It isn't essential to match the colour of your sofa to your rug to create a harmonious living space. You could introduce tones from your type of rug into other soft furnishings, such as cushions or curtains.
If your primary furniture is upholstered in a pattern or is elaborate in design, a solid-colored rug would work really well. Make sure a solid-colored rug complements your sofa color, and match it to the accent colors in the room, such as artwork or a vase.
If you want the rug to be a major focus in the room, choose a color that is brighter than the walls and furniture. If your sofa is a light neutral and all one color, go for a patterned rug to break up the solid block of color. If your sofa is patterned or more than one shade, choose a solid-colored rug.
Furniture Legs Should Sit on the Rug
As a general rule, MacPhail says to allow for at least 3 inches of rug behind the front legs of your furniture. MacPhail says to choose a rug large enough that you avoid squeezing all your furniture close together when accounting for those 3 inches.
If there are smaller accent furniture pieces it is preferable that all of the legs should be sitting on the rug. Positioning a rug under a sofa will create a balanced look and provide a sense of proportion within the room.
You don't want to visually divide the space.
If you have a small studio, or a room that already has visual dividers, you might not want to use rugs to further chop up the space. By keeping the floor clear of rugs, the room may feel larger and airier.
Pick a rug colour that complements your existing furniture and design. Your area rug should match everything! Using existing features such as furniture in your room is a great way to pin down colour choices. Choosing a shade that matches with other elements of the room can make your interior decoration look cohesive.
In a big open-plan space, the rug should sit under the front legs of both the sofas – or if you have a large rug, then both sofas can sit completely atop the rug. If you have chairs in the space as well, then the front legs of the chair should be touching or "hovering" on the rug.
Grey sofas go with neutral carpets
For an understated and versatile living room design, we suggest pairing your grey sofa with a beige carpet. Neutral beige, cream and off-white tones will match the tone of your grey sofa perfectly and creates the perfect base for a versatile room.
'Unless the scheme is intentionally monochromatic, a living room rug shouldn't exactly match the walls or the couch. There can be synchronicity between the colors, with subtle differences that make the colors complementary.
Use light-colored rugs
The work of light colors is to brighten up a room and its décor. Rugs in tones of beige, sand, and taupe will make your room seem bigger and sprawling.
To find complementary colors, look at the color wheel. Put your finger on one color and then trace it in a straight line across the circle. Those two colors will be complementary. Blue and orange, red and green, and yellow and purple are all complementary color sets.
One of the most frequently asked questions from our showroom visitors is, should you put an area rug under a coffee table? Placing a modest rug underneath a coffee table may help your space look well put together. On the practical side, it can protect the floor beneath the table and conceal scuffs, bumps, and stains.
Use identical rugs
Whether you place two runners in the kitchen in matching patterns or opt to have a matching living room rug and dining room rug, anything goes. As long as you like it, there's nothing wrong with having your rugs match in the same room.
We suggest picking a rug size from 8×10 feet to 9×12 feet and ensuring that the rug you buy is at least six to eight inches wider than your sofa on all sides. Run the rug the length of the biggest sofa piece and give 30 to 36 inches of walkway between the larger furniture pieces if your space allows for it.
Rug Size (Too Big or Too Small)
If a rug is too small, it will appear as if it is floating in the room. If it is too large it will overpower the room and make the room appear smaller than it is. Choosing the right size of rug for your room depends on your design objective.
Used primarily in living spaces and bedrooms, the furniture legs will be partially on the rug (but not entirely). In a living room, the front legs of your couch, chairs, and end tables should fit on the rug.
Light beige is one of the most popular rug choices for homeowners, and for good reason. This color fits perfectly in most room designs, regardless of the furniture or decor colors.
Dark colors make objects appear smaller and light colors do the opposite, making objects or spaces appear larger. If your space is small try using a light colored rug to make your room have a more expansive look. Many get hung up on color matching, getting an exact shade match.
Though there's no general rule, the most pleasing schemes have a contrast of some kind between flooring and walls. So, a lighter carpet will work well with dark walls, and a darker carpet is a good option with lighter walls.
Overstock suggests orienting your rug with the shape of the room to create some visual flow. Also, you want an equal amount of space around all sides of your rug, at least a foot on either side of your sofa. Anywhere from 8 to 24 inches of exposed flooring between the outer edges of the rug and wall is ideal.
A rug changes the focal point of a room and adds a visual divider that makes a space feel more cosy and comfortable. Rugs make a room look connected and cohesive. In living rooms and family rooms, use a rug that's big enough to fit under the front legs of your furniture.
No, if you want to show off the floor or love minimalism
Although popular for living rooms, a scheme can work just as well without a rug, it completely depends on the look you're going for and how you feel about the current flooring in your space.