I think that the coffee table is a very useful thing in the living room. Standing on the soft cozy rug and surrounded by the chairs, the coffee table serves as a great surface space for the house owner and visitors. The only thing, which can spoil this great look is the too small rug. My readers often ask me, how to choose the rug size under the coffee table right.
The general rule is that the size of the rug size depends on the size of the coffee table. It is recommended that the length of the rug should be two-thirds longer than the length of the coffee table. And the width of the rug should be at least twice bigger than the width of the coffee table. Read further to know, how to choose the right rug size for the sitting area in general. Besides, read about choosing the right shape of the rug under a coffee table.
How Much Bigger My Rug Should Be Than Coffee Table?
The interior designer Lisa Holt tells, that there’s a golden rule you should remember when choosing the area rug under the coffee table. This rule is the following: make sure that there’s a 4 to 6 inches border around all of the furniture pieces and their legs on the rug. There’s the basic idea, and now let’s consider specific situations such as placing the rug under the coffee table.
1. You want to place the rug in the sitting room with a coffee table and other pieces of furniture on it
In this case, you shouldn’t bind the size and style of the rug to a coffee table exclusively. The rug size should fit the room in general. The first thing you should do in this case is to take the measuring tape and ascertain the size of the premise in general. Then buy the carpet, which will be large enough for this space, but will leave the uncovered floor surface of 8-12 inches between the carpet’s edge and the wall. Buying a large carpet is necessary to make the room look visibly bigger and more comfortable. But it shouldn’t occupy the whole floor surface of the room to let the space breathe.
2. You want to place one coffee table exclusively on the rug
As for me, I don’t like the idea to put just one coffee table on the rug. I think that such an interior decision will make the room look smaller and cheaper. Nevertheless, if you’ve made up your mind to choose this variant, make sure that the coffee table legs are staying on the rug. And the rug edges extend at least 4 inches more around the table.
3. You want to place the coffee table and other furniture pieces to form a sitting group on the rug
I suppose it is the most popular variant of styling the coffee table with the rug. As usual, a coffee table is part of the sitting group, which also includes chairs and a sofa. In this case, the rug should be big enough to fit through all these items.
The Rug Size under Coffee Table if It Lies in Front of the Sofa
My readers always ask me, what size of the rug they should get if they want to layer it in front of the sofa and then put a coffee table in its center. It depends on the size of the space you want to cover. I recommend you to get as a large carpet as you can for this area. In this case, the room will look cozier. And you’ll be able to use this rug in another room in the future, if you move to a new house, for example.
Before you get the rug of the right size, measure the zone, which you want to define with it. You should measure both, width and length. As the biggest item in this zone is a sofa, you should measure the space in front of it. Be sure to add 10+ inches from both sides of the sofa to its length. Then, add 4-6 inches to the width to put a sofa comfortably on the rug. The sofa’s legs should stay on the rug, so while sitting on it, you should put your feet on the soft pile of the rug.
Putting a Coffee Table on the Rug of the Right Size
The coffee table as usual is put completely on the rug in front of the sofa. I advise my readers to buy a large rug (at least 8 by 10 inches) to put the coffee table comfortably. As usual, the coffee table is put on the carpet in front of the sofa at a 12-16 inches distance. This distance shouldn’t be bigger than 18 inches even for large rooms for coffee table to carry out its functions well.
The Functions of the Coffee Table
The main function of the coffee table is to let you and your guests have the surface space. It is possible to put on this surface a book, a magazine, a smartphone, some documents, or even your feet after a long walking day. So, the coffee table should stay not far from the sofa – the main sitting place.
Of course, the coffee table legs should stay completely on the rug, as well as the legs of the chairs, if you have them in the sitting area around the table.
The Rug Size under Coffee Table if It I Surrounded by Chairs
If you have chairs around the coffee table, make sure that the rug size fits all of them, too. Imagine that you are sitting on the chair in front of the coffee table and you are scooting your seat back. The legs of the removed chair should remain on the rug. If the chair legs appear over the rug area after they were scooted, the rug is too small.
Don’t Forget about the Padding for a Rug under a Coffee Table!
After getting the rug of the right size to place the coffee table, don’t forget about the padding for a rug. The thick comfortable padding will make the sitting area softer. It will extend the lifespan of the carpet. Besides, the padding absorbs dirt and dust, thus protecting the floor under the carpet from damage.
The size of the padding should be the same as that one of the rug. Make sure, that the padding edges are not visible, and the visitors don’t see it under the carpet. If the padding is too big, take the carpet knife and cut the extra fabric.
What Shape of Rug under a Coffee Table to Choose?
I know, that many people don’t think about the rug’s shape at all. They just choose the item they like as they suppose, this decision is only a matter of taste. The shape of the rug depends on the size of the sitting area. If the length and width of the sitting area are equal or very close (just 1-5 inches of difference), the rug should be of a round or square shape. If the length is bigger than the width of 6 inches and more, then you should choose a rug of a rectangular or oval shape. As for the choice between oval/round and square/rectangular – it’s just a matter of taste.
Expert’s opinion:
Julie Khuu, the interior designer, tells, that there’s a slight difference between a round/oval and rectangular/square rugs. The rugs with corners look a little bit formal, so you should choose this shape of the rug for the classical look of the sitting area. But if you prefer casual relaxed style of the sitting space, it is better to choose the rug without angles.
As for the connection between the shape of the rug and the coffee table, there’s no strict rule about it. The only thing I ask is to avoid the conglomeration of similar elements. So, if your coffee table is round, the shape of the carpet should be square to avoid matchy-matchy ideas in your interior design.
Have You To Put the Coffee Table on the Rug?
You shouldn’t put the coffee table on the rug if you can’t get the rug of the right size. I know that some of my readers want to save money and prefer to get the rug of a smaller size – 3 by 5 or 5 by 8 inches for the room 10 by 12 inches and more. In this case, I advise refusing from getting the rug at all and put the coffee table, sofa and chairs around it on the hardwood floor. But in other cases I recommend to use a rug. It defines the sitting area. It makes the room more beautiful and cozy.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, it is not hard to choose the right rug size for the coffee table. The main thing you should think about is that the bigger rug is always better than the smaller one. So, if you are not sure, take that one which is bigger. I’ve provided you with many useful tips, which will help you to get the rug of the right size and shape under the coffee table. But the main thing you should keep in mind while choosing the right rug is having fun. As decorating your house, making it cozier is always interesting and pleasant.