{"id":79743,"date":"2016-09-30T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=79743"},"modified":"2021-12-15T01:01:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T06:01:39","slug":"choose-right-area-rug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/choose-right-area-rug\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose the Right Area Rug for Your Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Design by Katie Martinez<\/a>. Photo by Drew Kelly<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Selecting an area rug<\/a> is a tricky thing. If it\u2019s too small, the accompanying furniture looks oversized and the rug seems shrunken. If it\u2019s too large, it just looks like carpeting.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To clear up any confusion, San Francisco\u2013based interior designer Katie Martinez<\/a> provides a few expert tips for solving area-rug conundrums.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
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Design by Katie Martinez. Photo by Aubrie Pick<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How do you decide on the size of an area rug?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It really depends on the rug and the room. If it’s a wool or natural-fiber rug, I often fill the room and leave about an 18-inch border between the rug and the wall. With antique and vintage throw rugs, their dimensions are usually smaller and random.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love a good throw rug at the end of the bed or just under the coffee table. If it feels too small, layer it over a larger one.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design by Geremia Design<\/a>. Photo by Laure Jollet<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do the same rug-size guidelines apply to all spaces?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. In a bedroom, I bring the rug just in front of the night stands and use that same border around the rest of the room or sometimes in front of a dresser or desk.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For dining rooms, I like to keep a good amount on each side of the table so the chairs don’t catch on it but it doesn’t need to fill the whole room.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like to use vintage throw rugs in living rooms, and often the furniture is half on the rug and half off. It really depends on the rug and the vibe of the room.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design by Deirdre Doherty Interiors, Inc<\/a>. Photo by Meghan Beierle O’Brien<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any suggestions on the types of rug materials you should use \u2014 and not use \u2014 in each room?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, wool is a great choice for long-term maintenance<\/a>. I do like the texture of natural-fiber rugs, but they are harder to clean and don’t do well when they get wet.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Selecting an area rug is a tricky thing. If it\u2019s too small, the accompanying furniture looks oversized and the rug seems shrunken. If it\u2019s too large, it just looks like carpeting. To clear up any confusion, San Francisco\u2013based interior designer Katie Martinez provides a few expert tips for solving area-rug conundrums. How do you decide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15522073],"tags":[7716483,7355643,502483,7716463,7716453,329423,7355653,7355663,7355673,7716473,7652843,176,7716493,7716503],"dibs-categories":[15565565,15565695],"dibs-designs":[],"dibs-styles":[],"dibs-creators":[],"dibs-sellers":[],"class_list":["post-79743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interiors","tag-area","tag-area-rug","tag-bedroom","tag-carpet","tag-colleen-egan","tag-dining-room","tag-katie-martinez","tag-katie-martinez-design","tag-living-room","tag-room","tag-rug","tag-san-francisco","tag-wool","tag-wool-rug","dibs-categories-dibs-f","dibs-categories-dibs-f_rug"],"acf":{"subtitle":"Interior designer Katie Martinez offers professional advice on picking a carpet for any room.","post_format":"article","show_date":true,"interstitial_banners":false,"show_related_items_footer_popup":false,"slideshows":false,"contributors":{"hide_byline":false,"columnist":[{"ID":361863,"post_author":"293","post_date":"2021-12-14 22:36:16","post_date_gmt":"2021-12-15 03:36:16","post_content":"\n

Colleen Egan is managing editor of The Study<\/em> and Introspective<\/em>. She has served as a digital editor at publications including Architectural Digest<\/em>, ELLE Decor<\/em>, House Beautiful<\/em>, Veranda<\/em>, Allure<\/em> and MarthaStewart.com. At last count, she had 2,051 items in her 1stDibs favorites folders. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Colleen Egan","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"colleen-egan","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-03-17 12:49:53","post_modified_gmt":"2026-03-17 16:49:53","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/contributors\/colleen-egan\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"contributors","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"photographer":null,"custom_byline":false}},"dibs_designs_tags":null,"dibs_sellers_tags":null,"dibs_creators_tags":null,"dibs_styles_tags":null,"dibs_categories_tags":["dibs-f","dibs-f_rug"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/wp-content\/uploads\/dk_021015-57-1.jpg","post_title":"How to Choose the Right Area Rug for Your 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