Living Room Rug Size Walkthrough + My Kept Rugs

The notes below stay with placement, materials, and the sequence that avoided a redo of the redo. Need a new rug? First you'll want to make sure you're buying the right size! Today I'm sharing a rug size guide with all the pointers you need to get it right. Let's get to it… (post includes affiliate links and is written in partnership with Wayfair; full disclosure statement available {here})

What Size Rug to Choose for Your Living Room

One of the biggest mistakes made when choosing a rug for your living room is buying one that's too small. Here are four pointers to help you choose the right size rug for your living room:

1. Area rugs should be large enough that either (1) all of the furniture pieces are completely on the rug or (2) at least two front legs of each furniture piece are on the rug.

2. If only the front legs of the furniture piece are on the rug, placing the rug about ⅓ of the way under the furniture piece is ideal.

(Blue striped rug (which A strong choice is!) on sale at Wayfair {here})

3. There should be at least 6-8″ of rug between the ends of your furniture pieces and the edge of your rug.

4. For rugs that cover most of the room, leave about 10-18″ of bare floor between the edge of the rug and the walls of the room.

Kept Rugs for Every Style

Ready for my rug recommendations? I ordered small sizes of several sale options that looked promising and narrowed it down to these favorites…

If You Want a Neutral-But-Not-Boring Rug

{This beige/ivory patterned rug} is one of my top favorites of the bunch! It's mostly neutral but with some subtle blues and greens to keep it interesting. The pattern is similar to that of modern Oushak rugs and it's nice and plush:

It also comes in {this light gray/ivory option} that's really pretty:

Another neutral-but-not-boring option is {this antelope pattern rug} that has a bit of light blue/gray mixed in with the neutrals:

If You Have a More Modern Style

{This classic grid pattern rug} with a more modern vibe looks like a solid neutral color with an ivory grid pattern from a distance, but up close you can see that the “brown' portion is actually a mix of multiple browns, purples, and grays:

If You Love Decorating With Blues

{This patterned blue rug} has a traditional oriental pattern but in non-traditional colors, including multiple shades of blue.

It's a medium-pile wool/nylon mix, so you get the feel of wool with some stain resistance due to the nylon blend.

If You'd Love to Machine Wash Your Rug

{This durable synthetic rug} has a printed pattern in the style of a traditional oriental or Persian rug and includes brown, beige, cream, and slate blue colors.

Its big standout feature is that it's machine washable, so it's perfect if you have kids, pets, or any other reason to expect to have some spills and messes on your rug. It's low-pile and has a soft, silky feel.

If You're Going for the Layered Look

What if you have a rug that you LOVE and want to use in your living room, but it's not large enough? Consider layering your rug over a larger, thin, neutral area rug. {This jute/cotton neutral area rug} would be well suited to a layered look:

It would also be a great rug to use on its own when you want a neutral rug that will work with any and all colors you put in your room.

If You Want a Vintage Look With Stain- and Fade-Resistance

If you love the look of vintage rugs but need a more easy-care option, {this ocean/sand machine-printed area rug} would be a great choice:

It's a low-pile rug with saturated colors, no shedding, and is stain- and fade-resistant. It's very reasonably priced (especially at the current sale price), yet looks high-end.

While I had living room rugs in mind when choosing these rugs, they could definitely be used in bedrooms too! As a general guide, an 8 x 10 rug works best for most small to medium-sized bedrooms and 9 x 12 works best for most larger bedrooms. While there are many options for rug placement in a bedroom, I prefer having most of the bed and (if you have one) all of your end-of-bed bench on the rug and the head of your bed and nightstands off the rug.

What I Ordered

So which rug did I choose for my own space? I ordered {this rug} in the light gray/ivory color option:

It hit all the marks for plushness (it's nice and plush), colors, and a pattern I liked. And I was able to get the size I needed (which was large! 10 x 14) for around $500 with free shipping. The free shipping part is huge because a lot of stores charge $100+ to ship rugs this size. It's scheduled to arrive within the week so I'll report back once I get it!

It would help if you found today's post helpful and appreciate you stopping by!