“How To” For Area Rugs

Whether you're getting a new place or giving a makeover to your old home, you'll need to decide where all of your furniture will go. Determining the proper placement of any area rugs you intend to install is one of the most crucial tasks in organizing your table and, ultimately, your room. Let's face it, selecting the ideal rug for your space may be difficult, both in terms of style (it serves as the foundation for your entire area, so you need to choose the one you adore!) and size, regardless of how many times you measure.

Dining Room

The dining experience at the table is the only factor to consider when choosing a rug for the dining room. Make sure the rug is large enough to fit all the chairs under your dining table after centering it there. The rug should also be large enough so that when you pull out a chair, it will stay on the rug.  

Pro Tip: Since plenty of meals will be served on your dining room table, make sure to choose a rug with a low pile for easy cleanup.

Living Area

Playing with the idea of having a rug in the living room is a little complicated, but it still depends on the room's size and how you want to arrange your furniture. Ideally, there are three primary choices for living rooms of different sizes:

• Use a rug between the sizes of 5 feet and 8 feet in tiny spaces, and position it between the pieces of furniture.
• The optimal rug size for medium-sized rooms is between 8 feet and 10 feet. Since it serves as an anchor for the furniture sizing is of utmost importance.
• A 9 foot to 13 foot rug would tie the room together and frame the area around it in larger rooms.

Even if the suggested rug sizes above don't quite fit your home's proportions stick to the placement rules. As long as rugs are placed correctly, the size of the rug can depend on the size of the rooms in the house. may still buy a rug depending on the size of your living room and furniture according to the exact placement rules.

Bedroom

The size of your bed is the primary factor to consider when it comes to the bedroom. For example, an 8 foot by 10 foot rug is the perfect size for a queen bed, while a 9 foot by 12 foot rug looks better with a king bed (the same size also works for two twin beds in a kid's room).

There are several alternatives for placement of the rug but the recommended option is to partially tuck it under the bed. When you have found “the” rug, place it parallel to the bed and then drag it under and stop just before the nightstands. You want the rug placed roughly halfway under the bed with the bed centered on top.

In addition to giving you a nice surface to walk onto when getting out of bed, this maximizes the amount of rug space used.

To sum it all up, rugs can produce an optical illusion so take advantage of this no matter what room you place one in. A rug that is too small can make any room appear disjointed. When in doubt, choose the larger rug because it will tie the furniture together and enlarge the space.