maddiejhomedecor

How large should an area rug be?

An area rug should be large enough so that the front legs of a sofa are sitting on top of the rug.  However, all of the legs can be placed on the area rug as well.  When you measure your room, take into consideration that only the front legs need to be on top of the area rug.  The usual rule of thumb is that sixteen inches of space or flooring should show around the perimeter of the room.  This does not work nowadays because people are building open concept spaces.  This really only works with rooms that are isolated from others.  If you are going to break the "rules" then there are some ways to do that....

The above image shows furniture- front legs on the rug and back legs off the rug.  This allows the feeling of a larger area rug for less cost.  This rug looks to be 6 x 9.  

The above image in neutrals shows some of the furniture with front legs on the rug.  The sofa has only the two front legs of the sofa on the rug and the chair shows all four legs on the rug.  The size of the room can sometimes dictate this option.

This image demonstrates how anything goes- all legs on the rug. Be sure to layout the furniture in the room before measuring for the rug size.  If the measurements are off and the furniture does not all fit on the rug then you will have to modify your design and potentially do the front legs only option.  

The above image shows an area rug with no furniture on top of it.   This can also work if you are trying to bring some texture, color or pattern into the room.  The room must be large enough to accommodate this.  

Here is a dining room that permits an area rug.  The rug should extend 24 inches around the table so that chairs can sit completely on top of the rug without getting caught in the edge and or sitting half on the rug and half off the rug

This bedroom shows the rug underneath the entirety of the bed itself.

The bed in the photo above also shows that the bed is placed on the area rug.  The area rug peeks out at the foot of the bed and around the two sides of the bed.

Perhaps the rug you like or have is small.  That is okay in the bedoom as long as it is placed at the end of the bed.  Then, the part of the area rug that peeks out is at the foot of the bed and on the sides but not at the headboard or top half of the bed.  That looks grounded too.

This bed also shows that the area rug is completely underneath the bed and peeking out on the sides and the foot of the bed.  

The "rule" is that between 12-18 inches of rug peeks out on all three sides.

In larger rooms, there may be a need for more than one area rug.

Overlapping rugs are trendy and are seen many times involving animal skin rugs as shown above.  

While there are some design rules when it comes to area rugs and layout and spacing, there are ways in which to break these rules.  If it looks weird or does not feel right, then it may not be right.  Keep playing with the layout of the furniture too.