Stylish Small Area Rugs for Living Room Decor

Looking to add a stylish touch to your living room decor without breaking the bank? Small area rugs are a budget-friendly option that can completely transform the look and feel of your space. Read on to discover the benefits of using a petite rug in your living room along with tips for selecting the perfect size, shape, material, and style.

A compact area rug layered over your existing flooring brings many perks. The right small rug can pull a room together, define a sitting area, add a pop of color or texture, protect your floors, and make a small living room appear larger. Plus, smaller rugs often come with a more affordable price tag than larger options, making revamping your home decor easy and economical.

Choosing the Right Size Small Area Rug

When browsing for a small living room rug, resist the urge to go too tiny. An undersized area rug floating awkwardly in the middle of the floor fails to serve any functional or decorative purpose. Instead, focus on choosing a petite rug that offers enough coverage to meet your needs.

Determining the Living Room's Dimensions

Start by measuring your living room to find the ideal rug size. Make sure to account for the entire sitting area - for example, if you have two armchairs facing a sofa, include the space spanning all three pieces of furniture plus room for legs when stretched out.

As a general guideline, choose an area rug that is big enough for the front legs of surrounding chairs, sofas, ottomans, and other pieces to fit on top. Allowing about 18-24 inches of flooring to show around the rug's perimeter helps it feel proportional. Rugs that are too small tend to look out of place and fail to define a cozy seating space.

Accounting for Furniture Placement

Also consider furniture placement when selecting your small living room rug dimensions. If your layout includes a central coffee table that you want your rug to hug on all sides, make sure to choose an area rug with about an 8-12 inch border. This breathing room prevents furniture legs from awkwardly straddling the edges.

For living rooms with furniture positioned against walls rather than the middle of the floor, you have more flexibility. A rug can float centrally without needing as much surrounding space since no legs will hover at the periphery. Just ensure walkways are not obstructed.

Allowing Walkways Around the Rug

When determining living room rug size, leave enough bare flooring for comfortable foot traffic flow without tripping. At minimum, allow 12-18 inches between rugs' edges and entryways, hallways, stairs, and pathways to doors or openings. Prevent accidents with tactical small rug positioning.

Selecting a Shape for the Small Living Room Rug

Beyond dimensions, also consider silhouette and form when picking living room floor coverings. Choose a shape that flatters your room's proportions and furniture configuration for a pulled-together aesthetic. From the classic rectangle to eye-catching circles, here are popular small rug shapes to peruse.

Round

A round area rug intrinsically draws focus, lending visual weight andbalance. Circular rugs work well defining sitting zones in emptyfloor spaces. Layer one under a coffee table or tucked near a sofa andarmchairs. Round rugs come in varying diameters, with 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9feet as common petite options.

Oval

For living rooms with consolidated furniture setups, oval rugs offerflexibility. Their elongated silhouette can span the full length of asofa while still extending partially under flanking chairs or ottomans.Oval rugs help unite seating groups. Like rounds, ovals look bestcentrally placed rather than floating near walls.

Rectangle

The most ubiquitous rug silhouette, rectangles work well in linearspaces with furniture against walls. Their elongated shape can run thefull span of a sofa or be rotated to fit between a TV stand andcouch. Rectangular area rugs come in all dimensions but slimmer sizeslike 3 x 5 feet or 4 x 6 feet operate well in compact livingrooms.

Square

For small living rooms seeking symmetry, square rugs neatly definecentral seating areas with tailored symmetry. Place one under a coffee table flanked by two chairs or sofas for a balanced layout. Orlay larger squares spanning entire sitting zones. Either way, theirsturdy geometric form grounds rooms.

Complementing the Living Room Decor Style

Beyond structural considerations like size and shape, aesthetic elements also factor when selecting a small living room rug. Choose patterns, textures, colors and materials harmonizing with your existing interior design scheme for a cohesive flow. Whether your home leans traditional or modern, or falls somewhere between, a petite rug can pull the look together when styles align.

Traditional

For classically styled living rooms, stick to timeless decorative rugoptions like Persian-inspired damasks, medallion motifs, paisleys andflorals. Intricate patterns, fringe trims, warm palettes, and luxe fibers like wool and silk keep spaces elegant yet inviting.

Contemporary

Those favoring modern decor welcome simplistic rug options to contrastall the sleek lines and neutrals. Graphic black and white designs,abstract shapes, muted solids, and subtle global influences likeJapanese prints or Moroccan tiles project artsy appeal. Synthetics and jute add textural interest.

Transitional

For living rooms straddling traditional and contemporary sensibilities, transitional rugs bridge both aesthetics. Look for tone-on-tone Damasks, Ikat patterns, distressed solids, and global motifs rendered in linen, wool, cotton, or seagrass. The versatile mix pleases varied tastes.

Coastal

Living rooms imbued with beach house charm should consider casualcoastal rugs to continue the aesthetic indoors. Natural sisal andseagrass offer breezy texture while patterns nod to oceans and shorelines. Light blue and sand hues keep the look calm and relaxing for seaside style through and through.

Eclectic

For the decorator embracing a "more is more" mentality with layers ofcolors, patterns, textures and time periods, an eclectic rug ties the looktogether. Worldly Moroccan trellises, Indian embroideries, graphic ikats,ornate florals, piles of plush wool, flatweaves, braids and moreconvey creative spirit. Any style is fair game when anything goes.

Industrial

The industrial trend brings grit to living rooms through exposed brick, steel beams, concrete floors and a neutral color palette. Continue the urban loft aesthetic underfoot with worn vintage carpet remnants, fuzzy sheepskins, graphic hide rugs or hand woven kilims. Their imperfections add authentic edge.

Bohemian

For the free-spirited bohemian, rugs follow suit with globally-inspiredpatterns, fringed edges, exotic motifs, vibrant colors and naturalfibers like wool, cotton, jute and sisal. Decadent silk rugs, distressed Persian carpets, multi-colored dhurries from India and cozy sheepskins reflect the eclectic mix this casual-chic style savors.

Mid-Century Modern

This trendy throwback to the 1950s/60s certainly makes a stylestatement with retro furniture silhouettes, atomic starburst patterns andearth tone hues. Continue the theme underfoot with solid wool shags orpatterned graphic kilims. Their simplicity balances Danish modern spaces.

Rustic

Rustic style celebrates natural materials and imperfections. Similarly, rustic floor coverings like braided rugs, rag rugs, animal hides and antique carpets complement the raw, cozy look. Their imperfections and unraveling edges reflect casual outdoorsy spaces.

Pretty and feminine, the shabby chic aesthetic pairs distressedfurniture with soft florals and pastels for romantic whimsy. Rugsfollow suit, with petit hooked designs, faded antique Persian carpetsand floral needlepoints. Their imperfect vintage vibe feels perfectly imperfect in these dreamy rooms.