Pick the room, enter its size and the furniture the rug goes with. The answer updates as you type.
The rug to buy
8′ × 10′for a 16 × 13 ft living room with an 84″ sofa, front legs on
Quick answer: most living rooms need an 8′ × 10′ rug, with the front legs of the sofa and chairs resting on it. Under a queen bed, an 8′ × 10′ turned sideways; under a king, a 9′ × 12′. Under a dining table, a rug 24″ bigger than the table on every side. Leave about 18″ of bare floor between the rug and the walls. The calculator above does this sum for your exact room.
How to use the rug size calculator
- Pick the room. The rules are different under a sofa, a bed, a dining table and in a hallway.
- Measure wall to wall. Feet and inches both work (type
12'6"or12.5). Switch to metres and centimetres with the button at the top; metric mode answers in European rug sizes (160 × 230 cm, 200 × 290 cm…). - Add the furniture: the sofa’s length arm to arm, the bed size, or the table’s length and width.
- Read the answer. You get the standard size to buy, the smallest size that still works, a bigger option if your room has space, and a top view drawn to scale. Copy link saves the result with your numbers in it.
The rug size rules, room by room
Living room
The rug belongs to the seating, not to the room. There are three ways to place it:
- Front legs on (the one most designers reach for): the rug slides 6–8″ under the front of the sofa and any chairs facing it. It should run past each end of the sofa by at least 6″, ideally about 10″. With a standard 84″ sofa that means a rug at least 96″ long, which is why 8′ × 10′ is the most common living room size.
- All legs on: every piece of furniture sits fully on the rug. This takes the biggest rug the room allows, still with bare floor showing at the walls. It suits large or open-plan rooms, where the rug marks out the living area.
- Just the coffee table: a smaller rug floats in front of the sofa. It should be no longer than the sofa and at least two-thirds of its length. It works in a very small room, but it usually makes a room look smaller, not bigger.
Bedroom
Turn the rug sideways, so its long side runs across the bed. You want 18–24″ of rug showing on each side of the bed, the part your feet land on in the morning, and 12–18″ past the foot. Start the rug just in front of the nightstands, about 20″ from the headboard, so they stand level on the floor instead of rocking on the rug’s edge.
Dining room
The rug has to reach 24″ beyond every edge of the table. That is how far a chair slides back when someone sits down. Any less and the back legs catch the rug’s edge with every meal. A round table looks best on a round (or square) rug that echoes its shape.
Hallway runner
Leave 4–6″ of floor on each side of the runner and stop it 12–18″ short of each end of the hall. In a long hall, two runners of the same design with a small gap between them look better than one that stops halfway.
Every room: floor at the walls
Leave about 18″ of bare floor between the rug and the walls, or 12″ in a small room (10 ft wide or less). The border is what makes a rug look chosen for the room rather than wall-to-wall carpet that shrank. The calculator will not give up that border for a bigger rug while a size that keeps it exists.
Rug size chart
Worked out with the rules above for a room big enough not to limit the rug (about 16 × 14 ft). In a smaller room the calculator may step a size down.
What size rug for a bed
| Bed | Bed size | Rug to buy | Smallest that works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin | 38″ × 75″ | 6′ × 9′ | 6′ × 9′ |
| Full | 54″ × 75″ | 6′ × 9′ | 6′ × 9′ |
| Queen | 60″ × 80″ | 8′ × 10′ | 6′ × 9′ |
| King | 76″ × 80″ | 9′ × 12′ | 8′ × 10′ |
| California king | 72″ × 84″ | 8′ × 10′ | 8′ × 10′ |
What size rug for a living room
| Sofa length | Front legs on | Smallest that works |
|---|---|---|
| 72″ (loveseat) | 8′ × 10′ | 5′ × 7′ |
| 84″ (3-seat sofa) | 8′ × 10′ | 5′ × 8′ |
| 96″ (large sofa) | 8′ × 10′ | 6′ × 9′ |
| 108″ (sectional side) | 9′ × 12′ | 8′ × 10′ |
What size rug for a dining table
| Table | Usually seats | Rug to buy |
|---|---|---|
| 42″ round | 4 | 8′ round |
| 54″ round | 6 | 10′ round |
| 60″ × 36″ | 4–6 | 8′ × 10′ |
| 72″ × 40″ | 6 | 8′ × 10′ |
| 96″ × 42″ | 8 | 9′ × 12′ |
Three worked examples
A 12 × 14 ft bedroom with a king bed. A king is 76″ wide, so 18–24″ each side means a rug 112–124″ across. A 9′ × 12′ reaches that, but in a 12 ft wide room it would leave only 12″ of floor at the walls. The calculator picks 8′ × 10′: 22″ of rug each side of the bed and a full 2 ft of floor all round. The 9′ × 12′ appears as the bigger option if you prefer more rug to more floor.
A 16 × 13 ft living room with an 84″ sofa, front legs on. The rug must be at least 96″ long, ideally about 104″. An 8′ × 10′ runs 18″ past each end of the sofa and is 8 ft deep, deep enough for a coffee table and a pair of chairs facing the sofa.
A 72″ × 40″ table seating six in a 12 × 14 ft dining room. Add 24″ on every side: the rug has to be at least 120″ × 88″. That is exactly an 8′ × 10′, with 2 ft of floor left at the walls.
Common rug size mistakes
- Buying the rug for the room instead of the furniture. A rug sized to “fill the middle” floats away from the sofa. Size it from the seating, then check the border.
- Going too small. It is the most common mistake. A 5′ × 8′ in front of an 84″ sofa barely clears its ends, and the room looks smaller.
- A dining rug the chairs fall off. If the rug stops at the table’s footprint plus a foot, every pulled-out chair tips on its edge.
- Nightstands half on the rug. They rock. Start the rug in front of them.
- Centring the rug on the room rather than the seating. In a room with a fireplace or an off-centre sofa, centre the rug on the furniture group. Here is why centring it wrong throws the whole room off.
Read next
- How to layer rugs in your living room (with real room examples), for when the rug you love is one size too small.
- Centering your rug wrong is killing your room
- Cute rugs for bedrooms that make the room feel cozy
- Moroccan rugs that anchor a living room
- Small dining room ideas that make a tiny space feel grand
Rug size questions
What size rug do I need for a queen bed?
An 8′ × 10′, turned sideways under the lower two-thirds of the bed, gives 30″ of rug each side of a 60″ queen. A 6′ × 9′ is the smallest that still works: 24″ each side, though it will not reach far past the foot.
What size rug for a king bed?
A 9′ × 12′ in a room big enough to keep about 18″ of floor at the walls. In a room around 12 ft wide, an 8′ × 10′ is the better fit: 22″ each side of the bed, and the room keeps its border.
What size rug for a living room?
For most living rooms, an 8′ × 10′ with the front legs of the sofa and chairs on it. The rug should run at least 6″ past each end of the sofa and leave about 18″ of floor at the walls. Big rooms and sectionals often need a 9′ × 12′.
What size rug goes under a dining table?
One that is 24″ larger than the table on every side, so a chair pulled out to sit stays on the rug. A 72″ × 40″ table needs at least 120″ × 88″, which is an 8′ × 10′. A 48″ round table needs an 8′ round.
How far should a rug be from the wall?
About 18″ in an average room, and 12″ in a small one. Never less than about 8″, or it starts to look like carpet that does not fit.
Should the sofa sit on the rug?
The front legs, yes: slide the rug 6–8″ under the sofa. All four legs on works in big rooms. A rug that does not touch the sofa at all is the look designers avoid, except in very small spaces.
What are the standard rug sizes?
In the US: 2′ × 3′, 3′ × 5′, 4′ × 6′, 5′ × 8′, 6′ × 9′, 8′ × 10′, 9′ × 12′, 10′ × 14′ and 12′ × 15′; rounds of 4, 6, 8 and 10 ft; runners 2–3 ft wide and 6–14 ft long. European sizes are in centimetres: 120 × 170, 160 × 230, 200 × 290 and 240 × 340 are the most common.
Want to see the rug with your actual furniture? Draw the room in the free 2D planner and drop in a rug, sofa and bed at their real sizes.
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