Area Rug Size Guide to Help You Select the RIGHT Size Area Rug!

What You Need to Know Before You Shop for a New Rug

Area rugs can be layered over wood floors, tile, broadloom (wall-to-wall carpet), and even other area rugs.

But there are two things you need to know before you start shopping for your new area rug:

1. How to chose the right size area rug. Because an area rug that is the wrong size has the opposite effect than the one that you want – it actually takes style away from the room.
2. How and where to place your area rug. Because where you put your rug makes a difference in the overall look in your space too.

More often than not, usually due to either a misjudgment of scale or just because a smaller rug costs less, people choose a rug that is too small for a space. Or they choose the wrong placement of their rug in the room.

But this area rug size guide aims to fix that problem by giving you the guidance you need to choose the right size area rug for your room!

How to Measure and Place Your Rug

Before you begin to shop for a new area rug, you need to know what size you should be shopping for. This means you need to be able to visualize your rug’s size and placement in the room.

To do that, first, make sure that your furniture is placed in an arrangement that you like. This is particularly helpful in living room seating areas.

In some rooms, this will mean the furniture is centered in the room. In others, the furniture or seating arrangement will be against a wall or two.

Next, use masking tape or painter’s tape to mask off a “rug” on the floor.

• If your furniture is in the center of the room, leave 8-18 inches of bare floor around the edges of the room for traffic flow and looks.
• If it’s not centered in the space, you’ll need to decide whether you want all the furniture on the rug or just the front legs of the arrangement (see the sample layouts below). Then lay the painter’s tape accordingly.

Finally, measure your painter’s tape “rug” (give yourself 2 inches extra for a margin of error) and then use that to measure the size rug needed for your space and select from the standard size area rugs when shopping.

Common Area Rug Sizes

Standard area rug sizes are the ones that are most readily available, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other sizes. And even the “standard” sizes vary a little by an inch or so.

Below are the most common standard sizes of rectangular rugs – from small rugs to large rugs. These will be the easiest to find and should work in most spaces with most furniture.

Bigger is Better

As I mentioned, quite often budget is the deciding factor when choosing an area rug for your space. But I dare say that if you choose well, and choose the larger option you will be much happier with your choice than if you go with a rug that is too small!

If you’re unsure about two sizes, it’s almost always best to choose the larger size.

In the Living Room

All the furniture on the rug

The most classic area rug sizing in the living room is to have all of the furniture entirely on the rug – that means the whole sofa, the chairs, side tables, coffee table, etc. This layout requires larger rugs than the others. But the exact size will depend on the size of your furniture and the size of your room. This option is perfect for uniting a room that may not quite be entirely coordinated. Use the painter’s tape trick above to gauge the correct size.

Common rug sizes for this layout:

8×10 or 9×12 or 10×14

Only the front legs on on the rug

Another very acceptable option in the living room is to have a rug just large enough for the front legs of all of the major furniture pieces to rest upon, while most accent pieces are not on the rug at all. This works well in a slightly smaller living room or if you are on a tighter budget. A 5′ x 7′ area rug could work in this type of situation if your furniture is on the smaller side, but again measure to be sure all of the front legs will rest on the rug.

Common rug sizes for this layout:

5×7 or 8×10

In the Dining Room

In the dining room, there are two common choices for area rugs.

Rectangular rug

The first is a rectangular area rug. This will of course work best if you have a rectangular or oblong dining table. The most common rectangular dining room rug is an 8′ x 10′ rug. Anything smaller and you run the risk of the chairs not sitting on the rug. If you have an unusually smaller or larger table you may of course need a different size rug.

Common area rug sizes for this layout:

8×10 or 9×12

Round Rug

The second area rug option is a round rug to go with a round table. If you have a typical four-seater table, an 8′ x 8′ round rug is likely the best size for your room, unless you have an oversized round table.

Common area rug sizes for this layout:

8′ round or larger

In the Bedroom

Bedroom rugs add so much coziness and comfort – without having all the dust and allergens usually inherent to wall-to-wall broadloom. And they’re just so cozy to roll out of bed and wiggle your toes on in the morning!

All the furniture on the rug

With this version of area rugs in the bedroom, you need a rug that is about 8″ – 18″ smaller than the length and width of the room. All of the furniture sits on the area rug leaving only a border of bare floor showing around the edges of the room.

Common area rug sizes for this layout:

9×12 or 10×14

Rug partially under the bed

With this area rug choice, the rug will peek out from under the bed, more so at the foot of the bed. Also, the rug won’t extend all the way to the head of the bed and the nightstands will not sit on the rug at all. Turn the rug so that the longer side is parallel to the head and foot of the bed if you have larger than a twin bed in the space.

Common area rug sizes for this layout:

5×7 or 6×9 or 8×10

Rugs beside the bed

If you’d like to keep the bedroom area rug budget to a minimum, this option is perfect. You can choose rug size based on the size of your bedroom, perhaps a 3′ x 5′ runner or even longer on each side of the bed.

Common area rug sizes for this layout:

2×8

Hallways, Entry, Kitchen and Bathroom Area Rugs

There are, of course, other spaces that you may want to put an area rug.

Hallways & Entryways

Hallways are fairly easy for choosing area rugs as their natural long skinny shape makes them the perfect space to use a runner.

Simply choose a runner that leaves a few inches of space on either side and center it in the space.

If the entry or hallway isn’t symmetrical, just align the runner with the door, and voila!

Kitchens

Kitchen rugs generally follow similar guidelines to hallways – lay a runner down the center of the walkway or work aisle. Choose one that’s washable for easy clean-up. And always use a rug pad under kitchen rugs so that they don’t slip.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms can be a little trickier. Typically you’d want to put a runner in front of the vanity in a bathroom. But you may also want to place one in front of the bath or shower.

As such there are no hard and fast rules for bathroom area rug sizes. But you should choose a washable rug with a built-in no-slip bottom or use an underpad to prevent slips and falls.

Other Miscellaneous Rugs

There are, of course, other rug shapes like square rugs, organically shaped rugs (like calfskin), and round rugs that can be used as well.

Square rugs and round rugs don’t work in most rooms, in my opinion, because most rooms are rectangular or not symmetrical. So use these with caution on their own.

Organically shaped calfskin or other similar rugs can work to offset an oddly shaped room or a space that needs a little visual balance in one direction. They’re also good for layering over other area rugs.