After reading my post about choosing the proper rug size for the living room, many of you asked “What size rug for the bedroom should I choose?”
The first thing you should know is that it is not at all necessary to even have a rug in your bedroom, whether you have hardwood flooring or carpet. I have hardwood floors in my bedroom and prefer to keep the clean, airy look of no rug at all to break up the floorspace.
Bedroom Design by The Decorologist
You might like to have a rug in your bedroom if 1) you want to warm up or soften up the hard flooring, 2) you have ugly carpeting you want to cover, or 3) you want to add color or pattern to the space.
Not only will you need to consider what size rug is needed, but also how to orient the rug and where exactly to place it. Here are some of my guidelines for determining the right size rug for the bedroom, as well as placement. For a full or queen size bed, you can use a 5×8, 6×9, or 8×10 rug beneath the bed placed longways (depending on how much floor space you want covered). That is, the longer length should run centered on the bed from bedside table to bedside table, with the shorter width of the rug starting from in front of the bedside tables and running at least slightly beyond the end of the bed.
The bed’s footboard should sit on the rug, but the bed’s headboard and side tables should not. That’s my ideal, anyway, although you may see it done other ways.
For a king size bed, you will probably want an 8×10 rug rather than a 5×8 one. Of course, you will run it longways – the 10 feet will be across the bed, the 8 feet will run the length of the bed and out the end.
If you have a bench or seating area at the end of the bed, you’ll want to pull the rug further out so that your seating sits on it, as well. In this case, you may want to run a larger rug (9×12) vertically rather than the previously suggested horizontal.
Some people don’t want to use a large rug under the bed, but still want a soft place to land when getting out of bed. The best option in this case is to get a pair of runners for either side of the bed, or else a pair of 3×5 rugs.
Just be careful that the rugs are not too small or look anything like a bath mat. As my kids would say, that would be an EPIC FAIL. I’m ok with the little faux sheepskin rugs on either side, though.
I hope this helps if you are trying to determine the right size rug for the bedroom or the best way to place it. Do you have different ideas about choosing the placement or right size rug for the bedroom? Feel free to share with us or ask a question about your bedroom rug placement in the comments!
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My concern about scatter rugs on top of carpets is the tripping issue. Is there a way to secure the edge(s) of the scatter rug to the carpet so that no one can catch the lip of their shoe or toe on the scatter rug? I have tried the double sided tape for carpets but it didn’t stay for long.
Thank you.
Hi Kristie, Unfortunately our Ash bedroom pieces and yes there are 3 of them..a portion of a set..and no they won’t ever be painted, somewhat “clash” with our yellowish hardwood floors. I would never have thought of this until reading a post where you had eluded taking the color of hardwood floors into consideration when choosing furniture color. Since the room is teeny tiny, there are no rugs and although I have clashing floors and furniture, I agree that using a rug in the room will only cause it to look even smaller. However, I did find your piece of the placement of furniture and size of living room rugs very informative and will also put into play your suggestion of using indoor/outdoor carpeting. Love that idea. Have a great day!
Susanne –
For a tiny room where you don’t like the way the furniture and flooring look together, you might consider a large bound piece of carpet that leaves a foot of hardwood border around the room. I did this in my office that is 10×12 – it warms up the space without creating choppiness of flooring. You can have carpet bound to the size you want from most carpet retailers. Carpet by the yard/foot is cheaper than pre-made rugs. I only paid a couple hundred dollars for mine.
Oh, thank you Kristie..great idea. The room definitely needs some charm and character, while addressing the issue of the mismatch. Your solution with kill two birdies with one rug. Have a wonderful day!
Great post- a keeper for sure! Thanks for sharing Kristie!
HELP…I need suggestions for exposed box springs. I have removed dust ruffles and like the airy summer look but ugly box springs are lurking under the covers. I have covered with fitted sheets. Do I need to match the color of the sheets on the bed or a neutral white fitted sheet? Any other creative suggestions and love sites to find your ideas. Hard to find fitted sheets sold separately. Thanks.
Teresa,
Great question! This is an easier fix if you have a full or queen size bed. Simply purchase your duvet, coverlet, or comforter in a king-size. This will cover your box springs, but eliminate the need for a dowdy dust ruffle. If you have a king-size bed, unless you have something custom made, you will have to find something to cover that box spring. Obviously it needs to coordinate with the outer bedding, ideally something neutral or white that doesn’t draw attention.
Thanks, we have a full and a queen both that I removed dust ruffles from. They are covered and look fine made up but when company comes and they pull back the covers there are those box springs. This is in a guest house located on a creek that goes out to a bay to Gulf of Mexico and trying to achieve a more casual look and relaxing atmosphere for our guests. I will shop for neutral sheets. Appreciate your fast response.
This for Teresa—- Remove the mattress. Cover the box spring with a sheet one size larger than your bed size. (i.e get a queen for the full, a king for the queen). “Gift wrap” the box spring, tucking and folding in the edges the same way you’d make up the mattress except you’ll fold everything underneath. Use a staple gun in inconspicuous places if necessary, to keep things in place. and reduce any shifting if the mattress moves. Put the mattress back on and make your bed as usual. I’d buy a sheet the same color as the bedding you’re using and it’ll all look great even with the sheets/covers pulled back 🙂 I did this and it looks great…,except don’t get microfiber sheet…they slide too much. Cotton or cotton blends will work best. Would love to know if this works for you!
Thanks for sharing your great idea, Connie!
I was just talking about this issue with a friend the other day. Thanks for the tip!
Great tips! In our former home bedrooms, I just used 3 x 5 rugs because I wanted to see the hardwood we’d worked so hard to restore 😉 But it sure was nice to step out onto warm, soft rugs in those cold ND winter mornings 🙂
Box spring covers are easy to come by at B, B & Beyond. See this one:http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=123714
or this one is a mattelasse
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=112888 cover. I’ve seen home made ones that just used elastic on a beautiful piece of leather and connected with velcro.
awesome, sharon – thanks for sharing!
love the matelasse!
thanks for sharing, sharon! awesome find!
Love the idea of living without the dust ruffle. Although mine is very tailored, no fru fru for me, I thought wow, great ideas. Tthen I realized…oh no, in my small house, with virtually no closet space, I have under the bed storage containers on wheels that hold shoes, handbags and other accessores. Hmmm…now what?! Off to shovel…bye for now!
Just came from the bedroom. The heating duct is the floor and take up more than 12″ from the wall. The closet door has to swing open easily and all of the cords from the TV are on the floor. Granted the cords/strips can be hidden in cute baskets, the ducts and door present a new problem. Kristie a new suggestion? In a tiney room would it be silly to have 18 – 24″ of clashing floor exposed? With the furniture and the queen sized bed on the wall that has to allow for another door that must open even that may not work. This house is a decorator’s challeng and for me just plain scary.
18 to 24 inches around the edges could be fine, susanne. and usually if the pile isn’t high the doors will swing right over without snagging, but you should check first and see how much gap is beneath your bedroom doors.
Thank you Kristie for taking the time to answer Part B of my original question. I appreciate it!
Brilliant ideas! I must admit I didn’t know they had a beautiful box spring cover available – will look so much neater than dust ruffles.
Thanks for sharing Kristie and commenters!
Hi Kristie! I love your blog. Do you have any advice on how to use a rug in a nursery, near a crib? It is for a small 12×10 carpeted bedroom, but I’d love to add a little personality with a rug. Do you have any tips on size or placement (under crib, etc.)? Thank you so much!
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What is the rule of thumb for placing a rug with a border on it under a bed? Should it go under a bed only if the bed will be centered on it, or is it okay if a rug with a border is placed asymmetrically under a bed? If so, do you have any photos for examples? Thank you!
I would never place any rug assymetrically under a bed, border or not.
oops, i meant asymmetrically.
Hi. I am wondering how you feel about wall to wall carpeting in my family room with a rug placed asymmetrically under a sectional towards the corner of the room?
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What do you think about putting an 8×10 rug at an angle under my king bed?
Debbie,
I’m not a big fan of angling a rug under the bed, unless perhaps the bed itself is on an angle – but I’m assuming it’s not.
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I have hardwood floors in my bedroom and have a cedar chest at the foot of the king size bed that needs a rug under. What size rug should I use under the cedar chest?
What do you think about putting a round rug next to a king size bed?
I’m designing my room again and I really want a rug on the floor under my not so big double bed. I’m thinking of having 2 bedside tables. I quite like the idea of having a circular rug, but I haven’t seen many of them and not sure if they will look good under a bed on a cream carpet . Do you think a circular rug would look good? If so what measurements? if not what measurements for a rectangular rug?
I wouldn’t do a circular rug under a rectangular bed, Scarlet. Do an 8×10 or 9×12 – longways across.
ok thank you
Are you adding the inches on to your table on both sides to get the rug size..for instance, my table is 44′ wide and 8 ft long so I am thinking an 8 by 10 will do the trick but not if I need to add the 15-20 for each side of length. Hope that made sense..I’m probably overthinking it!
Jenifer, I think you really need a 9×12 for that large of a table – otherwise your chairs are going to be hanging off the ends of the rug.
We just put a beautiful new king size bed in our bedroom (RH’s Maison bed, without footboard). The bedroom is L shaped, and the part of the room where the bed sits has just enough room to fit the bed with normal sized nightstands on either side of the bed. I want to put a rug under the bed, but beyond the end of the bed is the turn of the “L” and the room opens up more. My question – how far around the bed should the rug stick out – sides and in front? I’m concerned that half the rug will be in this narrow space where it touches the walls on either side (should it be touching the walls?) and then the other half will be in the open space of the room. Hope this makes sense – just looking for guidance!
I was wondering about what to do in our bedroom. It is very large and empty with our king bed in the middle. I am inclined to get a 9×12 rug but my husband doesn’t want to “waste” so much of the carpet under the bed. Would it look ok to have 2 5×8 rugs on other side and then an oval shaped rug at the foot where we put a bench? Thanks in advance!
This is what I want to do with 3×5 on each side of a queen bed, with the feet under each rug. Easier to clean and your not paying for so much rug Under the bed which is harder to clean. What did you end up doing?
Where can I get this headboard???? It’s BEAUTIFUL
These tips are helpful, but I do have a question for my specific room. I have a queen size bed in a guest room. When looking at the 8×10 options, it wouldn’t fit across given a radiator and closet. The room is more long than wide, and the bed must be positioned length wise. Any suggestions here?
Hi!
I have a king size bed with a bench at the foot of the bed. I do not want to use a full size rug under the bed – what size runners should I put on both sides of the bed and what size rug should I put under the bench?
Julie,
If you want to do matching runners on either side of the bed, that could work – but I wouldn’t do a rug under the bench. There really isn’t any point in that. Runners come in standard sizes – most are 2.5 feet wide and either 4, 6, or 8 feet. 2.5 x 4 should be sufficient because you wouldn’t want them to run beneath your night stands.
hi kristie
I have king size bed with night stand on one side and desk on another. My bedroom has carpet but i really want to add rugs over carpet. Would 2 runners and rugs at end of bed works https://www.homarugs.com/pages/faqs/what-is-the-right-size-rug-for-a-bedroom.html (something like this)? or should I go for 9×6 rug or may 9×7. I dont want the rug to extend where the chair goes for the desk and the difference between the depth of night stand and desk is about a feet.
Hi love your blogs. Just moved into a new CONDO…..My living room is grey/brown laminate….have just purchased a Grey Sectional. THe perfect rug size would be a 5 X 7…that would go just in front of the sectional all the way around. However the rugs I have found are 5 X 8…I placed some cardboad around to see and dont like the look…..should I go bigger and place the sectional on a rug…..I can get an 8.3 X 8.3? THank you
Linda,
I would definitely go bigger rather than smaller. Go for the larger one!
Thanks for the insight! My bedroom is unnecessarily large. 15 feet wide and 18 feet long. The king bed takes up a lot but there’s still a 9×12(ish) of empty space in front of the bed. Do you suggest a 9×12 rug in that area and not under the bed at all? or a 12×15 that goes partially (up to nightstands) under the bed? I like the look of a rug to add cozziness/warmth to the room/hardwood floors.
Kelsy, did you ever get an answer? I have the same problem!
is it ok to use a rug the same size as the bedroom that has carpet? my bedroom is 8’x10 and so is my rug….can it be done
Sure – if the rug looks better than the carpet, I say why not? It’ll look like you have custom wall-to-wall patterned carpet!
Great post and images. Well done!
Very good article! This is a very comprehensive help for anyone who needs to find a bedroom rug!