Top 6 Bedroom Rug Placement Tips

A bedroom without a rug feels incomplete. It’s the final touch – the magnum opus of the interior design that can enhance the ambiance of your look by uplifting the furniture, the floor finishes, and even the walls.

However, you need to know the best placement hacks in order to get the best results. So below, we’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know about furnishing area rugs in your bedrooms:

Table of Contents

1. At the Foot of the Bed

2. Underneath the Bed

3. At the Side of the Bed

4. Layering Under the Bed

5.Accentuating Furniture Around the Bed

6. Understanding the Shape of Your Rug

At the Foot of the Bed

The most common way to feature an area rug in a bedroom is by placing it at the foot of your bed. Here are two important considerations that you must know about:

• If the rug is smaller than or equal to the width of the bed, leave 12” to 18’ of space around all sides of the area rug for maximum impact.
• If the rug is larger than the width of the bed, then place the top of it just under the footboard of the bed.

Underneath the Bed

While pushing the rug underneath the bed may be one of the most conventional techniques to feature an area rug in a bedroom, you also need to understand that there are several unique ways to do this. Let’s take a look at them:

• Placing only the top few inches of the rug under the bed:This is where only the top 6"-18” of the rug are furnished underneath the bed. This layout technique must be absolutely symmetrical. Note that you should also have 12” to 24” of the rug on either side of the bed as well, so it’s best if you choose medium or oversized rugs to get this effect.
• Placing three-quarters of the rug underneath the bed: This is where the maximum part of the area rug is furnished under the bed. Depending on the size of the rug, you can slide it completely under the nightstands, or start the rug an inch before the nightstands. At least 2.5’ to 3’ of rug bottom should peek out underneath the footboard as well, which is why this technique only works for larger area rugs in spacious bedrooms.
• At an oblique angle: Lastly, you can place a medium-sized area rug at an oblique angle underneath one corner of your bed. This layout is preferable for larger bedrooms and is recommended especially if you want to design a stylistic interior.

At the Side of the Bed

Placing area rugs at the side of the bed is an unconventional technique, but it works quite well in bigger spaces. It also works well in bedroom furniture layouts where the bed itself has been pushed against the wall to free up space.

For bigger rooms, you can place small area rugs (mostly 3’x5 or 4’x6’ depending on the space you have) on either side of the bed with 12” to 18” of bare floor all around them. If you do not have the spare floor area for a full-sized rug, you can also choose runners to create a similar effect.

If your bed is pushed against the wall, then you can place a small or medium sized rug beside it. Chances are, that your room is already small, so this rug will take up all the central space and become the veritable focal point of the room.

If you’re unsure which rug size to get, see our rug size guide here. Also, HomelyRugs.com has a rug placement guide if you’re unsure where to put your rug.

Layering Under the Bed

Rug layering is the best-kept secret of bedroom interior designing. While a simple, solitary rug always emulates a contrasting flair within the ambiance, you can spice things up even more by choosing to layer with different, dissimilar area rugs. They can differ in shape, size, color, and texture.

The challenge lies in your matching prowess. Here’s a thumb rule to keep things simple: always choose colors that lie on the complete opposite end of the spectrum (e.g. red and white, blue and orange, green and burgundy, pink and khaki, etc.). Another thumb rule to help you out: always, always place the lighter-hued rug underneath the bolder one for maximum impact!

Accentuating Furniture Around the Bed

Just because you’re buying an area rug for your bedroom does not mean that you have to pair it with your bed. You can use the rug as a separate entity and match it with the surrounding accent furniture. This includes accent chairs, dressers, and any other freestanding furniture piece that you’ve got inside your bedroom.

You’ll have a lot of opportunities to create unique styles and focused areas inside your bedroom by pairing accent furniture and area rugs. The most common example of this venture is a cozy reading nook that can be designed by placing a rug underneath an oversized accent chair and complementing both with an end table and a floor lamp.

Other examples might include placing a medium-sized area rug underneath your dressing table or a console.

Understanding the Shape of Your Rug

One of the basics of rug placement in bedrooms is the shapely contrast. The shape of the area rug has to complement the layout, the size of the room, as well as the size of your furniture. For example, only medium and oversized rugs can complement a king-sized bed while small to medium-sized area rugs can be easily used to elevate a queen-sized bed.

This is also where the shape of the rug comes in. Note that round rugs are able to complement all sorts of bedroom layouts. You can choose them in all; small as well as medium and large sizes. They’ll bring a fun and eclectic vibe to your layout.

Rectangular rugs have a universally sophisticated and straight-laced effect, which is why you can choose them in many sizes to complement your bedroom interior.

Square shaped area rugs require a lot more thought because they generally do not complement the shape of typical beds. You can, however, use them to create beautiful accent nooks. You can also tilt them and use them for layering larger rectangular rugs with a solid color scheme.

We hope this guide helps you design a great bedroom with the perfect rug placement!

Also, check out our other rug placement guides on our blog here.