For larger spaces, furniture can often sit all the way on the rug. If furniture sits fully on the rug, it should act more like a frame than an anchor, so allow the rug to extend past the furniture several inches. We love seeing big rugs like 9 x 12, 10 x 14, 12 x 15 and bigger. You can also create smaller spaces out of large expanses with smaller rugs, again using rugs as an anchor to give each space definition.

For smaller spaces, the front two feet rule works well, but make sure to extend the rug at least 6 inches on each end of the sofa to keep the space from feeling cut off. Usually, a 5 x 7 or larger works well in smaller spaces.

For medium spaces, you use the same principles, but as you add additional furniture, you can introduce larger rugs - we love 6 x 9 and 8 x 10 rugs.

 

The dining room is very straightforward. Just make sure you have a rug large enough to pull out all of your chairs while keeping all 4 legs of the chair on the rug. You do not want the chairs tipping off the rug when pulling them out. Once you measure the space around your table and chair you can generally add an extra 24 inches of rug from the back of your chair to accommodate this. 

 

 

Bedroom:

In the bedroom, the most popular option is to place a rug perpendicular to the bed. You can either place it about 1/3 of the way down from your headboard covering the bottom 2/3 of your bed maximizing the square footage of your rug, or you can carry the rug all the way up to the edge of your nightstands.For a queen bed, 8 x 10 works well and for king beds, 9 x 12 works well. If you don’t want to cover your entire floor, if you want to have separate spaces or if you just want to try something new, you can try two smaller rugs on each side of the bed. We love 3 x 5 for this - it is large enough to feel plush and intentional. We especially love when couples do their own monograms on each side of the bed for a little bit of personality.

For your average hallway, you will want about 6 inches of bare floor on each side of the runner. If your hallway is extra narrow, you can drop down to 4 inches of bare floor.

 

Pro Tip:

One of the first mistakes clients make when purchasing and placing their new rug is not using a quality rug pad. When choosing a rug pad, look for one that adds both padding and grip. We love felt and rubber. A quality rug pad adds safety, prevents slippage and extends the life of your rug. Pro tip: use a rug pad a little bit shorter than your rugs so there is a transition between the edge of the rug and the rug pad - this helps prevent tripping and creates a smoother edge.     

We cut our rug pads to the perfect size here: https://junestgeorge.com/products/dual-sided-rug-pad