Most living rooms are solved by two rules. The rest is taste, and taste is allowed.
Rule one: front legs on the rug
Sofa and armchairs should each have their front legs on the rug. It ties the seating into one island; a rug floating in front of the sofa reads like a bath mat that wandered.
Rule two: keep the walkways clear
Leave 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) of bare floor between the rug's edge and the wall. The floor frames the rug the way a mat frames a photograph.
The sizes that usually win
- Compact seating, one sofa
- 5x8 (150x240 cm)
- Sofa plus armchairs
- 8x10 (240x300 cm)
- Large open plan
- 9x12 (270x360 cm) and up
Between two sizes? Go larger. Nobody has ever regretted the bigger rug; the smaller one gets moved to the bedroom within a year.
When no standard size fits
Odd alcove, sunken floor, a sectional with opinions: enter your exact measurements and we cut, bind and ship it in 3 to 5 business days. That is our Made to Fit program, priced by the square foot from $70.
Other rooms, other rules
The front-legs-on rule is a living room rule and it does not travel. Under a dining table the number that matters is 24 inches of clearance on every side, explained in the dining room guide. In a hallway you size to the narrowest point and the pattern matters as much as the measurement: hallway runners. For a circle, round rugs are sized and priced differently. In a bedroom the measurement that decides everything is where your feet land when you get up, which is a different calculation altogether. A child's room changes the brief again: what actually matters there.
Browsing by room instead: living room, bedroom, office.
Try it on your floor plan
Every product page carries a floor planner: pick your sofa, see the rug in scale.
Browse the rugs