More than any other single decision, rug size determines whether a room feels pulled-together or unfinished. The most common mistake is sizing too small — here's a room-by-room guide to get it right.
Living room
All four legs of your major furniture pieces (sofa, chairs) should ideally sit on the rug, or at minimum the front legs. As a rough guide, leave 12″–18″ of bare floor between the rug's edge and the walls.
Dining room
The rug needs to be large enough that all four chair legs stay on it even when pulled out from the table. A common rule of thumb: add 24″–30″ to each side of your table's dimensions to find the minimum rug size.
Bedroom
Under a bed, a rug should extend at least 18″–24″ beyond the sides and foot of the bed frame, so your feet land on rug (not cold floor) when you get up. For smaller rugs, a runner on each side of the bed works too.
Entryway
A runner or rug should be large enough to fully catch foot traffic from the door inward — usually with a few inches of clearance from the door's swing.
When in doubt, size up
A rug that's slightly too large almost always looks better than one that's too small. If you're between two sizes, go with the larger one.
Shop Rugs by size, or explore full room looks in Shop the Living Room and Shop the Dining Room.
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