Looking for the ideal rug size size for queen bed in your room? Wondering what size rug for queen bed will look not just okay but best? I’m simplifying the “internet rug misinformation” for you ;)…here are the only 7 “rules” you actually need to pay attention to!👇
As if finding the perfect rug isn’t hard enough…
…too many sites tell you the “wrong” rug size for under queen beds!😮
To start, those standard online answers don’t take into consideration the following:
- What type of queen bed you have! (Some are wider or longer than others due to the bed frame thickness, whether it’s a thick upholstery or platform bed, whether your queen bed frame has a headboard or footboard, etcetera!)
- Whether you have items at the end of your bed (or if you plan on adding them in future)!
- Your current life situation! (See #2 below!)
A bedroom space doesn’t usually feel complete until the rug layer finishes it off. The right rug will ground your space visually, add texture and softness, and so much more!
When you’re looking for the best rug size under a queen bed, you can certainly just auto-select the first standard 8×10 rug size that catches your eye, but that could be a mistake (and an easily fixable one)!
I’m not a fan of waste, so I’m here to help you answer this once and for all, ideally for you and your situation! Let’s make this decision a smart one for you!🤗
You should know the “under bed” rug mistakes to avoid so I’ll go over that as well! (Just as important as knowing what to do is often knowing what NOT to do! 🙂 )
I’ll also answer the most commonly-asked questions about queen bed rug sizes, such as
- “What is the right size rug for a queen bed?“
- “Will an 8 x10 rug fit under a queen size bed?“
- “Is 6×9 rug good for queen bed?“
- “How do I know what size rug to get for my bed?“
- “How big should a rug under a queen bed be?“
- “What size rug under a queen bed?“
- “What is the best rug size for queen bed?“
WHAT SIZE RUG FOR QUEEN BED
#7: The “right” rug size depends 100% on your situation!
I’ll talk about this even more as we go along, but if you’re looking for “the right” or “the perfect” rug size for your queen bed, I’ll help figure it out for you! 🙂
- Your situation is unique!
- Your room shape is unique!
- Your bed and nightstands are unique!
- Your room size (ceiling height, width, depth, number of entry/exit points!) is unique!
- Your life goals are unique! (I help you figure out how your home is connected to making your life goals happen HERE!)
- Your material preferences (and whether you’ll be going barefoot on your rug) is also unique to you!
- Your color preferences are unique!
- Your lifestyle is unique!
Do you see it? Don’t just look at “size alone” for your rug! 🙂
Area rugs cost substantial money (especially for under a large queen bed!), so don’t you want to be sure you’ve selected the right one before you bring it home or order online?
WHAT SIZE RUG UNDER QUEEN BED
#6: Know the Rules…but You May Need to Break Them! 🙂
There are a lot of rug rules out there, such as
- “The rug should only cover 70% of the floor.”
- “Your rug shouldn’t come closer than 18″ to a wall.”
- “Your big furniture should all have at least the front legs on the rug to look good.”
Here’s a graphic I created to show you what I’ll illustrate in the rest of this post, from the 5×8′ (which is not something I’d often first recommend but still possible in special situations) all the way to the largest area rugs for under queen beds!
RUG FOR QUEEN SIZE BED
#5: Pattern Affects Your “Size”!
Just as important as your rug size is the scale of your rug pattern, which will affect what size (actually) looks good in your room!
- In a small bedroom, use a smaller-scale pattern!
- In a large bedroom, you can do something with a larger, bolder pattern!
Mistake: Not paying attention to the scale of your rug pattern!
You don’t want your pattern to overwhelm the space or take your eyes down. (Another reason I like neutral, peaceful rug patterns.)
TIP: Go Neutral to Give Yourself Space In the Future!
A good quality rug will be on the pricey side and it’s an investment…
…so you really need to love it!
It will also need to last you years and years to come, and a neutral color will give you that flexibility.
Whether you love color or neutrals, your style will probably change in future years and a neutral high-priced item is the smartest decision you can make! (Save your colorful, trendy choices for lower-priced items! 🙂 )
Below is a perfect example of a client who’s happy to take her time, stay simple, and can change anything (and almost everything!) out in her room when she wants to…while not having to pay to replace that gorgeously-textured rug under her feet!😍
In contrast to the below…
…the colorful rug is nice, but the owner will always need to work with it in future if she wants to change out her artwork, pillows, blankets, etc. for different colors. It still works well and will stay classic and timeless as a rug, but you really need to love the colors if you go the Large Colorful Rug Route! 🙂
Please keep in mind that
neutral doesn’t have to mean boring! 🙂
Not by any means! You can still choose a “neutral” rug with gorgeous texture, like this one we chose below! (We also went bigger than the typical 8×10, but more on that further down!)😊
Another example of a neutral yet textured rug design we chose for a client who wanted a calming “modern organic” feel:
RUG SIZE UNDER QUEEN BED
#4: A 8×10 Area Rug is “Standard,” However…!
If you simply want to know the most basic off-the-cuff answer to the question “So what size rug under a queen bed?”…
…then I’ll give you the basic answer of 8×10 and try not to grimace. 🙂
The thing is, my brain (and my face) would rather make you quickly aware that you do have other options, such as…
- Going bigger (and better!) with a 9×12 or even 12×15 (I’ll talk about that further down)
- A 6×9 can work if your budget is tight (or you can’t find a larger rug you love yet)
- Runners (let’s talk about that next!)
RUG SIZE QUEEN BED
#3: Sometimes, runners can be your best bet!
If you can’t find a big rug you like but you want something for the interim (or you’re budget-conscious, or you’re going to be moving soon and don’t want to invest in something hefty, etcetera)…
…then go with runners!
(This is what happened to me in our last primary bedroom! 🙂 )
Sometimes designers can be the most indecisive about their own spaces, but in this case we were in the middle of building our own bed so I wanted to wait and see how things came out.
I found our super plush, delicious-feeling-on-bare-feet rugs for a super affordable price (and I loved the color even though it said “green”…in real life it was more beautiful!).
And again, breaking the standard rules, I ran our runners under our side tables!
I like it this way for so many reasons (protects your floors, keeps continuity, looks nice, easy to clean) and encourage you to embrace it as well with runners, especially with open-style side tables like ours!
A lot of that depends on your side tables! With ours, it works! I did play with different side tables later on and it worked beautifully, but they were all “open” style. A wall-mouted or floating bedside table would also work with this…
…but it also depends on your runner size, which every rug manufacturer has their own availability so here’s where it takes time to find the right fit for your unique bed, size of headboard, side tables, lengths available, etc! 🙂
SIZE RUG FOR QUEEN BED
#2: It’s okay (sometimes even advisable!) to layer!
Even if you already have carpet in your bedroom, can you add a rug?
Absolutely yes!
To some, it might seem odd to layer a rug over a room that already has carpet, but just think of how the Bedouins layer rugs in their tents and how much cozier it feels.🥰 (And not just for your feet—but for your eyes! Visually the rug will ground the space, even in a carpeted bedroom.)
If you’re not sure about this, try doing runners along the side of the bed (see #3 above) since they’re less expensive and still help define the space.
QUEEN BED RUG SIZE
#1: When In Doubt, Go Big!
When in doubt, size up! Don’t skimp on your rug size, especially under a queen bed!
One of the most common rug mistakes I see people make is getting a too-small rug. (I get it; rugs can get exponentially more expensive the larger you go!)
But honestly, a too-small rug will make your room feel even smaller. So when in doubt, size up and enjoy the expansive feeling you’ll get!
Going bigger than the standard 8×10 rug under this queen bed below gives this homeowner room to play with having a sitting area with her chairs vs an ottoman/bench at the end of her bed (sometimes people are undecided and need some “testing phases” to help decide what’s actually functional)!
5×8 rug under queen bed
“Is a 5×8 rug too small for a queen size bed?”
This is a great (and very common!) question…
You can certainly make an 5×8 rug work if a 8×10 size is impossible for you.
You do this by “scooting” the rug down further towards the end of your bed, making sure the 8′ rug side is in line with your headboard…
…and ideally not having anything at the end of your bed makes this work even better! 🙂
Note the nightstands in this bedroom design, which is a great segway into the next common question…
rug under queen bed
“How much space should be left between rug and nightstands?”
Many designers create “rules” for this, but in my experience, that’s a mistake!
Aesthetically and strategically, I take into consideration so much more, such as
- The depth of your nightstands
- The style of your nightstands (are they round? rectangular? thick base? legs? open base? heavy base? etc)
- Whether you need space for a bench or deeper sitting area/chairs at the end of your bed
- The thickness of your headboard (thicker, upholstered headboards will scoot your body’s placement on the mattress further from the wall, which correlates to your rug, so I like taking these unique features into consideration with rug placement as well)
Below is an example of “breaking the rules” to have your rug run under your airy-style nightstand base, which I love…gives a cozier feel too rather than having wood floors directly under where your head is sleeping or getting out of bed and having one foot hit the wood floors and the other on your rug…I don’t know about you but I’m not going to live like that every cold morning if I don’t have to. 🙂
The thing is, rugs are gloriously easy to shift around as your needs change…so for example should this client decide she wants something at the end of her bed (she didn’t, and I believe her layout is nicer the way we did it leaving it more open to look out the windows and give a generous walkway around the end of the bed)…
…it can always be adjusted! Easy breezy!
rug size for queen bed
“How much space should I leave around my bedroom rug?”
If your bedroom setup has walls that would run into the edge of your rug, I like to leave at least 6-12″ of floor space (or “breathing room”!) around the edge of my rugs/between them and the walls.
Ideally your rug will extend 1′ past the end of your bed. However, if you have a chair or a bench at the end of your bed, you’ll want to take that into account! It’s best if both have that 1′ extension past their end point, whatever that ends up being.
5×7 rug under queen bed
6×9 rug under queen bed
“How much bigger should a rug be than a bed?”
A good rule of thumb is to leave enough walkway space to the side of the bed, so that when you’re walking alongside your bed, you’re not one-foot-on, one-foot-off the rug!
Since people usually want (or already have) a 8×10′ rug, I’ve created the below graphic to help you see three potential layouts you could use with that rug, depending on your actual queen bed frame, nightstands, and whether you want a bench or seating at the end of your bed! (Or nothing at all!)
I’ve also included three 9×12 variations so you can compare how much more it’s worth to you to go bigger.
queen bed rug size
“What size runner for a queen size bed?”
If you haven’t skipped the above tips in my post, you’ll know that it depends on everything from your headboard to your nightstand!
However, I’ll tell you what size we used in our bedroom: a 2’x8′ runner. (This will work whether you have a queen or king bed!)
8×10 rug under queen bed
“Do I have to use 8×10? Is 5×8 rug too small for queen bed?”
Typical rug size for a queen bed is 8×10. You can get away with a 6×9 or even a 5×8.
If you’re “needing” to use a 5×7, I would generally say that is too small and steer you towards the runner solutions we’ve discussed above! (If cost is why you’re going small, would a 6×9′ rug work better? Yes, in this case the bigger the better, whatever you can swing!)
If you already have a 5×7 or 5×8 rug you love and want to keep (like I did!), try mixing it with your runners and use it at the end of your bed! (I loved it as a “morning stretch” area because it was so soft! Better than any yoga mat! 🙂 )
WHAT SIZE RUG FOR QUEEN BED
While you’ll want to make sure your rugs don’t clash with the rest of your bedroom decor, getting the size right is just as important.
You can also go with a more subtle pattern if your room is drawing your eye up with (for example) large ceilings, windows with a view, or lighting as your focal point.
If you’ve wondered why we choose the color(s) we do, you’ll love reading our 7 Strategies for Choosing Interior Colors!
WHAT SIZE RIZE UNDER QUEEN BED
“What size rug to put under queen size bed?”
In summary, while the average person will want a 8×10 rug, there are many other factors to consider!
As discussed in this article, we’ve covered other considerations such as
- Nightstands and bed/headboard/sideboard thicknesses
- Rug runners
- 5×7 or 5×8, 8×10 vs 9×12 and beyond!
- Space in room
- End of bed requirements/future plans
Next…
Trying to fit a bed in your guest room/office? We’ve got The Only 7 Office Guest Room Ideas You (Actually) Need to Know About!
(If you’ve already read it, you won’t want to miss The Ultimate Guest Bedroom List!)
Other ideas:
- Need closet help? See Closet Built Ins: The Genius Way to Convert Your Basic Space for Max Storage!
- Check out our 13 Tips for Making Your Bedroom Look (& Feel) Like A Hotel Getaway!
- You can see our full bedroom with sitting area HERE!
- The #1 Home Must-do EVERYONE Needs Is Here!
- The Only 10 Bathroom Lights Over Mirror You Need to Know! (+5 to AVOID!)
PS: The full list of all our projects (browse by room) is HERE!
PPS: If you’d like our help on your own home be sure to check out our Design Guides & Plans or book a Design Consultation with us!
