What Size Area Rug Under a Queen-Size Bed?

Styles of Rugs

• The color scheme and style of the rug are important elements to consider. Rugs with all-over designs, textured surfaces or border prints are preferable. A large center motif will be lost from sight under the bed and, depending on the rug placement, may put the bed and the room itself out of proportion.

Rug Size

• An area rug should extend past the bed at least 24 inches on all sides. To ensure that this space is wide enough, place paper cut to size, or small area rugs, beside the bed to check the size.

Horizontal Area Rug

• If the rug is to be placed under the bed in a horizontal position, the width of the bed, which is typically 60 inches, plus 48 inches equals 108 inches required for the length of the rug, or 9 feet. A standard rug size close to this length is 10 feet long by 8 feet wide, or 96 inches wide. This allows the rug to extend on each side by 2-1/2 feet. Because the rug is being placed horizontally under the bed, the 96-inch width minus the length of the bed --- typically 76 inches --- allows 20 inches of rug to project past the foot of the bed. To have symmetry, the rug would be placed so that it extends past the sides and the bottom by the same amount.

Vertical Area Rug

• If the rug being used is to be placed vertically, then the width of the bed --- 60 inches, or 5 feet --- plus 5 feet for extensions on either side equals a rug that's at least 10 feet wide. The standard length for a 10-foot-wide rug is 12 feet. A queen-size bed is 6-1/2 feet long, leaving 5-1/2 feet extending past the end of the bed. A bench, a small armless sofa or another small-profile piece of furniture placed at the foot of the bed will bring the space back into balance.