Room shape 3 of 5

Open Plan

An open plan removes the measurement everything else was based on. There is no wall-to-wall figure for the living area because there is no wall, so the border rule has nothing to subtract from.

What replaces it is the rug. In an open plan the rug is the boundary — the edge of the rug is where the living room stops and the dining area begins, and that is a job an undersized rug cannot do. This is the one situation where buying the largest rug available is straightforwardly correct.

Wall-hung things become scarce rather than abundant. There may be one usable wall, often interrupted, and the mirror and the shelves are competing for it.

The numbers this shape starts from

Whole space: 20 by 30 ft or more
Living zone within it: commonly 13 by 16 ft
Ceiling: 9 ft and up
Walls available: one or two, often partial

4 figures. These are typical for this shape, not measurements of your room.

What follows, rule by rule

All 6 rules, each landing somewhere different in this shape.

Rug Size to Room Size

rugs

Skip the border arithmetic and use the furniture arithmetic alone. Measure the outer footprint of the seating group and add 8 to 12 in per side. For a 13 by 16 ft zone with a 100 by 130 in seating group, that gives roughly 116 by 154 in — bigger than anything here.

Curtain Drop and Width

curtains

Open plans usually mean tall windows and 9 ft or higher ceilings, which puts rod-to-floor well past 100 in. Nothing in this catalog reaches that, and the honest note is that this is a custom-length situation.

Mirror Height and Placement

mirrors

With few walls, a mirror is often leaning rather than hung, which makes the anchoring question the first one rather than the last. The height arithmetic is unchanged; the placement question becomes what is behind it and who walks past it.

Shelf Spacing and Load

floating shelves

The usable wall is often a partial one — a return beside a doorway, or the side of a stair. Measure the clear rectangle before choosing a shelf length, because 16.5 in may be longer than the piece of wall you have.

Lamp Height to Seating

floor lamps

Floor lamps do more work in an open plan because there is no ceiling fixture centered over the seating. The seated eye arithmetic is the same; what changes is that you may want two lamps rather than one, and outlets in the middle of a large floor are rare.

Night-Light Placement

night lights

A long route between zones favors several low units over one bright one, and a rechargeable unit becomes useful where there is no outlet on the run at all.

Catalog sizes against those ranges

5 listings whose stated figure can be put against the arithmetic for this shape. This is a comparison of numbers. It is not a claim that any of these suits your room, which depends on measurements only you have.

Links to Amazon on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It changes nothing about the numbers below, which come from the listings.

Target rug, about 116 by 154 in for a 13 by 16 ft zone
PLHXFR Floral Area Rug, 8 x 10 ft
The stated 96 by 120 in falls below that. It is the largest footprint the catalog states.
The listing states machine washable, non slip, stain resistant, a vintage floral print and large indoor use.
Check the listing
Target rug, about 116 by 154 in for a 13 by 16 ft zone
Soalmost Washable Area Rug, 8 x 10 ft
Also 96 by 120 in stated. The two 8 by 10s are the ceiling of what this catalog offers.
The listing states vintage non-slip, stain resistant, low pile, foldable and lightweight.
Check the listing
Lamp for a 9 ft ceiling with no central fixture
Globe Electric Torchiere Floor Lamp, 72 in
The stated 72 in is the tallest here, and an uplight has ceiling to spread across at this height.
The listing states an adjustable reading light and a slim space-saving design.
Check the listing
Shelf length, under the clear width of a partial wall
WOPITUES Floating Shelves, Set of 6, 16.5 in
The stated 16.5 in is the longest here, and the set of 6 covers a short wall in one order.
The listing states rustic farmhouse wood shelves for display.
Check the listing
A run with no outlet on it
Lyridz Rechargeable Motion Light, 2-pack
The listing states a rechargeable battery, so it does not need an outlet on the route.
The listing states a rechargeable battery, a motion sensor, stick-on mounting and adjustable brightness.
Check the listing

The Amazon links above are affiliate links, and a purchase made through one may earn us a commission. Nothing on this page was ranked, ordered or described differently because of that.

What does not fit

4 things this shape rules out, and why.

Every rug in this catalog, for a large open-plan living zone.: The furniture arithmetic for a 13 by 16 ft zone asks for something over 10 ft on the long side. The catalog tops out at 10 ft, and that is before the 8 to 12 in per side is added. Nothing here defines a zone that size.
Every curtain panel, on a 9 ft or higher window wall.: Rod-to-floor past 100 in against a longest panel of 84 in. This is not a near miss.
A 5 by 7 rug used as a zone divider.: At 60 by 84 in it is smaller than the seating group it is supposed to contain, so instead of drawing a boundary it draws a smaller shape inside one, and the zone reads as unresolved.
A leaning mirror in an open walkway.: Not a sizing problem. A leaning mirror needs a wall it can be anchored to and a position people do not pass close to, and an open plan offers fewer of both.

Before anything else

The edge that curls is the edge you catch

A rug that is one size too small has more edge inside the room than a rug that is the right size, and every one of those edges sits in a place people walk. Corners lift first, then the long edges, and a lifted edge is the thing a toe goes under. On a smooth floor, a rug also slides, which is a separate problem with the same result.

On hard floors a rug pad is the part that stops the rug moving and keeps the edges down; it is not an accessory. Where a rug crosses a walking lane, plan the layout so the edge does not land mid-stride. For an older person in the house, a loose rug edge deserves more thought than it usually gets.

Where a listing says non-slip or no slip, that is the seller’s word for a backing. It is not a measurement, it is not a standard, and this site does not compare products on it. We make no medical claims and we do not promise that any product here prevents a fall.

CPSC — Flooring (Slips, Trips, and Falls)

Before anything else

The cord never goes under the rug

A floor lamp stands where the seating is, and the rug is usually between the lamp and the outlet. Running the cord under the rug is the obvious solution and the wrong one. Feet crossing the rug abrade the insulation at a spot nobody can see, and a covered cord holds the heat it would otherwise shed.

Route the cord around the edge of the rug and along the base of the wall instead, and replace any cord that is cracked, pinched or warm to the touch. If the run cannot be made without crossing a walking lane, that is a question for an electrician, not for a rug.

Do not exceed the maximum bulb wattage the lamp manufacturer prints on the fixture. Several listings in this catalog state that no bulb is included; the figure that governs is the one on the lamp, not the one on the box the bulb came in.

CPSC — Electrical Safety

Keep in view for this shape

A large rug in an open plan crosses walking lanes by design. A pad matters more here, not less.
A leaning mirror with little wall behind it still has to be anchored wherever the manufacturer provides for it.
Lamp cords crossing an open floor are a separate problem from lamp height, and they do not get solved by going under the rug.

Sources for this page

3 sources, checked by opening each one.