10 Tips for Getting a Dining Room Rug Just Right

Finding a dining room rug that is both practical and stylish is no easy feat. Fluffy pile can permanently trap every crumb from the table. Too-small rugs can trip up chairs. But a good rug can bring color, texture, warmth and style to the dining room — making the hunt well worth the effort. Read on for 10 tips for choosing the just-right rug for this hardworking room.

1. Err on the side of too big. A dining room rug should have at least 24 inches of extra room on all sides of the dining table to allow enough space for guests to pull out chairs without tripping over the rug. An even wider border is ideal. To be sure you are getting the correct size rug, measure your dining table, add 24 inches or more on each side and mark the area directly on the floor with painter’s tape. If the marked areas falls well inside your other dining room furniture (buffet, bar cart), consider sizing up.

2. Pick a flat weave or short pile rug. Because spills are inevitable, and the ease with which you can pull a chair back is important, flat-weave or low-pile rugs are the practical choice in the dining room. Keep the shag rugs, Moroccan carpets and other thick, fluffy rugs in the living room, where they will require less cleaning and maintenance.

3. Use the rug as a jumping-off point for decorating. If the rug is one of your first purchases for the dining room, you can use it to set the tone for the space and develop a color scheme. Pull the lightest or background color from the rug to use as a wall color, and bring in a bolder hue from the rug as an accent in the room, on chair cushions or in artwork.

4. Choose easy-clean materials. Generally, pure natural fibers like cotton and wool are the simplest to clean at home, and synthetic blends are the most difficult. The exception are indoor-outdoor and stain-resistant rugs that are made to withstand scrubbing.

More Tips for Getting a Dining Room Rug Just Right

 

10 Tips for Getting a Dining Room Rug Just Right