One of the most common mistakes I see when visiting friends, family, new clients is rug size and placement. So, let's talk about some guidelines to follow in three main rooms in your home: Dining Room, Family/Living Room, and Bedrooms.
Tip #1 - Dining Room Rug Size and Placement
Some designers will tell you take the overall dimensions of the room and offset so many inches based on how much flooring you want to show. I think the most important part of a rug in the dining room is to make sure that the chair is ALWAYS on the rug. That means all four legs, casters, swivel base is on the rug when tucked neatly under the table or pulled out while being used. Therefore, my rule of thumb is to take table size and add a minimum of two feet around perimeter of the table. That should get you pretty close to a standard rug size. Before ordering the rug, confirm the size will fit in the space. Table size based on room size is for another day! Table should be centered on rug.
Tip #2 - Family/Living Room Rug Size and Placement
From my observations, this area seems to be where the errors are most frequently made. If the rug is only under the coffee table and not under any of the lounge pieces, then it is too small.
Smaller Spaces
If you have a smaller space, all front legs of the lounge pieces (sofa, loveseat, arm chair) should be on the rug. Rug size will be around 5x8 or 6x9.
Larger Spaces
The rug should be placed where it is center of your seating arrangement. The front legs of all lounge pieces will be on the rug and the back legs will remain off of the rug. Rug Size will be around 8x10.
If you have more space, try a larger rug size where all legs of your seating arrangement will be placed on the rug including the end tables. Rug size will be around 9x12 or 10x14.
Want to add some variation to the space or use the small rug that you loved but it was too small, layer a smaller rug with the larger rug. Place it perpendicular or angled to the larger rug at the main entry point of the seating group or under the coffee table. Another option is to center the smaller rug on top of the larger rug.
Tip #3 - Bedroom Rug Size and Placement
Smaller Rooms or tight budget
Runners along the sides of the bed are always a cost -effective option. These should run in front of the nightstands to the end of the bed. Rug size would be around 2x6 or 2x9.
Larger Spaces
My recommendation would be to place rug under the bed leaving the nightstands off of the rug. The rug should be exposed equally on sides and at the bottom of the bed. I try to find a rug that length matches the total length of the bed and two nightstands and width would allow 18-24" to be exposed at foot of bed. Depending on the size of the mattress and nightstands, Rugs will be around 8x10 or 9x12.
Some master bedrooms have tons of room to spare. These are the spaces where you can get a rug that fits the bed, nightstands, and any furniture at the foot of your bed. This will give a more luxurious feel to the space. Rug size will be around 9x12 or 10x14 depending on size of furniture and room.
And feel free to layer here if you didn't want to layer rugs in the family/living room area!
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