What size rug for living room?: popular options and selection guidelines
The role of floor textiles in the living room is extremely difficult to overestimate. Even laconicism and a conservative attitude towards accessories from such styles as minimalism and hi-tech did not force designers to abandon the idea to use rugs in such rooms. A feeling of coziness and stability, poise and balance of the situation, effective zoning – there will always be arguments in favor of this beautiful accessory, no matter what interior design you prefer.
At the same time, choosing a carpet for the living room is more complicated than many people think. The fact is that guessing with the texture, color, and pattern of textiles, in this case, is not enough: also, you have to find an accessory with a size that is ideal for your room and furniture option. According to the designers, it is in this respect that many make mistakes, for which then it is excruciatingly painful.
Simultaneously, do not worry too much if you choose a rug for the first time: decorators have developed quite clear rules on this matter. Of course, in each case, everything is decided individually. However, you can achieve harmonious integration of your rug into the living room interior without wasting time and nerves trying to follow these rules. So, let’s find out what size rug should be for the largest room in your house or apartment.
Choosing the rug size for the living room: key points
We have already spoken about this earlier, but we will repeat: all living rooms are different, as are the furnishings in them. Therefore, it would be strange to say categorically that there are carpet sizes appropriate in any room. At the same time, there are some guidelines, thanks to which you can roughly understand in which direction to act when choosing the dimensions of floor textiles. Let’s talk about the secrets of a successful purchase in more detail.
Think of the carpet as an essential part of the composition.
The most important thing for you to understand and accept is that the carpet in the living room is entirely non-autonomous. It can act as a color or textured complement, and yet it will never be an independent work of art. On the contrary, it is the rug that must integrate and adapt to the furniture composition in such a way that the resulting solution is harmonious and, at the same time, functional. When you realize this, size selection will go like clockwork.
Be sure to focus on the size of the room.
Too small is not good, and too large is also wrong. In this context, this statement refers directly to the size of your rug relative to the room.
If the rug is too small, it is not only completely lost against the background of walls, floors, and furniture but also does not make it possible to create a beautiful composition in the recreation area. The fact is that under the sofa, armchairs, and a coffee table, it will simply be invisible and will not allow you to arrange all the furnishings so that nothing hangs anywhere and does not warp.
It may seem to you that a big carpet, in this case, is almost a panacea, but this is also a dangerous delusion. If you decide on such a large-scale purchase, then you run the risk of facing two problems at once. The first is far protruding sections of the carpet that are not occupied by furniture. In this case, the effect of excessive voids that require filling is created – and you will regularly stumble over these edges.
The second problem is the approach to the wall joint to joint or at a minimum distance, which, combined with the open part of the flooring, creates a powerful visual imbalance. Designers recommend adhering to the iron rule: the indent of the rug from the wall should be approximately 16-24 inches (40-60 cm) – this distance is considered the most harmonious and comfortable.
Consider the room configuration.
Here we are talking more about redistribution of dimensions than about exact numbers – however, this is also important in the case of a carpet. So, for an elongated rectangular room, you will have to pick up a rug with the same geometry – any other can distort the room’s proportions or simply will not fit into the area you need, especially if the living room is narrow enough.
A square room leaves more room for maneuver: in it, you can place either a square, a round, or an oval, and all the same rectangular carpet – especially if your living room has an impressive area. It is much more difficult for you in an asymmetric room with niches and ledges, where the selection of a rug requires a particularly thoughtful approach. Hence the following rule follows.
Do not avoid measurements.
Even if you have a rough idea of the size of a carpet suitable for your living room, it never hurts to double-check yourself. That is why designers strongly recommend measuring the space that, in your opinion, the floor textiles should occupy. We’ll talk more about how to do it right a little later. In the meantime – a minor spoiler: stock up on masking tape!
Be clear about your zoning option.
Depending on the rug size concerning the furniture, it can serve one of two essential functions – to center or create a closed island area. In the first case, the area rug becomes a kind of accent that helps to combine furniture and decor items and at the same time has little effect on their independence. This effect is possible when the details of the furnishings are only partially located on the carpet. How is this possible – we’ll talk a little later.
The second option for zoning is a complete arrangement of all elements of the composition on the carpet’s surface. In this case, the rug goes beyond the group’s boundaries, creating a sense of unity, comfort, and isolation. Implementing such a solution is possible only in a large room since you will need textiles of impressive sizes.
As you can see, there are few rules, and it is not too difficult to adhere to them. However, designers do not recommend neglecting any of them: the more responsible you are in choosing a rug for the living room, the more pleasure you will get from staying in it.
Popular living room rug sizes: approximate options
Of course, no one will tell you the exact dimensions of the carpet that fits your living room – after all, every house has its area and room configuration, not to mention the furniture arrangement scheme. However, that would be slyness not to notice such a trend as choosing approximately the exact dimensions of rugs for different interiors. Having studied specific patterns, the designers propose to evaluate the possibilities of the most popular carpet sizes in the living room.
4x6ft (120x180cm) Rug
As you probably already understand, such an option can in no way act as a base for zoning for a living room. The maximum that you can get from it is to harmoniously arrange the area under the coffee table or add a contrasting detail. However, designers often use these textiles over plain carpets or carpet tiles to create a more voluminous and textured look.
5×7 feet (150×215 cm) and 5×8 feet (150×245 cm) Rug
Such models are slightly larger than those that we talked about earlier, and at the same time, much more in demand. You also can use them for zoning and visually combine individual pieces of furniture or highlight the center where the coffee table is located. Usually, these options are not used alone but paired with a larger area carpet.
The most challenging task, in this case, is to select a tandem from a larger and smaller product correctly. Oriented in modern trends towards naturalness and environmental friendliness, designers offer many exciting ideas. For example, a large, lint-free sisal or jute rug of a neutral shade, on top of which a colored or patterned rug of a smaller size is laid.
As we said above, a small rug can be located under one piece of furniture or visually combine several at once. Most often, such combinations involve a coffee table and a hanging chair, a sofa, a coffee table with an ordinary chair, a floor lamp with a vase. However, in the case of a couch, you should be more careful: if the furniture is too bright, and the carpet acts as a contrast, then it is advisable not to put it jointly in the joint, but leave a gap of at least 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) so that the flooring can balance any contradiction.
8x10ft (245×305 cm) or 9x12ft (275×365 cm) Rug
This size is already considered a kind of classic that can successfully fit into almost any furniture composition, regardless of the style of living room decoration. Indeed, this option allows not only to implement most of the options for arranging furniture groups but also to look organic in small and more spacious living rooms. That is why if you like a carpet of this size, and your living room does not provide for complex architectural elements, then you can safely take out your wallet since the risk of making a mistake is minimal.
Of course, your choice is not limited by all the described sizes – we have cited only the most popular ones as an example. So, you can use more modest accent rugs and larger ones for massive and numerous furniture groups in large living rooms. The most important thing is not to forget about proportionality.
Choosing the size of the carpet based on living room furniture layout
Layout schemes in your living room are another critical factor in selecting the right rug size. Today designers offer several working schemes.
Living room rug size: taking measurements
Before proceeding with the measurement of the area that your future rug will occupy, it is necessary to clarify all the parameters that will matter. For your convenience, we present them in a list:
So, when the primary conditions are clear to you, we proceed to measurements. We hope that the masking tape is already with you!
How to choose the right rug size for living room: Conclusions + Photo Gallery
So now you know how to determine the size of your living room carpet. We really hope that our tips will be helpful to you, you can quickly achieve the perfect balance of decor and furniture.
