4 Steps to Selecting the Perfect Designer Rug Size

You’re making an investment in your home, your space, and your style: you’re buying a designer rug. Not just any old rug that will fray, wear and fade in a matter of years. Not just any old rug that looks exactly like almost every other rug in every other house. You’re investing the ultimate piece of floor decor, and you want it to look perfect in your room.

Understandable. In addition to finding a rug that compliments the style and function of your space and your own personal taste, you’re also going to want to account for considerations of size. The wrong size rug can look downright awkward, ruining the unifying presence of your designer rug.

Fret not. Here are four simple steps that will help you select the ideal size rug for your room.

Step 1: Measure Your Room

Seems pretty obvious, right? The rug has to actually fit in your room. But it is about more than merely fitting in your room: it has to look right. A rug that is so small that it appears more of a disturbing blip on the room’s radar or a rug that is so big that its edges are climbing the walls isn’t going to fly. So, the first thing you are going to do is get a handle on your room’s measurements, whether it’s a hallway, bedroom, living room or dining room.

Step 2: Measure the Furnished Area

Most rugs are showcased in a room where there is some kind of furniture focal point, most often a seating area or sleeping space. Measure this entire area. In rooms with seating areas, you are usually going to want to rug size that’s a size up from the seating area, so that the rug can be tucked under the front legs of couches, chairs, etc. This provides the most harmonious unison of the room. However, if the room is smaller and the furniture is backed up against the wall, a rug that’s a bit smaller than the seating area will do as well. This is because it won’t look dwarfed by the room’s overall dimensions: it is in keeping with them.

In a bedroom, get a rug that’s at least a size up from the size of your bed. A caveat to this is if your rug will only be featured at the upper of lower half of the bed, in which case, the rug only needs to be wider than your bed, not longer.

For good reason, hallways and landings don’t feature much furniture: they need to allow for uninterrupted movement. In these spaces, your main concern should be keeping around 30 – 45 cm of bare floor visible between the end of the rug and the wall. These measurements are not hard rules: as long as there is some bare floor visible, you’re good. And as long as your rug doesn’t look ridiculously small or short in a spacious landing or long hallway, you’ve got a solid look.

Step 3: Consider rug shape

There are some people who’d say round rugs don’t belong in square or rectangular rooms, and while this is certainly a safe way to play, it is not always the best way to achieve a winning look. We agree that round rugs are usually best in foyers or in open concept areas, but they can also work in more angular settings. For instance, while a round rug would be hard to place in a long, rectangular room, you could do it if the room was divided into two square shaped areas: say, a family room with a games area, and a TV viewing area. Likewise, a round rug could look sensational in a squat square living room, or under a round dining room table.

Step 4: Place the rug to suit the room

Your rug should be oriented to suit the shape of the room. Long rugs should be placed lengthwise in the room. But if your room is wider and more full, than the rug looks best placed horizontally. Yes, placing it in relation to your furniture is important, but not if you’re completely disregarding the shape and size of your room. Your rug needs to cover a certain amount of floor space to look good, so don’t leave entire chunks of floor exposed.

See? In four simple steps, you’ve successfully conquered all size considerations for your designer rug. Now that the more practical matters are taken care of, indulge your aesthetic side: shop for a look you can’t live without.