by Nick, Digital Specialist | July 29, 2020

Are you considering getting an area rug to spruce up your your home? Here's a great guide for how to place your area rug under the rest of your furniture, and which sizes would be best for your space.

An area rug can be a great way to spruce up any room in your home. But there is a right way and a wrong way to place your rug- and the way you choose to place it will affect the size of the rug you're looking to buy.

No legs on: in this setup, none of the legs of the sofa or loveseat are on the rug. Best if your rug has bold patterns that you want to stand out, or bright colors that you want to show off.

Front legs on: only the front legs are on the rug, while the back legs are not. This is the most popular choice for most living rooms, since it helps tie everything together and (literally) connect all of the pieces.

All legs on: This is a great choice for large open-concept areas since it helps to define the space. Great for larger sectionals as well. Not the best choice for smaller spaces, since a rug this size can take over.

Any area rug in the dining room should have all legs of the tables and chairs on the rug, to avoid being lopsided. Smaller dining sets are fine with a rug that's roughly 5' x 8'.

Bigger table, bigger rug: you'll probably want to aim for something that's 8' x 10', or even 9' x 12', depending on how big your table is. Rule of thumb: allow for about 24" around every side of the table, but also leave at least 18" of space between the perimeter of the rug and the walls.

Round table, round rug: consider a round rug if you have a round table; you can also use a round rug for a square table. Just don't use a round one for a rectangular or oval table.

Queen bed: Place your rug perpendicular to the bed, about 2/3 of the way under the bed, so you can step onto a nice, soft rug when you get out of bed in the morning. It should hang out past the foot of the bed as well.

King bed: Bigger is better in this case: a rug that's too small will take away from the larger proportion of a king bed. Make sure you get one big enough to stick out on both sides as well as by the foot. Consider an 8' x 10', or even a 9' x 12' if the room can handle it.