Rug Size Calculator
Determine the ideal rug size for your room based on room dimensions and furniture layout. Different layouts require different rug sizes to create a balanced and harmonious space.
Recommended Rug Size
How the Rug Size Calculator Works
Rug sizing isn't about the rug — it's about the furniture arrangement around it. The calculator applies the layout rules interior designers use, based on which of five arrangements you pick:
All furniture on the rug → room minus a 30 cm border · Front legs on → ~65% of room · Accent rug → ~45% of room
For the popular front-legs-on living room layout, the rug should reach under the front third of your seating so the furniture visually anchors to it — that works out to roughly 65% of the room's length and width. Dining rooms get a different rule entirely: the rug must extend far enough that chair legs stay on it even when pulled out, which means at least 60 cm beyond the table on every side. Bedrooms are calculated from the bed instead of the room, with about 70 cm of soft landing on each side. The result is clamped so it never touches the walls — a rug needs visible floor around it to read as intentional rather than as failed wall-to-wall carpet.
How to Choose the Right Rug Layout
Start from how the room is furnished, not from the rug sizes on sale. In a living room, the near-universal designer recommendation is front legs on: every seat touches the rug, which ties the seating group together while costing far less than an all-on rug. Choose all-furniture-on only in large rooms where the seating floats away from the walls — check your sofa's footprint first with the sofa size calculator if you're still planning the layout.
Measure your room, then measure your furniture group separately: the rug should extend 15–20 cm beyond the sofa's sides so it doesn't look like a bath mat that wandered into the lounge. Keep at least 20–45 cm of bare floor between rug and walls on every side.
Buy the standard size closest to (and usually above) the calculator's recommendation — custom sizes cost multiples of standard ones. When in doubt between two sizes, go larger: an oversized rug reads as generous, an undersized one as a mistake. Once the rug anchors the room, the wall art calculator helps you balance the walls above it.
Standard Rug Sizes and Where They Fit
| Standard size | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 120 × 170 cm (4×6 ft) | Accent rug, under a coffee table |
| 160 × 230 cm (5×8 ft) | Small living room, front legs on |
| 200 × 290 cm (7×10 ft) | Standard living room, front legs on |
| 240 × 340 cm (8×11 ft) | Large living room or under a queen bed |
| 300 × 400 cm (10×13 ft) | All furniture on, open-plan spaces |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying too small — the single most common rug mistake; a floating rug makes the whole room feel smaller.
- Letting the rug touch the walls; leave 20–45 cm of visible floor as a frame.
- Ignoring pulled-out chairs in dining rooms — legs falling off the rug edge wobble forever.
- Choosing the rug before deciding the furniture layout it needs to anchor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size rug do I need for my living room?
For the standard front-legs-on layout, aim for roughly 65% of your room's length and width, then round to the nearest standard size. A typical 4×5 m living room lands on a 200×290 cm rug. All seating should at least touch the rug — if it floats free of the furniture, it's too small.
What size rug goes under a queen bed?
A 240×340 cm rug placed under the lower two-thirds of a queen bed leaves about 70 cm of soft landing on each side and at the foot. Skip the area under the nightstands — the rug should start just in front of them, which also saves you a size.
How big should a dining room rug be?
Take your table dimensions and add at least 60 cm on every side. That's the clearance chairs need to slide out while keeping all four legs on the rug. For a standard 6-seat table around 180×90 cm, that means a rug of roughly 300×210 cm or larger.
Should a rug be bigger than the seating area?
Slightly, yes. The rug should extend 15–20 cm beyond the sides of your sofa and chairs so the furniture sits visually inside its boundary. A rug narrower than the sofa in front of it reliably looks undersized, no matter how good the rug is.