In our opinion, a room isn’t complete without the perfect rug. Whether you’re putting the final touch on a kitchen, living room or bedroom, finding the right rug to suit each space is really what gives it that home-y feel. We’ve gotten a lot of questions about rugs these days which is why we asked our stylist to share her rug styling secrets. In today’s post we’re covering all things rugs by walking you through how to choose the right rug for your space, our rug pairing tips for conjoining spaces and finally, tricks for layering rugs. And the best part? We created a few rug pairings with our favorite Brooke & Lou rugs to make it easy to bring your favorite rug pairing into your home!

When it comes to choosing the right rug for your space, there are a few things to keep in mind so that you don’t end up with a rug that’s either too big or small but instead, a rug that fits the space just right. Before getting started in any room consider size and determine the largest rug you can fit with no less than a 6”-12” border around the baseboards as this will be the optimal size. For more room specifics, read below:

First up, let’s dive into the dining room. Here, you want to ensure that there is a minimum of 18-24” of space around the table so chairs can slide out and still remain on the rug to avoid tipping & tripping.

In the living room we tend to think the bigger the better and follow the border rule listed above. Otherwise the smallest size you could do is ensuring all front legs of the furniture are on the rug, with the ottoman or coffee table in the center. Then you can increase in size from there and have all furniture legs on the rug if space allows.

For bedrooms, we like to figure size by laying the rug just at the edge of the nightstands, ensuring that there is a generous border around the bed. A good rule of thumb is an 8×10 for a Full or Queen, and a 9×12 for a King size bed (if space allows).

When it comes to rugs, one of our most frequently asked questions is how to choose rugs for conjoining spaces. If you have an open floor plan it’s likely that you’ve considered this before as well and that’s where we’re here to help.

In the kitchen, we like to have fun with the runner by choosing a fun pattern/print to stand out against the solid color cabinets. Again, consider a cute, bold indoor/outdoor style or jute runner in a block print or stripe to make it really pop.

In the Dining and Living Room spaces, choose one space to have a colorful print/pattern (that coordinates with the kitchen runner) and the other to have a more neutral feel – this can be a solid neutral color, or a softly patterned rug to not distract from the other rugs in the space.

Layering rugs is a great way to incorporate extra detail and texture to a space – especially in living rooms where the space tends to be more open. Here’s our three tips for creating a layered look!

1. Start with a natural, flat-weave on bottom (jute/sisal) as your base.

2. Place patterned rug on top, usually flat weave or wool. Keep in mind the thickness of the rug – if the weave is too thick, tripping could become an issue.

3. Make sure the top rug is at least 12″ smaller on each side to ensure that the bottom rug can be seen. For example, layer a 8×10 on a 9×12, etc.