Bedroom rug placement

Designers call the default layout the two-thirds rule: the rug runs under the lower two-thirds of the bed and stops just short of the nightstands. With nightstands 18 in deep it works out to a little more than that: the rug starts 18 in from the headboard wall and runs under the lower 62 in of an 80 in queen.

The rule puts every inch of the rug where it shows. The width goes beside the mattress, where you stand; the depth goes past the foot, where you walk; and the headboard end, which nobody sees, stays bare. The nightstands stand level on the floor instead of rocking on the rug's edge.

It also decides which sizes work. An 8x10 turned sideways is 96 in deep, so from 18 in it reaches 34 in past the foot. A 6x9 is only 72 in deep and cannot do both ends: placed to reach the foot it leaves 7 in of bare floor in front of the nightstands and only 17 in past the foot, and the rug looks like it slid down the bed.

The other classic layout runs the rug from the headboard wall out, with the nightstands standing on it. It takes a deeper rug: the bed's length plus 18-36 in past the foot, 8 ft 2 in to 9 ft 8 in under a queen. A 9x12 is 9 ft deep and does it; an 8x10 pushed to the wall reaches only 16 in past the foot, which is why the calculator slides it down instead.

Choose this layout for a king or California king in a room at least 13 ft 4 in wide, where a 9x12 sits under the nightstands and still reaches 28 in past the foot with 34 in on each side. It also suits tall or top-heavy nightstands, since four legs on one surface stand steadier than two on and two off. Keep the pile low or the pad thin so the tables sit flat.

Two 2 ft 6 in x 8 ft runners, one on each side of the bed, cover the same two landing strips as an 8x10 with half the rug. Start each runner just in front of its nightstand and run it toward the foot: 30 in of rug shows beside the mattress, in the middle of the 24-36 in range, and 34 in reaches past the foot of a queen, the same reach as the 8x10. Nothing goes under the bed, so nothing has to be lifted to lay them, which suits platform beds, storage beds and radiant floors.

What two runners cannot do is join the bed and its tables into one piece. The eye reads two strips rather than a base, so the layout suits a smaller bedroom or a tight budget better than a large primary bedroom.

With one long side of the bed against a wall, only the open side needs rug, and the rug turns lengthwise so its long side runs along the bed. The calculator drops the wall side from its check and measures the open side alone. Under a queen in a 12 x 14 ft room it picks a 6x9 turned lengthwise: 30 in on the open side, 28 in past the foot, and the nightstand standing on it. A 5x8 turned the same way shows 30 in and 34 in past the foot, starting just in front of the nightstand; a 4x6 is the smallest that works, with 30 in on the open side but only 17 in past the foot.

Drag the bed to a wall in the calculator above to see the same for your bed and room. The table below gives the pick for each bed size.

A nightstand stands either fully on the rug or fully off it, with 0-6 in of floor between the rug's top edge and its front legs. Front legs on the rug and back legs off makes it rock, and a rug edge under a nightstand curls. The calculator flags any placement that puts the edge under the nightstands' feet.

Past 6 in the gap starts to look like a mistake, as if the rug slipped down the bed. That is why a 6x9 under a queen ranks below an 8x10 even though its sides pass: to reach the foot it has to leave 7 in in front of the nightstands.

1. Turn the rug so its long side runs across the bed, parallel to the headboard wall.
2. Center it on the bed, so the same amount shows on each side: 30 in for a queen under an 8x10.
3. Slide it toward the headboard until the top edge sits just in front of the nightstands, about 18 in from the wall, or all the way under them if the rug is deep enough to keep 18 in past the foot.
4. Check the foot: 34 in of rug should show past the end of the bed, enough for a bench or a step.