Confused and hopeful for explanation

She and her things were destined to be there. The carpet fit perfectly. The sword looked right over the mantle. Ruth left her the house when she died,the Wilcoxes burned the letter and in the end she still ended up with Howards End.

It's a dirty job, but I pay clean money for it.

At the very beginning of the film, we see Ruth Wilcox walking around Howards End in a similar fashion accompanied by the same background music as Margaret does later in the film. I think this is meant to show both women’s similar attachment to the house in an almost mystical way. It is supposed to be fate that Margaret gets Howards End. She’s the only one who sees in the house what Ruth saw in it, who feels the same way about it, something Ruth’s children would never be able to do. Even though Henry did not give Margaret the house when Ruth left it to her, like jgravely explained, it was destined she would eventually have it. With that idea in mind, it was only meant to be that her things would fit so well in Howards End (fate, like I said). It was hers spiritually before she ever had it physically.

I agree with the others, but have my own take on this. Howard's End represents England. The main conflict in the story is Who will inherit England. Of course that is meant in the broader historical and symbolic sense, not the strictly legal, but it is portrayed in the story by the dispute over who will gain legal title to the estate. The Schlegels inherit it. The story begins with them losing their home, but it is not a real hereditary estate in the traditional sense, they have been renting, so they spend the whole story looking for new digs. Mrs. Wilcox, as the original owner of Howard's End, understands that Margaret is the right person to inherit, and ultimately she proves right. Although the Wilcox's have the legal right to keep it (Mrs. Wilcox's note was not legally binding as it was not a will), they end up messing up through their greed and arrogance. They don't actually want to live in the place, but they want to possess it, or better yet, they don't want the Schlegels to have it. They lease it to someone, and won't even let Helen stay in it for a single night. Also, this fuss over keeping the Schlegels out of Howard's End leads indirectly to Leonard Bast's tragic death (although another line in the plot contributes). Ultimately Mr. Wilcox is so broken by the turn of events that he doesn't want to lose Margaret and is willing to give her Howard's End. The comment about the furniture fitting suggests that, symbolically, they are the rightful heirs of the house, and of England. It's like a Dickens novel where the poor lost orphan is discovered to be the rightful heir to a huge fortune.