How to use the rug size guide
The most common rug mistake is buying one that is too small. A rug should hold a furniture group together, so it is sized from the furniture outwards, then checked against the room so there is still a strip of floor around it. This tool does both steps: it works out the smallest rug that suits the furniture and layout, the largest rug the room allows with your chosen border, and the standard sizes that fall between the two.
- Choose units and the room type. US mode takes the room in feet and furniture in inches; metric mode takes metres and centimetres.
- Enter the room size and the floor border you want between the rug and the walls.
- Enter the furniture. For a living room, measure the seating group from outside edge to outside edge, with the depth taken from the back of the sofa to the back of the facing seats (or to the TV wall). For dining, enter the table. For a bedroom, pick the bed size.
- Read the result. The recommended size is the smallest standard rug that meets the furniture rule and still fits the room.
Rug sizing rules used
Largest rug = room length and width − 2 × wall border
All legs on: rug ≥ group width + 12 in, group depth + 12 in
Front legs on: rug length ≥ sofa + 12 in; depth ≥ group depth − 2 × (seat depth − 8 in)
Floating: rug length ≥ ⅔ of the sofa, and no deeper than the gap between the seats
Dining: rug ≥ table + 2 × pull-back (24 in) on each axis
Bedroom: across ≥ bed width + 2 × side margin; along ≥ ⅔ bed length + side margin
| Bed | Mattress (US) | Usual rug, placed across the bed |
|---|---|---|
| Twin | 38 × 75 in | 5 × 8 ft |
| Full / double | 54 × 75 in | 6 × 9 or 8 × 10 ft |
| Queen | 60 × 80 in | 8 × 10 ft |
| King | 76 × 80 in | 9 × 12 ft |
| California king | 72 × 84 in | 9 × 12 ft |
Metric mode uses the same mattress sizes converted to centimetres and the metric standard rug sizes listed in the FAQ.
Worked examples
A living room with front legs on
A 14 × 18 ft room with an 84 in sofa, a seating group 96 in wide and 120 in deep, and 36 in deep seats. The rug must be at least 84 + 12 = 96 in long and 120 − 2 × (36 − 8) = 64 in deep. With an 18 in border, the room allows up to 132 × 180 in (11 × 15 ft). The smallest standard rug that works is 6 × 9 ft, and an 8 × 10 ft rug also fits if you want the side chairs on the rug too.
A six-seat dining table
A 72 × 36 in table with 24 in of pull-back on every side needs a rug at least 120 × 84 in, so an 8 × 10 ft rug (96 × 120 in) is the smallest standard size. In a 12 × 13 ft dining room with an 18 in border, the largest rug is 108 × 120 in, so the 8 × 10 fits.
A king bedroom
A king bed is 76 in wide. With 24 in of rug on each side the rug must be 124 in across and about 77 in along the bed, so an 8 × 10 is just too narrow and a 9 × 12 ft rug, turned with the 12 ft side across the bed, is the usual choice.
Who this guide helps
- Interior designers specifying rugs on a furniture plan and explaining the choice to clients.
- Architects checking that a living, dining or bedroom layout leaves room for a properly sized rug.
- Home stagers picking rugs that make rooms look larger in listing photos.
- Homeowners buying a rug online without being able to see it in the room first.
Practical tips
- Mark the rug outline on the floor with painter's tape and live with it for a day before ordering.
- Keep door swings clear, or allow for a low-pile rug where a door passes over it.
- Check walkways around the rug with the furniture clearance guide, and measure odd-shaped rooms with the square footage calculator. For wall-to-wall flooring, use the tile and flooring calculator.
- When in doubt between two sizes, the larger one is usually the better choice.
Want to see the rug in the room before you buy it? Try new rugs and furniture on a photo of the room with Room Redesign.
