How to Choose the Right Rug Size for Your Living Room

A rug can make or break the design of a room. If you pick one too small or too big, it throws off the whole balance. Furthermore, placing the right rug in the right spot is also very important. In this blog, we will answer all of your questions like "How to choose the right rug size for your living room?" and "How to decide where to put the rug?" and so much more!

Design of the Rug 

Picking a rug with too many colors and patterns can make the room feel disjointed and busy. When choosing a rug, pay attention to all the other furniture and decorative items in the room. Are they neutral colors and patterns, or are they bold and colorful? This isn't to say that you have to choose a rug that is only a support character in your living room. Your perfect rug can be a design with loud colors. However, it is essential to ensure that the rug's colors and patterns are cohesive with the rest of the room. 

On the other hand, picking a too-matchy rug can make the room feel suffocating. A rug has the opportunity to bring a different element to your house. So choosing a different texture can elevate the room. 

Different Rug Sizes 

The biggest mistake when picking rugs for your living room is getting one that is too small. A small rug can make the room look incomplete and poorly designed. Moreover, a rug isn't necessarily an item you can buy and return easily as it is most likely heavy and takes longer to deliver. You can't try a rug as easily as a lampshade or a new vase. Therefore it is only natural to want to try to get one that will satisfy you on the first try. 

To choose a rug size, you should consider that living room rugs usually come in two sizes: 8'x10 ′ and 9'x12 ′. When designing the layout of your living room, it is best to leave around 30 inches of space between large furniture, such as your sofa and coffee table, for easy movement. The rug should be 6 to 8 inches longer than your sofa. Now keeping those in mind, take out your tape measure and measure the area the rug needs to cover. That should be the ideal rug size for your living room.

However, what if you want a smaller rug or an area rug? For example, you might not want any furniture legs on the rug to make cleaning easier. The measurements we have mentioned are merely a starting point. You can adjust and customize them to your liking and the space you have. Moreover, there are more options than just one rug; you can also layer them and create a unique piece. 

The most useful tip you can try is if you like a rug, you can look at its measurements and tape your floor to show how big it will be in your living or dining room. This will make it much easier to visualize and understand the room's size and the rug layout.

Different Rug Placements

The rug's placement plays a large and vital role in the size of the rug. If you want your rug to cover all of the living room's conversational areas, you'll want to get a larger rug. A larger rug can cover your sofa, coffee table, and chairs. There are two different ways to go about this. 

The first option is to get a large enough rug under the sofa. In other words, the rug will cover all of the floors under the sofa. This is a good option if your sofa isn't against the wall. This way, the rug will separate the conversational space from the other areas of your living room. This layout works exceptionally well with open-concept living rooms. 

Another option is the have only the front legs of your sofa and chairs on your rug. In this layout, the back legs of your sofa and chairs would be on the floor, and only the coffee table would be entirely on the rug. This is the better option of the two if your sofa is against a wall, as this breaks up the space and feels lighter. 

What if you want an even smaller rug that doesn't go under the soda at all? If you have a smaller-sized living room, a rug that covers too much space can feel outdated and too much like a carpet. A small rug between the seating area, as opposed to under, can feel modern and chic. However, ensure that the gap between the rug and your sofa is not too wide, as that can be too small. Approximately 5 inches is a good rule of thumb to go off. 

There is, of course, another option, the wild card in a sense, which is layering two different rugs. When layering, you want one significantly smaller and one significantly larger rug. It is best to choose the bottom layer to be a neutral color with minimal design or just a plain color. You can think of this as the base. When selecting the one that will go on top, you can be as creative as you want! Cowhide or Sherpa rugs are popular choices due to their interesting textures and patterns. The smaller accent rug can be any color or pattern you desire! The logic behind layering rugs is simple. Choosing a larger rug with patterns can sometimes overwhelm the room. This way, you are adding some fun to the room without dedicating all of the room to it. You can think of it as having a whole sofa covered in a bold pattern as opposed to having a throw pillow in that same fun and bold pattern. 

Conclusion

All in all, there are so many options when it comes to picking a rug, and those options can be overwhelming. The best way to choose a rug is to go step by step. Decide the type of rug you want. Do you want a support player or a main character? Afterward, check out different sizes and see how they look in your room.

And last but not least, go through different textures and designs to figure out what you like and don't like. One last piece of advice is that you shouldn't expect this process to be quick. This can take a long time. However, as one of the rooms you spent the most time in, your living room is worth some effort.