Rug Size Calculator

Room minus twice the border, rounded down to a size that exists. With the usual 45 cm border a 4 × 3 m room takes 290 × 200 cm and a 5 × 4 m room takes 400 × 300 cm. Round down, never up.

Between 30 and 60 cm, the same on every side. A narrow border feels cosy and suits small rooms, a wide one reads as a deliberate frame and makes a room look larger. Evenness matters more than the number: 20 cm to one wall and 80 cm to the other looks unplanned however good the rug is.

Either all legs on, or the front legs on — not floating between. All legs on needs the biggest rug and suits large rooms; front legs on is the common compromise, connecting sofa and chairs without buying an oversized rug. Furniture standing entirely off the rug is the arrangement to avoid.

From the table, not the room: the rug has to extend about 60 cm past every edge so chairs stay on it when pushed back. Measure the table, add 120 cm to each direction, and take the next size at or above that. A 180 × 90 cm table wants at least 300 × 210 cm, which in practice means 340 × 240.

Start it about a third of the way up the bed and run it well past the foot, so your feet land on it when you get up. Aim for roughly 60 cm of rug on each side of the bed. For a standard double that means about 240 × 170 cm, for a king 300 × 200 cm or larger.

Because below that no stocked size leaves a proper border. A 2 × 2 m room minus 45 cm on each side leaves 110 × 110 cm, and the smallest standard rug is 120 cm long. Such a room wants a small accent rug placed deliberately — beside the bed, in front of a chair — rather than one centred in the space.