Living Room Rugs

Sizing a living room rug

The usual mistake with a living room rug is buying it too small. A rug that floats in the middle of the floor, well away from the sofa and chairs, makes the room feel smaller and the furniture look scattered. As a rule, go for a rug large enough for at least the front legs of your sofa and armchairs to rest on it.

Before you order, measure the seating area and mark the outline on the floor with masking tape, then live with it for a while. Compare your outline with the size on the product page, and where a rug comes in a choice of sizes, pick the size that fits. Keep a strip of bare floor between the rug and the walls so the room still frames it.

Placing a living room rug around the sofa

In a larger or open-plan room, pick a rug big enough for the sofa and chairs to sit fully on it, which marks out the living area. In an average room, front legs on and back legs off is a reliable choice. In a small room, a rug that sits only under the coffee table can work, as long as it is clearly wider than the table.

Keep the edge of the rug clear of doorways so doors swing freely and nobody trips. On a wooden or tiled floor, a non-slip underlay helps hold the rug in place and adds a little cushioning underfoot.

Choosing a living room rug shape

Most of the rugs on this page are rectangular, the easiest shape to line up with a sofa, a fireplace or the long wall of a room. We also stock runners, which suit the walkway between a door and the seating, the space behind a sofa in an open-plan room, or a long stretch of floor under a window.

For a softer look, a few here are round. A round rug breaks up a room full of straight lines and sits neatly under a round coffee table or an armchair in a reading corner. Keep furniture fully on it or clearly off it, as a round rug looks awkward partly under a straight-backed sofa.

Flatweave or shaggy living room rugs

Pile comes down to how the room is used, and we stock both flatweave and shaggy rugs. A flatweave sits low and flat, so doors and chairs pass over it easily and crumbs lift out with a quick vacuum, which makes it a sensible pick for a busy family room.

A shaggy rug has a deep, soft pile that feels cosy underfoot and invites you to sit on the floor, so it suits a quieter room. A few on this page have a high pile. Where a product page gives a pile height, use it to check that a nearby door will clear the rug.

Living room rug materials

Most of the rugs on this page are polyester. We also stock polypropylene and wool rugs. If softness is your priority, polyester is a good fit. If the rug will face muddy feet and spilt drinks, polypropylene, a practical man-made fibre, is worth a look. If you would rather have a natural fibre, wool has a warm, resilient feel.

A few on this page are made from jute, a plant fibre with an earthy, textured weave. Jute feels firmer than a soft pile, so it suits a room where the rug is more for looks than for lounging on. Check the material details on the product page to see exactly what a rug is made from, including any blend.

Colours and patterns for living room rugs

We stock grey, natural, blue, green, pink, white and brown rugs to match your sofa, curtains or walls. Patterns include abstract, geometric and floral, and we stock plain rugs too. Most of the rugs here have a modern look. We also stock traditional and Scandinavian styles.

If the sofa and walls are plain, a patterned rug brings the room to life; if the room is already busy with prints, a plain rug calms it down. Pale rugs make a dark room feel lighter, while deeper colours and patterns are better at hiding marks. Echo a colour from your cushions or artwork in the rug to tie the room together.

Looking after your living room rug

Washing advice differs from rug to rug, so check the care details on the product page before you buy. A machine washable rug is a real help in a home with young children or pets. If the details say spot clean only, blot spills straight away with a clean, damp cloth rather than rubbing them in.

Vacuum regularly, switching off the rotating brush on a shaggy pile so it does not pull at the fibres. Turn the rug around from time to time so sunlight and footsteps are shared evenly across it, and give smaller rugs a shake now and then to lift out grit.