How to size a rug for your living room

The single most common rug mistake is going too small. A rug that floats in the middle of the floor makes a room feel smaller and the furniture feel unmoored. Here’s how we help people size it on the showroom floor.

The rule of thumb

Aim to get at least the front legs of your sofa and chairs onto the rug. That visually “ties” the seating together. In a bigger room, sitting the whole lounge on the rug looks even more considered.

Our four sizes, and where they go

• 3 × 4 m — a room-sized rug for a full lounge or open-plan living area; the whole seating group sits on it.
• 2.5 × 3.5 m — a generous living-room size that reaches the front legs of a 3-2-1 suite.
• 2 × 3 m — great under a coffee table or in a smaller lounge, bedroom or study.
• 1.5 × 2.25 m — a runner/accent size for entryways, bedsides and reading nooks.

Leave a border of floor

You want a consistent margin of bare floor around the rug — roughly 20–30 cm in a normal room — so it frames the space rather than wall-to-wall carpeting it. Bring your room measurements in and we’ll talk it through.

— The team at Modern Rugs & Furniture, Underwood