When it comes to choosing an area rug for your home, whether for the entryway, living room, dining room or bedroom, there are so many elements to consider that it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Measurements, style, construction, shape, maintenance – it’s enough to make your head spin. Never fear, we’re here to walk you through room by room and give you expert guidance and simple tips for how to select the ideal rug for each space in your home.

Entryway

It’s the first thing you and your visitors see when walking through the front door, so the rug you pick for this space should not only be functional in helping keep the floors sparkling clean, but it should also be easy to care for and make a stylish statement that is cohesive with the rest of your home. Unlike other rooms, entryways are the perfect place to play with scale and shape. You can go for a standard rectangular rug that covers a vast amount of space, or a semi-circle rug that acts as more of a door mat. Really play with shape by bringing in a large circular rug that makes your entry equal parts interesting and grand. Just don’t forget that your rug should be proportionate to the room, leaving 1–2 feet of space between the rug and any wall.

Living Room

Living room rugs have one simple rule – the bigger the better. Many people end up with small rugs that float in the center of the room, which makes the whole space feel smaller and off balance. The general rule in terms of size is to make sure that the front two legs of all of your seating furniture fit on the living room rug. The living room can establish a signature style for the entire home, making one-of-a-kind handcrafted rugs a great choice. However, living rooms tend to be fairly high traffic areas of the home, so pay attention to thickness and durability to ensure a long lifetime for your investment.

Dining Room

Whether you have a round, square or rectangular dining table, the shape of the rug should match. This helps keep the room feeling visually cohesive and fluid. This rug should be easy to vacuum (crumbs happen, after all) and also resistant to spills. In order to achieve the correct scale, make sure that there are at least 24 inches on each side of your dining table, so that when you pull out a dining chair, all of the legs sit comfortably on the rug.

Bedroom

No one wants to step out onto a cold floor first thing in the morning, so making sure that you purchase a rug large enough to cover the space next to your nightstand is essential. In an ideal world, the rug would extend at least 24 inches on all sides of your bed, from top to bottom. If that feels like too much, make sure to position a small rug so that it covers this essential part of the floor where you step out of bed. Because this space isn’t a main thoroughfare like other places in the house, it’s a great opportunity for more delicate, artisanal rugs that don’t require heavy durability.

For even more rug know-how, visit our Decor & Entertaining Guide.

How did you land on the perfect rug for your space? Show us and share your tips by following us on Instagram @frontgate and tagging #Frontgate.