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Nothing irks me more than a too-small area rug. It looks shoddy like an ill-fitting suit.

i'm in the same boat...to eat or to buy a rug?

i personally think this picture looks great and it has inspired me to downsize my expectations a little bit (and hopefully i'll only have to give up starbucks now...)

Too-small turns "lovely rug!" into "cute bathmat!" very quickly.

I must say, the whole category is tricky, since rugs are never totally standardized by size. And the normal proportions don't always solve floorplan issues. In more than one job I've done, to avoid "too small" and "custom size" there is a strategically hidden rolled up protion of carpet... :)

I am reluctant to follow any hard and fast rules when it comes to...anything really. If it works, then go for it.

I think rugs in particular are hard to judge in a showroom because the lack of walls really affects how you see something. How can you judge "does this make the room look small and cramped" when you have to envision the 'room'? My view is to buy something with an easy return policy and just try it out in the actual room.

That is a great question. I am looking at Crate & Barrels Memphis Rug in Stone and the cost varies dram-at-icly depending on size...$200 for a 4x6...great, put it in the car! Let's try! $759 for 8x10....gives me a tummy ache. It's really tough to say....I think as long as the coffee table fits comfortably, you don't keep stepping on the hem when walking around it, and your feet can reach it when you sit, it doesn't necessarily have to fit under the sofa.

And the good thing....as long as the store has a return policy...you are never married to anything....buy them both, try them both, then bring back the one that didn't work (hopefully the bigger, more expensive one!). Or, if you are lucky, you can get a friend or relative to buy it from you so you don't have to haul it back!

I never really understood the small rug in front of a sofa and under just the coffee table. A rug should help define a space, or zone. The other thing I hate is when furniture is partly on and off a rug, especially chairs. Even as a decorative element, a rug should define a seating group. Especially in a dining room when the chairs are half on and off the rug. It makes the dining area feel small and cramped. A great rule of thumb is 3' perimeter around the table for a rug so the chairs can slide in and out easily and guest don't feel like they are partially off the rug.

Oh OH! I just went to look at the picture of the coveted rug...one of my cleaning clients has this exact rug..Looks great....sheds lot! Big fluffs of white fuzz all over the house...it looked like he had two big white dogs running around, but he doesn't even have a cat! The fluff that was scattered around the house from this carpet alone filled my vacuum canister....

I think it depends on the size of the room. If an 8x10 rug is going to cut the room in half (as it would in my place), then a smaller rug is the way to go. If you have acres of space, then it totally makes sense to anchor your furniture on a larger rug.

When was the last time you looked at a room and said "This rug is too large for this space"? As long as it's flat on the floor, the answer is probably "Never"

But we see rugs that are too small all too often - and it's largely due to folks like who don't want to pay for a rug that's the correct size.

There are budget options for large rugs: Sales, Discount stores, Carpet remnants, Craigslist, choosing a synthetic rug rather than a Wool.

In your case - the Quinn is basically an Ivory Shag Rug -
http://www.sansomshagrugs.com has 8X10 shag rugs in various colors for the same price as that 5x8 Pottery Barn rug - and 9x12's are 1/2 the price of the same size at PB.

Home Decorators also has comparable options in the same pricepoint.

There are always less expensive options out there.

SBDesign makes a great point about dining areas - There's nothing so annoying than dining at someone's home and trying to pull the chair up to the table beneath you and have the back legs snagged on the dainty little area rug under the table.

Either get a rug large enough to accommodate all the chairs when they're pulled out from the table - or get rid of the rug entirely.

As far as shopping for a rug: You should always know what size rug you want/need before going to the store. They have these things called "Measuring tapes" Buy one and use it often.

Overstock.com and Smartbargains.com almost always have 8x10 wool rugs for less than $500. PB, C&B, and Restoration Hardware rugs are all marked-up to high heaven. Local carpet stores are also better resources on a budget.

I've never understood why anyone would buy a rug and then put a sofa over several feet of it.

I have a 5 X 8 antique kilimn that fits in front of my sectional sofa and TV stand and under my coffee table and recliner. The size is absolutely fine. It defines an area in my loft, which is one of the main rationales for a rug. The rug in my entryway / dining area is another antique 5 X 12, which also skirts all the furniture.

A rug the size of a coffee table? No. But a rug that fits a space in a way that is appropriate? You betcha!

bepsf, you are so right! You never see rugs that are "too big", same with curtains that are "too long" or kitchens with "too many nice roomy cupboards". :-)

If you've got a big room, get an 8 x 11. If you've got a small room, stick with a 5 x 8.

I'm dealing with this dilemma right now, actually. The space in my living room could accommodate either a 5x8 or a 6x9, but I'm not sure just how much of a difference that one foot difference will make. As Taureg mentioned, the necessity of being able to put the furniture over the rug seems a little dubious. (Plus I'm putting a rug on top of wall-to-wall carpet - fun!)

I'm sorry, I was too busy drooling over that wood floor to even notice the rug....

I can't remember where I heard it, but recently this rule was brought to my attention, and I can't get it out of my head. The person stated that area rugs should ALWAYS be anchored by at least one other piece of furniture, namely a sofa or table. I believe he also mentioned that this was the "first thing taught in Decorating 101." I think that method looks better than a free-floating rug.

I think it depends on the rug. In the photo above that rug in a bigger size would be way too much for that pattern and it looks ok with the furniture arrangement.

I have recently gotten into layering rugs...

Recently I bought a 5x8 for my small living room and it was way too small with a couch and two chairs, so I bought a 8x10 jute rug in neutral and placed the smaller, more colorful 5x8 on top. Solved the problem, created nice "space" with the rug, but also gave me some color.

Think of the source of the pictures with the too-small rugs. With catalog shopping where the customer can't try out the rug or see that the colors are right are more likely to get an impulse sale on a 5x8 rug than a more expensive 9x12. It's cheaper, it's a tad easier to send back if necessary, and it's not as much of a mistake if you decided to keep it for a while then sell it. A catalog company wants to support you in that decision to buy any rug. Hence, telling the consumer through the pictures that it's just fine to have a rug that looks more like a coffee table doily than an area rug.

i find it more disturbing to have a big rug with edges ending out in the middle of walking paths, and also not lined up with the edges of furniture. i think putting the front of the sofa a few inches over the rug messes up the line. if it's so crappy to have a rug that fits INTO a seating area, then why is it one of the most common sizes made?

On a side note, what is the name of the rug in the picture...I'm looking at CB2 online, and I am NOT finding it.

Zulu Rug:
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=170&f=4626

Oddly enough, I was wondering the same thing. We just picked up a 9.5 x 13.5 vintage flokati area rug at a garage sale for an unbelievable $50.00.

Of course, now we're wondering if it's TOO big and if we should get it cut down a bit.

Personally, I think "rug rules" don't always fit. If it looks too big or too small, it probably is.

Most area rugs should be 1-2 feet outside of its furniture base.

Thanks for the input, but can anyone tell me where to find some great shag rugs that are huge. I need something over 10 feet on both sides and love the crate and barrel heavy knot carpets but they max out at smaller sizes.

There are some large wool shag rugs here:
http://www.boldrugs.com/Shag-area-rugs.html

The Dalyn super shag rugs have sizes up to 12 feet by 18 feet.