How To Use Area Rugs To Make a Room Seem Larger

When a room in your home is missing something and you can’t put your finger on what it is, you may need to evaluate how well your floor encapsulates the aesthetics of your design. A room will often feel smaller or larger than it really is due to the design choices you make. If you want a small room to seem larger, an area rug can be the immediate fix you need. Knowing how to use area rugs to make a room seem larger will impress your guests or improve your staging during home showings.

Find the Perfect Rug

The first step to creating the optical illusion of a bigger room is all about picking the best area rug. To make a room seem bigger, your rug should be light-colored. White works best for making a room seem larger; however, white may blend in with your flooring. When possible, pick a light rug color that also stands out. Make sure your chosen color complements your wall color. You shouldn’t pick a bold rug design if you want the room to look bigger. Cleaner, solid-colored rugs will give you the grandest effect for the illusion.

Don’t pick more than one rug per room. One large, square-shaped area rug will provide you with the appearance of a bigger room, while multiple rugs will section off your room into parts and make it look smaller overall.

Placing the Rug

Don’t Touch the Walls

You need the rug to be large, but you don’t want it to be so large that it touches the walls. Try to keep your area rug underneath the centerpiece of your room. For living rooms, this is often the sofa or coffee table. Avoid placing the rug underneath furniture that also touches the wall, such as an entertainment center. Leaving room between the walls and your area rug accentuates the negative space in your design.

Don’t Crowd the Rug

Multiple pieces of furniture should never be touching your rug. Whenever you’re considering how to use area rugs to make a room seem larger, it’s essential that you keep your area rug spaced at least a few inches between all the furniture in the room. If you want to fit the rug in the room with minimal furniture-moving, measure the area in which you would like your new rug to fit. Once you have your measurements, look at our selection of custom-size area rugs to make a decision on style and color. At Koeckritz Rugs, we have a wide selection of high-quality area rugs that we can customize for any room of your home. Trust us to fit your home with an elegant new addition to your flooring.