Discovering Your Own Favorite Rug Placement by Breaking Design Rules

Image: Fresh Home

Go on. Break the rules!

Some of our favorite rug placement in home decor rules and when to break them.

Furniture and Rug Placement Tips
Image: Bayles Leather House

Rule 1: All legs of the furniture should be on the rug.

When to break it: Depending on the size of your space and the placement of your furniture, this rule can be hard to follow. If you are layering rugs, for example, and one is a smaller or irregularly shaped, clearly this rule would not apply. You may even decide, depending on the size of your rug, to only put two legs of furniture on the rug, so that your floors are exposed.

Look Mom! No legs! Still looks perfect
Image: Emily Henderson

Some interior designers recommend placing the furniture in the room exactly where you want it to be, before you place your rug. A rug can still tie the room together and weave together the furniture, even if all legs are not placed on the rug.

A smaller sized rug with no legs on the rug
Image: Lauren Jacobsen Design

Rule 2: Place at least furniture front legs on the rug

When to break it: In some situations, depending on the size of your rug and your room, you may decide to have all four legs of one piece on the rug and no legs or two legs of another piece. This configuration will depend on the size of your furniture and your rug, but it still works. See below.

Rule 3: A foot to 18 inches of bare floor around the rug

When to break it: It's possible that you hate your floors or quite contrarily, it's possible that you love your floors. Whatever the reason, you can stand back and decide how much of your floor you want to show. Often a room with a rug that is too small can make a rug seem smaller. If the rug you want shows no floor around the perimeter, but pulls your room together. Go for it!

Small room with a large rug
Image: Vintage Revivals

Perhaps your space is just too small to show that much flooring all of the way around. That's perfectly ok.

Rule 4: Extend the rug at least two feet from the dining table

When to break it: If you have a massive dining table, you may not find a rug to perfectly fit your space. Dining rooms in contemporarily designed homes are no longer "rooms," but open spaces. You may decide that formal dining is not your style. See an example below.

Image: Design Milk

Rule 5: When using multiple rugs in a room, they should be the same rug

When to break it: We say break this rule anytime you fancy. You can beautifully coordinate multiple rugs in a room without them matching. After all, matching rugs look more like wall to wall carpet. Isn't that what you are trying to avoid.

Layered Rugs Image: Lauren Jacobsen Designs

Want to mix patterns? Go for it!
Want to mix styles? Have fun and express yourself.

Rule 6: Select one area rug big enough to fit the space

When to break it: This is another one that we think was made to be broken. If you have a large, open, urban loft, it helps to break up your space with various rugs in various configurations. Additionally, you may decide to layer your rugs, with a larger rug as a base. Layering rugs requires more than one rug in a space.

Layered rugs
Image: Daly Designs

Rule 7: Cover walking areas in one runner rug

When to break it: Your hallway is excessively long, the walkway is very open and can be cut into pieces with various rugs, or the rug you love doesn't come in that length. We recently explored our love for runner rugs, and there's so many alternative solutions.

Image: K. Powers

Rule 8: Extend a bedroom rug a foot to 18 inches past the bed

When to break it: A large area rug expanded all around a twin bed may just be overkill. Just like an enormous rug for your even more enormous bed may swallow your room. Try various sizes as a test to see what works best with your furniture and your room.