What Size Rug Do I Need?
The most common rug mistake is buying one too small. For a living room, all front legs of the seating go on the rug; for a bedroom, the rug extends 60 cm beyond the.
In short
In a living room, choose a rug large enough that at least the front legs of every piece of seating sit on it, which usually means 200 by 300 cm for a standard sofa arrangement. Under a dining table, add 60 to 75 cm on every side so chairs stay on the rug when pulled out. In a bedroom, a rug should extend 50 to 60 cm beyond the sides and foot of the bed.
Rugs are bought too small far more often than too large, because the common sizes look enormous in a shop and modest in a room, and because a small rug is cheaper. A rug that floats in the middle of the floor with the furniture around it makes the room feel smaller, which is the opposite of what it is for.
Living rooms
The rule that works: every piece of seating should have at least its front legs on the rug. That ties the furniture into one group and anchors the seating area.
Better still, all legs on the rug, which needs a larger size but reads as most intentional.
For a typical arrangement with a three-seat sofa facing two chairs, that means:
- Front legs on: usually 200 × 300 cm
- All legs on: often 240 × 340 cm or larger
A 160 × 230 cm rug, one of the most commonly sold sizes, is generally too small for a full seating group. It suits a single sofa with a coffee table, or a small flat.
Leave 20 to 40 cm between the rug edge and the walls. Right up to the skirting reads as carpet.
Dining rooms
Measure the table, then add 60 to 75 cm on every side. That is the distance a chair moves when someone pulls it out to sit, and the back legs must stay on the rug or the chair rocks every time.
A 180 cm table needs a rug at least 300 cm long and, for a 90 cm wide table, at least 210 cm wide. Round tables want a round rug or a square one, sized the same way.
Bedrooms
Three common layouts:
Under the bed, extending out. The rug goes under the bed from about the lower third, and extends 50 to 60 cm beyond the sides and foot. That puts something soft where feet land. For a king-size bed, 200 × 300 cm; for a double, 160 × 230 works if placed well.
Runners either side. Two narrow rugs, 60 to 80 cm wide, running the length of the bed on each side. Cheaper, and easier in a room where a large rug would not fit.
At the foot only. A rug across the foot of the bed, extending beyond both sides. Least coverage, most economical.
Hallways
Runner width 60 to 80 cm, leaving 10 to 15 cm of floor showing each side. Length is the corridor minus about 30 cm at each end, and it must clear any door swing.
Standard sizes
Most rugs come in a handful of sizes, in centimetres: 120 × 170, 160 × 230, 200 × 300, 240 × 340, and 300 × 400. If your ideal size falls between two, go up.
The tape test
Before ordering, mark the proposed rectangle on the floor with masking tape and leave it for a day. Walk around it, pull chairs out, sit on the sofa. The right size becomes obvious, and it is very often one size larger than the one you first picked.
Common questions
Can a rug be too big?
Yes, if it runs right up to the walls, at which point it reads as a fitted carpet. Leave 20 to 40 cm of bare floor around the edges of the room. Between too big and too small, too big is the better error.
How do I test a size before buying?
Mark the rectangle on the floor with masking tape or lay out newspaper to the proposed size, then live with it for a day. This costs nothing and catches almost every sizing mistake.
What about a runner?
Hallway runners should leave 10 to 15 cm of floor on each side and stop short of the door swing. Width is usually 60 to 80 cm; length is the corridor minus roughly 30 cm at each end.
Try it yourself
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