Keep at least 18 inches of bare floor exposed by the rug’s edges. Selecting a rug for the living room usually comes down to three choices: 5×8, 8×10, or 9×12. Some size guides recommend that either all the furniture rests on the rug, or all the furniture, except for the coffee table, is placed completely off the rug.

Since a foot is longer than an inch, this means the answer would be greater than . Find the conversion factor that compares inches and feet, with “inches” in the numerator, and multiply. There are 42 inches in feet.

A square centimeter is a square that is one centimeter (cm) on each side. A square inch is a square that is one inch on each side (see below). Square measures have sides that are each 1 unit in length. The next image shows a rectangular rug that is 2 feet long by 3 feet wide.

Here are the most common rectangle rug sizes:

• 3′ x 5′
• 4′ x 6′
• 5′ x 8′
• 6′ x 9′
• 7 1/2′ x 9 1/2′
• 8′ x 10′
• 9′ x 12′
• 10′ x 13′

An 8×10 area rug rug typically big enough for a table that seats 6 to 8.

To create an intimate space with your area rug, measure the length and the width of the area and subtract 24″ from both measurements. If you are measuring for a rug for a room in your home that has furniture in it, for example your living room or family room, the furniture should be all on the rug.

Rug Sizes

If you’re considering a round rug, run a piece of tape from the center of the space you want to cover to the outside edge and measure it. This gives you the radius of the circle. Double it and you have the diameter. Round rugs are sold by the diameter.

Round dining tables look great with round or square rugs. Rectangular and oval dining tables work well with rectangular rugs. Square dining tables tend to work best with square rugs, though a round rug could work for a more playful feel.

“A round table on a round rug is visually harmonious, but you can place a square table on a round rug too – just make sure that the rug is considerably bigger so the shapes don’t compete, and, for a dining table, that there is enough room under the chair legs to pull chairs back when seated at the table.

The standard runner rug is between 2 and 3 feet wide, and can range from 6 to 14 feet long. Ideally, you should have 4 to 5 inches of flooring visible on all sides of your runner.

The rule of thumb is this: All of the large area rugs you can see from a single spot in your home should complement each other. Let’s say that from your living room you can see the hallway and the dining room. According to the rule above, the rugs in these three areas should complement each other.

If you have an extra-long hallway, instead of purchasing a custom rug, you can place two (or more) rug runners in a line.

Carpet Tape and Rug Pad Just like wearing a belt and suspenders to keep pants in place, combining carpet tape and a rug pad is going to keep your rug the doubly secure on a hard floor. Apply the tape to the back of the rug, and adhere the pad to the other side of the tape.

Avoid using carpet tape, foam-backed rug pads and plastic pads on wood surfaces. These can scratch and discolor wood flooring. Carpet tape is especially difficult to remove from wood floors.

Rug pads for hardwood floors are a very important purchase. The wrong rug pad can permanently damage your floor. Many unsuspecting homeowners end up with stained, severely discolored floors due to a chemical reaction between the rug pad material and the polyurethane finish.