Our Guide to Area Rug Sizes and How to Choose the Right One for Your Space
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When you’re designing any space, the layout is important—it can make or break the room’s functionality. Not only does it need to make sense with your room’s furniture and decor, but it also needs to be cohesive with the design style and your color scheme. Some of us have random walls or semi-closed floor plans we have to work around, while others need help creating vignettes and grounded dedicated spaces in their open floor plans. Whatever your individual needs, an area rug is an easy and stylish solution to help make your space look intentional and visually organized. But understanding area rug sizes can be pretty confusing, which is why we’ve created a guide to help you decipher what you need.
Be it the foyer, living room, bedroom, guest room, office, or dining room, there’s hardly a room in the house that can’t benefit from an area rug. Rugs can help ground your space and make it feel more put together. And with so many different styles to choose from, it’s also a cost-effective, simple way to show off your style—no matter if you lean more eclectic in taste, mid-century modern, or traditional. Not to mention, they’re also a fantastic addition to make your home feel cozier. And as a final bonus: They’re quick and easy to switch out if you get bored!
How to Determine Your Perfect Area Rug Size
But with so many area rug sizes to choose from, how do you know you’re making the right decision? First, take note of your room’s dimensions. This is going to be very important, since you don’t want the rug to be too small and make your furniture feel out of place, or too large where it overpowers the room. Then, consider your furniture, any obstructions or wonky walls, and the general design style of your room. A good rule of thumb is to leave at least 18 to 24 inches of floor space between the area rug and the walls. Once you have your room’s dimensions and the dimensions of your furniture down, you can look to our guide to help point you in the right direction.
3×5 Rugs
For particularly small spaces, landing zones, and entryways, a 3×5-foot area rug is the perfect counterpart. Use it to ground the space in front of a doorway, or in between two twin beds in the guest room for a splash of personality.
4×6 Rugs
For studio apartment living rooms, medium-sized kitchens with narrow walls, or small dining rooms, a 4×6-foot area rug will work well to add visual interest to the room and create a vignette to ground the space.
5×8 Rugs
If you have a snug living room or a semi-closed floor plan, a 5×8-foot rug will nicely ground the seating area in the living room. It also fits well under a twin bed. Place it just under the bottom legs of the bed frame or the front legs of the sofa for a styled look.
6×9 Rugs
For rooms that have some extra legroom (ideally the room’s dimensions are around 11×13 feet), a 6×9-foot area rug will help create a complete, functional feel to a central gathering zone. You might also find that 6×9-foot rugs work well under full size beds or the average size rectangular dining table.
8×10 Rugs
If you want to improve the flow of your larger living room or an open floor plan, then an 8×10-foot area rug might work well for you. This size area rug will help visually define the space and create a zone around it, which can make the room feel more organized. This size rug will also work well under a queen size bed.
9×12 Rugs
Those with a king size bed and a larger bedroom will find that a 9×12-foot area rug works well in the space (just make sure there’s enough floor space on either side so it isn’t swallowing the room). This size area rug will also be perfect for large living rooms or finished basements, and can accentuate the smaller decor elements in a room (like wall art or floor lamps), since most of the furniture will be fully on top of the rug.
10×14 Rugs
Grand living rooms that can fit two sofas and are at least 12×16 feet in dimension will fit a 10×14-foot area rug nicely. If you want to feel that your living room furniture feels purposefully anchored, creating a stunning focal point to your space, then this size rug will work perfectly for you. You can place the front legs of two sofas on each end of the wide sides of the rug, with a coffee table in the middle, or choose to add on a couple accent chairs.
Now, Time to Shop Trendy Area Rugs!
