When it comes to decorating and planning a living room layout, rugs are undoubtedly one of the most important foundation pieces – they set the tone for the entire space and help define zones for certain areas. Plus, whether you’re styling a brand new home or just redecorating your current living room, it’s often best to start from the ground up by prioritizing your rug purchase before any more expensive furniture. That way you don’t have to worry about maneuvering the couch and coffee table to lay down the carpet later.
While size and color play an important role in finding the best rug for your space, the placement of the rug in your living room can also really change the look. Should yours go against the wall or sit in the middle of the floor? How to stack two carpets or form a round design? There’s no right or wrong way to place a rug—it all comes down to your living room’s setup and style preferences—but we’ve put together some tips and layout ideas below.
Tips for styling living room rugs
Living room rug ideas
If you’re working with a lot of square footage, you’ll want a large, appropriately sized rug to fill the space. However, to prevent this accent from dominating the entire room, you can place all your furniture on top of the rug to visually break things up and solidify the vignette. This coverage also gives you more freedom to play with bold colors and patterns, as your seating and coffee table will stack directly over them and diffuse the look.
If you don’t have the budget for a massive 9′ x 12′ or 12′ x 15′ style, or if your furniture leans against a wall, you can downsize a bit with a rug that fits just the front legs of your seat — whether you’re working with two sofas or loveseats for love, a sofa and two chairs, or a sectional paired with one chair. Just make sure the rug is low-pile, such as a wool or cotton woven fabric, so that anything partially placed on the rug doesn’t wobble.
Floating between the furniture
Another staging idea that lets you work with a smaller rug? They float in the middle of the living room. This works especially well for L-shaped seating vignettes or if you have a particularly long couch that would require a large rug to cover the entire span. Bonus: This setup also makes cleaning the carpet easier, because you don’t have to move under the legs of the sofa with a vacuum cleaner or dust mop.
I love the juxtaposition of an oversized round rug with traditionally hard sofas and tables, but this can be difficult to style in small spaces. Try to center a round rug in line with your sofa or sectional, whether it’s large enough to partially tuck under or simply float in the space with your coffee table.
For added texture and pattern play, consider layering two rugs of different sizes. Just make sure the proportions still look proportional—a small 3′ by 5′ rug can look like a postage stamp draped over something four times that size—and that the top style extends well beyond your coffee table on all sides.
Who says rugs always have to be placed parallel to your sofa? Avoid the conventional styling method and rotate the rug so that it runs lengthwise in your living room. This works well if you’re trying to fill more floor space in a narrow or compact space, but as a rule of thumb, make sure the width is still large enough to accommodate your full sofa.