Small Rugs for a Bedroom or Living Room

A small rug is not a large rug for less money. It is a different thing with different jobs, and most of them are jobs a big rug cannot do.

A rug is generally considered small up to around 120 x 170cm, and round rugs up to around 120cm across. Anything under that is doing a specific job in a specific spot rather than covering a room.

Small rugs for a bedroom

The bedroom is where small rugs make the most sense, and the reason is that most of a bedroom floor is under the bed where nobody sees it.

You are not covering a room. You are covering the strip of floor your feet land on, and a small rug running along one side of the bed does that completely. Two of them either side does it for a shared bed, at a fraction of what a rug big enough to run under the bed would cost.

The same size works in front of a wardrobe, beside a dressing table, or in a box room where anything larger would have to be cut around the furniture.

Small rugs for a living room

In a living room a small rug is doing something specific rather than anchoring the seating, and it is worth being clear which.

It works as a soft spot in front of a fireplace, under a single armchair, or in a reading corner with a lamp. It works in a genuinely small sitting room where a larger rug would run under every wall.

What it does not do is sit in the middle of a normal-sized living room between the sofa and the coffee table. At that size, in that spot, it reads as something that got left behind rather than something chosen. If the room needs a rug that ties the furniture together, the answer is a bigger one, not a cheaper one.

Small round rugs

Small round rugs suit the same specific spots: beside a bed, under a cot, in front of a dressing table, or as a soft landing in the corner of a child's room.

A circle reads as deliberate in a way a small rectangle sometimes does not, which is why a small round rug can hold a spot that a small rectangular one would look lost in.

One thing they are not is a dining rug. A round dining table for four is around 120cm across on its own, so a small round rug does not reach the table edge, let alone the chairs. That job needs a large round rug.

Small rugs by colour

A small rug is the cheapest way to try a colour you are not sure about, which is a real advantage and worth using.

Because it covers so little floor, a strong colour that would be a commitment across a whole room is just an accent here. Pink, green and blue all work harder at this size than they do at larger ones, and if you go off it, you have not spent much.

Pale colours are also more practical than they look. A small rug beside a bed sees no shoes and no traffic, so cream and light grey wear far better here than the same colour would in a hallway.

Small rug FAQs

What size is a small rug?

Rugs are generally considered small up to around 120 x 170cm, and round rugs up to around 120cm across. Above that they start doing the job of anchoring furniture rather than covering a particular spot.

Where should you put a small rug?

Beside a bed, in front of a wardrobe or dressing table, under a single armchair, in front of a fireplace, or in a child's room. Anywhere the job is covering a specific spot rather than tying a room together.

Can you use a small rug in a living room?

In a small sitting room, or as a soft spot under one chair or in front of a fire, yes. In the middle of a normal living room it looks stranded — that job needs a large rug.

What size round rug counts as small?

Up to around 120cm across. Larger round rugs run to 200cm and beyond, and those are the ones for a dining table or a seating group.

Is a small rug big enough for a dining table?

No. A round table for four is around 120cm on its own, and the rug needs to be wide enough that a pulled-out chair still has all four feet on it. That is a large round rug, not a small one.

Are small rugs cheaper than large ones?

Yes, considerably, which makes them the sensible way to try a colour or a texture before committing to it across a whole floor.