Rug Size Calculator
Rugs are sold in feet and fail in inches. Pick the room, enter what is already in it, and this works out the smallest standard size that does the job, then checks how much bare floor it leaves at each wall.
How this calculator works
The calculator checks the standard sizes in order, 5x8, 6x9, 8x10, 9x12 and 10x14 (60 x 96 up to 120 x 168 inches), and picks the smallest one that meets the rule for your room. Runners are checked at 24 and 30 inches wide and 6, 8 and 10 feet long.
- Front legs on: 6 to 8 inches of rug under the front feet of the sofa and the facing seats, so the depth needed is the gap between those front legs plus 7 inches at each end. The rug is also kept at least as long as the sofa so both front feet land on it.
- All legs on: at least 12 inches of rug beyond the outer edge of the furniture group on each side.
- Floating: the largest size that fits inside the open floor between the pieces.
- Dining: the table plus the pull-back allowance on every side, 24 inches at minimum and 30 where the room allows. A dining rug is never sized down, because a chair that drops off the edge catches every time someone stands.
- Bedroom: the rug starts about 24 inches below the headboard, with 18 to 24 inches showing at both sides and the foot.
- Walls: 12 to 24 inches of bare floor at each wall is the usual band, and never less than 8. When a room sits between two sizes, go up unless the larger rug leaves less than 8 inches at a wall.
- Runners: 3 to 6 inches of floor along each side, and the ends stop 4 to 6 inches short of the wall or casing.
It assumes the long side of the rug runs along the long side of the room. Before you order, tape the size on the floor and leave it down overnight: a filled outline shows how much floor disappears far better than numbers do.
Every figure here comes from our guide, The Measurements That Decide Whether a Rug Works, which explains each rule and the exceptions in full.