"When you see a space that feels warm, cozy, and pulled together, nine times out of 10, there’s a gorgeous area rug anchoring the room. Rugs help ground a space and add texture, pattern, and color to your design. However, area rugs are an investment in every sense of the word: They’re often expensive, hard to shop for, and difficult to return. So when you do end up purchasing a rug, you really want to get it right. Luckily for you, we’re here to help. Below, we’ve listed the top rules to follow when choosing a rug for any room. And because we love doing the hard part for you, we’ve also created a rug size guide with layout ideas for different rooms and rounded up some affordable picks to help you find the perfect rug on a budget. Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about how to choose a rug.
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How to Choose a Rug for Any Room
1. Make sure the legs of your furniture can sit on top of the rug
The easiest way to determine the best rug size for your space is to look at your furniture arrangement. Ideally, the legs of your main pieces of furniture should sit on top of the rug. In a living room, for example, you’ll want at least the front two legs of your sofa and chairs to rest on the rug to help anchor the arrangement and avoid a “floating” look. For a dining area, you’ll need to take this rule one step further. Make sure all four chair legs can fit comfortably on top of the rug, including when you pull out the chair to sit. Otherwise, you might end up catching the edge of the rug as you scoot in your chair, which is always annoying.
2. Don’t take up every bit of floor space
Wall-to-wall carpeting is not the look you’re going for here, which means your rug should not butt right up to the walls. Allow for some breathing room around the perimeter to avoid overwhelming the room. As a good rule of thumb, aim for about a foot of floor space on all sides.
3. Extend the rug past the ends of your furniture
Again, the size of your furniture will help you determine your ideal rug size. To ensure your rug looks proportional, allow (at the very least) 6 to 8 inches of area rug around your furniture. That means if your sofa is 7 feet long, then a 5×7 rug will be too small! You’d need at least a 6×9 rug to allow for some clearance on either side. The same rule applies to a dining room: The area rug should ideally extend past the ends of the table about 8 to 10 inches on each side. In a bedroom, position the rug on the lower section of the bed, making sure that it extends past the bed at least a foot.
4. Choose a material that suits your lifestyle
Depending on the placement and your lifestyle, rugs can receive a lot of wear and tear. Especially if you have kids or pets, material choice is super important. For high-traffic areas like the dining room, kitchen, or entryway, consider buying a rug made of a washable or easy-to-clean material or with a busier pattern that can help hide stains. You might also want to choose the color carefully. If your rug is located in a spot that receives a lot of bright sunlight, a dark, saturated color might fade more quickly than a lighter, neutral-toned rug.
5. Layer rugs the right way
If you have a rug you love but it’s really too small for your space, layering provides the perfect solution. Rugs made from natural fibers like jute and sisal look great layered underneath something softer underfoot. Just make sure the rug on top is about two-thirds the size of the bottom one so you can actually appreciate both textures. For the larger rug, look to inexpensive retailers like IKEA or Wayfair to find an appropriate size that won’t cost a fortune.
6. Use multiple small rugs if one big rug is out of budget
All great rules are meant to be broken, after all. If that giant 9×12 area rug of your dreams is out of your budget, don’t fret. Using multiple smaller rugs is a great alternative that can even add some extra personality to your space. The key is to make it look intentional—not like you accidentally bought the wrong size rug and waited too long to return it. In the living room, for example, you could use smaller rugs to designate different areas of the space or strategically overlap flat-weave rugs to create the illusion of a larger piece. Instead of a large bedroom rug, it’s totally acceptable to flank the bed with two runners or smaller area rugs along the sides.
Rug Size Guide
If you’re still wondering how to choose the right size rug for your space, check out the graphic below for some of our favorite rug layout ideas.
Affordable Area Rugs to Shop Now
Jessica Friedhoff, Senior Lifestyle Editor
Jessica has been at The Everygirl since 2022, covering all things home, travel, food, hobbies, and more. She edits all lifestyle content, writes in-depth features, and curates the direction of the living section. Jessica’s true passion—and much of her expertise—lies in interior design and decorating. Before joining The Everygirl, she worked as the digital assistant home editor for Better Homes & Gardens.