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Living Solutions blog

Ideas & Inspiration

Tuesday’s Tips ~ Area Rug Sizes

October 12, 2011 By Living Solutions Interior Design

As I’ve been working on our family room in our new house, as well as finding area rugs for a couple clients, it’s got me thinking of something that comes ups a lot in projects: What size to do for an area rug?

All too often, we walk into client’s homes and see a beautiful area rug, but it looks like a postage stamp in relation to the rest of their furniture and their room. Larger is better in the area rug arena! Here I go again with guidelines, but it’s too common of an issue not to give some guidelines to follow!

  • If you are ever in doubt of what size to do for an area rug in a Living Room, the front legs of the upholstered furniture (couch, chairs) should ideally sit on the rug. The rug should extend beyond the sofa as well, at least 6″ on each side.
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Here’s a great example of the area rug being the right size! 
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Another great example.
  • You can also place all the furniture completely on the rug. Beautiful!
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  • In the Dining Room, it’s very important to have the right size rug, or your guest will be tripping on the edge of the rug as they get in and out of their chairs. 

Here’s a dining room with too small of a rug on the ends. As you can see, the “host” chairs will be constantly getting caught on the edge of the rug.
Much better! You’ll need 24″ – 30″ from the edge of your table to allow for your guests to comfortably pull out their chairs and have them stay on the area rug.

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Here’s a beautiful dining room with plenty of room to pull out the chairs. 

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And although this is a beautiful kitchen with beautiful rugs, the rug is a bit too small for the chair on the left. The person that sits there will constantly be catching the stool on the rug to get in and out.
So next time your shopping for an area rug, think “bigger is better”! Your furniture will be happy it gets to rest its’ feet on the rug and your guests (and you!) will be thankful they’re not wrestling with the area rug every time they get up!

~ Don’t forget about our  October Special! 30% off our Design Consultations and Design Style Boards during the month of October. Now’s the perfect time to spruce up your home! Contact us for more information. We would love to work with you to find your Living Solution! ~

 

You May also Like:

Top 10 Tips Tuesday’s Tips #3 Small Spaces Tuesday’s Tips ~ Sheens of Paints Tuesday’s Tips ~ A Clean House is a New House

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Hi! I'm Gina and welcome to the Living Solutions Blog! I'm a wife, a mom of 4 little kiddos and the owner of Living Solutions Interior Design. My family and I recently moved from San Diego, CA to Nebraska and this blog is where I share inspiration, design tips and ideas, projects and every day life! Thanks for stopping by!

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