Guide · For the trade
Runner rug for a kitchen: the sizes that fit the sink run, the island and the galley
A runner rug for a kitchen is 2 to 3 feet wide (27, 32 or 36 inches as woven) and 6 to 12 feet long, sized so it stops 4 to 6 inches short of the cabinet toe-kick on the long side and 12 to 18 inches short of the end of the cabinet run or island at each end. The most common kitchen runner size is 2.5 by 8 feet along a sink run of 9 to 10 feet; islands over 8 feet and galleys take 10- and 12-foot runners and anything longer is cut to length from broadloom.
This is the guide for the junior drawing the kitchen plan who needs the number before the rug is ordered. It covers the three places a kitchen runner goes, the width and length for each, the galley with two runners, custom lengths and what to tell the client about fiber and pad. For which fibers survive a kitchen, read the kitchen rugs guide; this one is about size and placement.
Kitchen runner width: 27, 32 or 36 inches
Runners are woven at 27, 32 and 36 inches, sold as 2 feet 3 inches, 2 feet 6 inches (often 2.5 by 8) and 3 feet. The width is set by the aisle. Measure from the toe-kick of the cabinet to the edge of the island or the opposite cabinet, then subtract 8 to 12 inches so there is 4 to 6 inches of floor showing on each side. A 42-inch aisle, the residential minimum, takes a 27- or 32-inch runner; a 48-inch aisle takes 32 or 36; a 54-inch or wider aisle takes a 36-inch runner or a 4-foot-wide rug cut from broadloom. A runner that touches the toe-kick looks like a mat; one with 4 to 6 inches of floor either side looks placed.
Kitchen runner size by location
| Where it goes | Measure | Runner length | Runner width | Typical spec |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In front of the sink run | Length of the cabinet run between the range and the end of the counter | Run length minus 24 to 36 in | Aisle minus 8 to 12 in | 2.5x8 for a 10 ft run; 2.5x6 for a 7 ft run |
| Along an island | Island length | Island length minus 12 to 24 in, or equal to it if the stools are on the other side | Aisle minus 8 to 12 in | 2.5x10 for a 10 to 11 ft island; 3x12 for a 12 to 13 ft island |
| Galley, two runners | Length of the shorter cabinet run | Both the same length, aligned at one end | Each aisle minus 8 to 12 in; usually 27 or 32 in | Two 2x8 or 2.5x8 |
| Breakfast table end | Table plus chair pull | Not a runner: a 5x8, 6x9 or round rug, table plus 24 in each side | n/a | See the dining room rug size guide |
Runner rug for a kitchen island
The island is where sizing goes wrong, because the island has a working side and a seating side. On the working side (sink or cooktop facing the perimeter cabinets) the runner runs the aisle, as in the table above. On the seating side, where stools pull out, a runner is in the way of the stools; leave the floor bare, or run the rug under the stools only if it is at least 36 inches wide so the stool legs stay on it when pulled out. For an island 10 feet long with a 48-inch aisle, a 2.5x8 or 2.5x10 runner on the working side is the spec; for a 14-foot island, a 3x12, or a custom 3x13 cut from broadloom and bound.
Long kitchens and custom lengths
Runners as woven stop at 12 feet, occasionally 14. A sink run or island longer than 13 feet, or a kitchen that opens into a long gallery, is a custom runner cut from broadloom: any width to 15 feet, any length, bound or serged, in 3 to 5 weeks. A 3 by 16 or a 3.5 by 18 is a routine request. Specify the finished size, the binding (cotton, linen-look polyester or leather) and the fiber and send the aisle dimensions so we can check the 4 to 6 inch reveal. The custom size rugs guide covers the process; the hall runners guide covers runners that continue out of the kitchen into a hall, where the width should match.
What to check on the plan before sizing
- Aisle width at the narrowest point, toe-kick to island face and at the widest.
- Appliance doors: the dishwasher and oven doors open over the runner; a pile over 1/2 inch catches a dishwasher door. Keep kitchen runners to 1/4 to 3/8 inch pile or flatweave.
- Floor registers and the sink base, so the runner is not centered on a heat vent.
- Where the client stands most: at the sink and at the cooktop. The runner should cover both, not stop between them.
- The path from the refrigerator to the island, which the runner edge should not cross on the diagonal.
Pad and fiber, briefly
A kitchen runner moves more than any other rug in the house because it is walked on and turned on, so it needs a pad: a 1/8-inch rubber or felt-and-rubber pad trimmed 1 inch inside the edge on wood and tile. For fiber, wool with a low dense loop or a flatweave, or a solution-dyed polypropylene or nylon for the client who cooks hard; viscose and silk never. The kitchen rugs guide ranks the fibers. The runners by size filter lists about 900 runners across our mills, with Couristan, Milliken the deepest in washable-friendly synthetics and wool loops.
Questions designers ask
What size runner goes in front of a kitchen sink?
For a sink run of 9 to 10 feet, a 2.5x8 runner; for 7 feet, a 2.5x6; for 12 feet, a 2.5x10. The runner stops 12 to 18 inches short of each end of the cabinet run and 4 to 6 inches off the toe-kick.
How wide should a kitchen runner be?
The aisle width minus 8 to 12 inches, which lands at 27 inches for a 42-inch aisle, 32 inches for a 48-inch aisle and 36 inches for 54 inches and wider. The 4 to 6 inches of floor on each side is what makes it read as a rug rather than a mat.
Should the kitchen runner be the same size as the hall runner?
The same width if they are visible from one another and ideally the same goods cut to two lengths. Mismatched widths of 27 and 36 inches read as an accident from the doorway. We cut both from one broadloom so the border and color match exactly.
Can a runner go under the island stools?
Only if it is wide enough for the stool legs to stay on it when pulled out, which means 36 inches at least and usually a 4-foot-wide rug cut from broadloom rather than a runner. Otherwise keep the rug on the working side of the island and the stool side bare.
How long can a kitchen runner be?
Runners as woven run to 12 or 14 feet. Beyond that, or for an exact fit to a 15-foot island, we cut and bind from broadloom at any length, in 3 to 5 weeks.
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