When choosing a rug, always start by thinking about you’ll be doing in the room.  Typically, it comes down to three functions:

1) Entryways, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and mud rooms: easy to clean rugs

2) Family rooms, offices, closets: casual and lightweight rugs

3) Living rooms, bedrooms: thick and plush rugs

After you’ve narrowed it down to which kind of rug you need, here are a few things to consider:

Entryways/Foyers

– In the entryway, choose a rug that hides dirt well and is large enough to cover the width of your door.

– Measure your door clearance so that the rug is not so thick that it gets in the way when you open and close your door.

– In the foyer, rugs can be used to anchor a console table, direct your sight lines forward, or add color.  For best effect, leave at least 6-12″ of bare wood exposed on all sides.

Living Rooms

– The best rugs visually anchor seating groups, so choose one that is large enough to fit all four legs of your furniture pieces.  If necessary, the rear legs of your sofa can be left off-rug.

– If  you want to leave some of your floors exposed, choose a rug that leaves you with 18″ – 24″ of space between the rug and the wall.

– If your living room is very large, pick two or three rugs and lay them side by side.  These can either be identical or complementary.

Dining Rooms

– To make sure that the rug is large enough to cover chairs when they are pulled, choose one that is at least 24″ larger than your dining table on all sides.

– In a multipurpose room, delineate the dining area with its own rug.  However, if there’s already a large rug underneath, then you can leave the space bare.

Offices

– In offices, even smaller rugs will bring in a lot of style.   They’re also great at making work seem more fun.

Take a look at this study room for kids …

… and at this space for adults.  Don’t the rugs just finish up the rooms?

Stairs

– Stairs typically look best with solid or striped rugs.

– If you have heavy foot traffic, go with a darker color; otherwise, a fun rug can really brighten up the space.

– For an easy solution, start with runners (see our instructions for installing a stair runner here).

Bedrooms

– Choose an area rug that is at least 24″ larger than your bed on all sides.  This way, you’ll be able to step onto something soft when you wake up.

– If you use nightstands, be sure the rug ends at least 6-12 inches beyond the edges.

– If  you want to leave some of your floors exposed, choose a rug that leaves you with 18″ – 24″ of space between the rug and the wall.

– If you have a sitting area, you can use one smaller rug between two chairs or in front of a sofa or chaise lounge.

– Here are some easy guidelines for choosing an area rug for your bedroom:

Bathrooms

– Bath rugs are essential for stepping out of the tub or shower.  Pick one that’s washable and large enough to cover the size of your glass door.

– If you have double sinks, matching bath rugs add softness and symmetry to the room.

– Area rugs are perfect for covering up older tile or hardwood.  It’s also great for walking around barefoot.

Closets

– Bold area rugs look fabulous in closets.

Laundry Rooms/Mud rooms/Back doors/Outdoors

– Indoor/outdoor area rugs are perfect for these high-traffic, moist environments.  You can use them to add color and texture to each area, and they are easily cleaned.

– Outdoors, rugs are perfect for delineating specific areas, like this dining space:

– We also love using rugs to guide guests toward special areas in the garden:

To view all our rugs, click here.

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