Tool, one of two

Rug Size Finder

Two sliders and a choice about your furniture. What comes back is a range in inches and an honest account of which footprints in this catalog fall inside it — including, often enough, none of them.

JavaScript is off, so the sliders and buttons below will not move. Everything else on this page is already here: the figures shown are a worked example at the default settings, and the formula is printed further down. It is the same arithmetic on paper.

The room, wall to wall

Longer side15 ftShorter side12 ft

144 by 180 in. The slider runs 8 to 20 ft on each side.

How the furniture stands

The rug runs under the front edge of each piece by 4 to 8 in and the back legs stay on the floor.

The range this gives

72 inSmallest short side that carries the furnitureFrom the rule: Rug Size to Room Size
108 inLargest short side that keeps an 18 in borderFrom the rule: Rug Size to Room Size

Measured flat across the floor, short side of the rug

In a 12 by 15 ft room with front legs only, a rug wants to be between 72 in and 108 in on its short side, and no more than 144 in on its long side.

What this catalog has, against that range

8 by 10 ft96 by 120 in, 2 listingsInside the range
5 by 7 ft60 by 84 in, 4 listingsBelow the range
4 by 6 ft48 by 72 in, 1 listingBelow the range
4 by 5.9 ft48 by 70.8 in, 1 listingBelow the range
2 by 6 ft24 by 72 in, 1 listingBelow the range
2 by 3 ft24 by 36 in, 1 listingBelow the range

6 stated footprints in this catalog, 1 of them inside the range.

The arithmetic, printed

Largest side = room side in inches − 36, which is 18 in of bare floor at each wall.
Smallest short side = room short side in inches × 0.50, the factor for front legs only.
A catalog size is inside the range when its short side sits between those two numbers and its long side does not exceed the border limit.

What this does not account for: door swings, floor vents, a fireplace hearth, a radiator, the real footprint of your furniture, or a room that is not a rectangle. Measure those and adjust by hand.

This is a common rule of thumb from decorating practice. It is not a standard and not a requirement.
Keep the edges of the rug clear of the line people walk, so no edge lands mid-stride.
On a smooth floor a rug needs a pad. That is the part that holds it still and keeps the edges down, whatever the listing says about its backing.

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)

Where the numbers come from

The full derivation, in 5 steps, is on Rug Size to Room Size. How to take the measurement the tool asks for is on Measure the Floor. The other tool on this site is Curtain Drop Check.

Sources for this tool

3 sources, checked by opening each one.