How to use the rug size planner
- Choose what the rug is for: living room seating, a dining table, a bed, or somewhere else.
- Enter the room’s length and width, and how much bare floor you want showing at the walls.
- Optionally enter the furniture: the table, the seating area between the front legs, or the bed. For beds you can pick a standard size.
- See which common rug sizes work, and check a specific rug if you have one in mind.
How the sizes are worked out
- Biggest rug = room length and width, each minus twice the bare-floor border.
- Dining: smallest rug = table length and width, each plus twice the chair pull-back.
- Living room: smallest rug = the seating area (between the front legs) plus twice the allowance, so the front legs sit on the rug.
- Bedroom: the rug runs across the bed under its lower two thirds. Smallest rug = bed width + twice the allowance, by two thirds of the bed length + the allowance beyond the foot.
- A size works when it fits inside the biggest rug and covers the smallest, comparing long side with long side.
Worked example
A living room is 5 × 4 m. You want 45 cm of floor showing at the walls, and the sofa and chairs enclose an area 2.6 × 1.8 m between their front legs. The front legs should be 15 cm onto the rug.
- Biggest rug: (5 − 0.9) × (4 − 0.9) = 4.1 × 3.1 m.
- Smallest rug: (2.6 + 0.3) × (1.8 + 0.3) = 2.9 × 2.1 m.
- 200 × 290 cm is just too narrow (2.0 m < 2.1 m). 240 × 340 cm and 300 × 400 cm both work.
Choose Try an example above (with metric selected) to load these numbers. With imperial selected, the example is a queen bed in a 14 × 12 ft room.
Assumptions and limitations
- These are widely used styling guidelines, not rules. Your room, furniture and taste may suit something different.
- The furniture and rug are assumed to line up with the walls of a rectangular room.
- Common sizes are typical retail sizes. Exact sizes vary by maker.
- Rug pads, door clearance and floor vents are not checked.
Frequently asked questions
How much bare floor should show around a rug?
A common guideline is 30–60 cm (12–24 in) of bare floor between the rug and the walls, with about 45 cm (18 in) in a typical room. In a small room you can go down to 20 cm (8 in). The aim is for the rug to look intentional rather than wall-to-wall carpet that doesn’t quite fit.
What size rug goes under a dining table?
The rug should be big enough that chairs stay on it when they are pulled out. Add about 60 cm (24 in) to every side of the table. A table 180 × 90 cm needs a rug of at least 300 × 210 cm.
Should the sofa sit on the rug?
A popular approach is to have the front legs of the sofa and chairs on the rug, with the back legs on the floor. That ties the seating together without needing a huge rug. In a large room, all the legs can sit on the rug; in a small room, a rug that sits just in front of the furniture also works.
What size rug for a queen or king bed?
A rug placed across the bed, under its lower two thirds, usually works best. Aim for about 45 cm (18 in) of rug showing on each side of the bed and beyond the foot. For a US queen that usually means at least 6 × 9 ft, often 8 × 10 ft; for a king, 8 × 10 ft or 9 × 12 ft. The planner works it out from your bed’s size.
Are rug sizes exact?
No. Sizes vary slightly between makers and some are cut a few centimetres or inches smaller than their label. Use the custom size check with the exact size from the product listing before you buy.
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