectory table and 8 chairs with the floor as a surround. In the bay window, we had an Oriental rug with a blanket box on top which Mum used as a silver store.
Carpets were large enough to cover most of the room and were islanded in the centre with bare boards between the carpet and walls (that's another thing - UK skirting board = US baseboard). This usually led to draughts, especially with open fires. Rugs were used to cover smaller areas of bare boards or to protect the main carpet from sparks in the case of hearth rugs.
All this is now considered very old-fashioned and a trip hazard for the elderly. It also leads to colder properties because of draughts. The bedrooms were always cold in my Mum's house because the boards weren't tongue-and-groove; the downstairs were tongue-and-groove so weren't as draughty, but there were cold draughts from the old windows and the doors.