Under Foot: 10 Area Rugs to Ground Your Room Design
Area rugs are often afterthoughts. Sofas and side chairs steal the show, while what’s underfoot often gets last minute treatment. But textiles are queen bees when it comes to pivoting a room’s style. With just one layer of fabric, you’re setting the tone for casual vs. sophisticated. Contemporary vs. classic.
Here, we’ve rounded out 10 of our favorite rug selects — pieces that are beautiful, durable, and play well with others. Unsure what size to get. Scurry on down below to see our designer’s 4 key tips for choosing the right rug size.
Shop Now : 10 of Our Favorite Area Rugs
4 Tips for Selecting the Right Rug Size
Breathing room on the rug
The easiest mistake to make is buying a rug that’s too small for your space. Most area rugs you’ll use for your living room come in 8’ x 10’ and 9’x 12’ sizes. Not sure what you need? Map out your planned rug size and furniture on the floor with painter’s tape. Visualizing your space will help you see what truly fits and what cramps your style. Good guidelines? There should be a minimum of a 20” walkway between key pieces (think: coffee table and sofa).
Breathing room Off the rug
To make sure you don’t overwhelm your space, ensure there’s a minimum 12” floor area from rug to wall. In larger rooms, you’ll ideally want to double this border to 24”.
for large spaces: no leg limbo
For larger spaces and the most composed look, you’ll want all your key furniture — your sofa, chairs, coffee table, etc. — fitting nicely and neatly on the rug. There should be a 6-8” border to spare.
for small spaces: frontside only
For smaller spaces or areas where you need more flexibility, you can opt to create more room by just placing the front legs of your chairs and sofa on the rug. You’ll want your rug to be about 1/3 to 1/2 under each piece.
