Before the Rug, Measure the Room

A rug photograph tells you about pattern and texture. A tape measure tells you whether it belongs in your room. Start with the furniture layout you actually use, then compare the exact dimensions of the available rug options.

1. Draw the floor you have

Measure the room’s usable width and length in inches. Sketch doors, radiators, hearths and fixed furniture. Note which doors swing across the floor and how much clearance sits beneath them. Rug thickness is not listed for every design, so ask before buying if door clearance is critical.

Mark the rug outline with removable tape that is safe for your flooring. Walk through the room, pull out a chair and open every nearby door. This simple check reveals a tight walkway more reliably than a photograph.

2. Connect the living room seating

Decide whether you want a small rug entirely in front of the sofa or a larger rug that reaches under the front furniture legs. The second arrangement often gives a seating group a more connected appearance. Measure the distance between the outside edges of the chairs, then compare it with the rug width.

Keep the coffee table comfortably within the outline and leave a visible strip of floor around the arrangement where your room permits. A compact room does not need a large rug at any cost: choose a proportion that leaves useful walking space.

3. Make the bedroom landing deliberate

For a rug beneath the bed, measure the bed frame rather than relying only on the mattress size. Include any benches or bedside furniture you want the rug to reach. Check how far the rug would extend past the sides and foot of the frame.

Smaller bedside rugs are another approach. Mark the place where your feet land, and check that the rug will lie clear of drawers and doors. Two small accents can work better than one large rug in a narrow bedroom.

4. Keep the hallway readable

Measure the narrowest part of the passage, including trim and projecting furniture. A runner should leave visible floor at both sides and avoid ending exactly at a doorway threshold. Mark both ends and walk the route as you normally would with a bag or laundry basket.

Our runner options are identified by their actual width and length. For example, a 31.5 × 94.5 in runner is a different footprint from a 23.6 × 70.9 in runner. Compare both numbers instead of choosing by length alone.

5. Read round and shaped rugs differently

A round rug is measured by diameter. Use a string equal to half the diameter to mark a circle from a central point. An irregular rug is measured by its stated overall dimensions; its corners and edges will not fill a rectangle completely.

Room	Measure first	Check before ordering
Living room	Seating-group footprint	Where the front furniture legs land
Bedroom	Bed frame and bedside clearance	Drawers, door swings and walking room
Hallway	Narrowest passage width	Visible floor along each side
Entry	Clear landing area	Door clearance and a flat edge

Room styling is an illustration, not a scale drawing. The selected product option is the reference for your order. Explore the rug collection.