The Best Places to Put Area Rugs

Home decorators often agonize over where to place the elements of a room's decor. Pillows can go easily on sofas or chairs, drapes go on windows and artwork on walls or shelves but where are the best places to put area rugs? The answer is simple: Anywhere the decorator wants, as long as certain guidelines are used.

Smaller rugs and accent rugs can be located wherever they serve a purpose or look best. Because they're small and portable, they can easily be moved around until the right look is achieved.

Placement is far more complicated when it comes to larger area rugs, in part because rugs in larger sizes frequently serve as a room's focal point, as the main covering on a hardwood or tile floor, or as the anchor for a group of furniture. This reasons are why it's essential to get the rug in the right place, lest the entire room become unbalanced.

One way to decide on proper placement is to get the right size rug. For example, say the decision is among solid-colored area rugs of various sizes. If the rug is to be used in a typical setting, as the anchor for furniture in a conversation grouping, then it should be large enough so that 2 to 3 inches of rug will lie under the legs of the sofa and chairs. If a coffee table is used in the group, it's typically centered between the shorter ends of a rectangular rug.

However, what if an unusual shape is used, such as oval area rugs, octagon rugs or round rugs? Here is where it pays to take careful measurements of the area to be covered, because shaped rugs often cover a smaller overall area than would be typical of a rectangular rug. In this case, the decorator has to make allowances for the rug's shape in the furniture grouping.

When serving as a focal point on a hardwood or tile floor, the rug should be large enough to allow a minimum of 8 inches of space between the rug and the walls. The rug should be centered, preferably with equal spacing all around even if there's a large architectural feature such as fireplace in the room. This arrangement should harmonize the rug as a focal point with the beauty of the flooring beneath it.

When using a large rug in a dining area, be sure that it extends at least two feet beyond the table's edge. This provides enough space for a diner to move a chair without the chair legs going off the rug.

Using rugs to define living spaces in large rooms works extremely well provided the rugs are appropriate sizes and in styles that don't clash with one another. For example, a main sitting area in a "great room" might have a 5- to 7-foot round or hexagonal rug, while a computer area nearby could have a small 4-by-6 rug to define its space.

Whenever unsure of a rug's place, try this technique: Measure the area to be covered, then tape the paper down where the corners of the rug will lie. (If you're considering shaped rugs, then mark where the edges of the shape will be). Keep moving the papers around until you find the outline that looks best. Then measure this outline, and choose a rug that matches the dimensions of the outline. Perfect rug, perfect placement!