Guide · For the trade
Large living room rugs: 10x14, 12x15 and beyond, and when to go custom
Large living room rugs start at 10x14 and run through 12x15, 12x18 and 14x20; the rule is the room's inside dimensions minus 24 to 36 inches each way, so a 14 by 18 foot room takes a 12x15 and a 16 by 20 foot room takes a 14x17 or a custom size. Above 12x15 the standard lines thin out, and the usual answer is a bound broadloom rug cut to the exact size, 3 to 5 weeks, or a hand-made rug in a custom size, 18 to 20 weeks.
This is the guide for the great room, the open plan and the long living room, where an 8x10 or 9x12 would float. It covers the sizes above 9x12 and the rooms they fit, how to size one from the walls when the furniture is not fixed, the custom route and its seam rules, what big rugs weigh and how they arrive, and the pad. The three furniture layouts and the sofa math are in the living room rug size guide and are not repeated here.
Big rugs for a living room: the sizes and the rooms
| Rug | Inches | Room it fits with 18 to 24 in of floor at the walls | Seating it carries | Available as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10x14 | 120 by 168 | 13 by 17 to 14 by 18 ft | Sofa, two chairs, coffee table, all legs on | Most lines; 857 styles in the catalog |
| 12x15 | 144 by 180 | 15 by 18 to 16 by 19 ft | A sectional with a chaise plus two chairs | Many lines; 665 styles at 12x15 and larger |
| 12x18 | 144 by 216 | 15 by 21 to 16 by 22 ft | Two facing sofas and a pair of chairs | Some hand-knotted lines; usually bound broadloom |
| 14x20 and up | 168 by 240 | 17 by 23 ft great rooms | Two seating groups on one rug | Custom only; seamed broadloom or hand-made |
Round and square large sizes, 10 and 12 foot rounds and 10x10 or 12x12 squares, suit a square room with a sectional on two sides; see the round rug sizes guide.
Sizing from the walls when the furniture floats
In a large room the furniture rarely touches a wall, so size the rug from the room, not the sofa. Take the inside dimensions, subtract 36 inches from each (18 inches of floor at every wall), and round down to the nearest standard size; that is the largest rug the room takes. Then check it against the seating: every piece should sit fully on the rug, with 6 to 12 inches of rug beyond the back legs of the sofa and chairs. If the largest rug the walls allow does not reach the back legs, the furniture plan is too spread out for one rug, and the answer is either a custom size that runs to 12 inches from the walls or two rugs, one per group, covered in the two rugs in one room guide.
The 70 percent rule in a large room
The rug should cover about 70 percent of the floor the seating group occupies, not 70 percent of the room. In a 20 by 24 foot great room with a seating group in one half, that is a 12x15 under the group with 4 to 6 feet of open floor to the dining side, not a 17x21 that fills the room and reads as carpet. A rug that covers more than about 80 percent of a large room is better specified as wall-to-wall with a border, which is a different conversation and a different budget.
When the standard sizes run out: custom
Above 12x15 the choice is between a hand-made rug in a custom size and a rug cut and bound from broadloom. Broadloom comes in 12 ft, 13 ft 2 in and 15 ft widths, so any rug up to 15 feet in one dimension is cut without a seam; a 14x20 is a single 15-foot-wide piece cut to 20 feet, bound on four sides, and the 3 to 5 week lead time holds. Beyond the roll width the rug is seamed, and the seam runs the length of the rug, placed under the sofa or along the traffic line where it will not be walked across. Tell the client before ordering; a seam in a plain cut pile wool is nearly invisible, in a loop or a pattern it is visible from a standing height. Hand-knotted, hand-loomed and hand-tufted custom rugs have no seam at any size, and a 14x20 on a loom is 18 to 20 weeks after the strike-off. The custom size rugs guide covers the ordering steps; the oversize collection is the 1,355 styles we cut largest.
Weight, delivery and the installer
A 12x15 hand-knotted wool rug weighs 150 to 200 pounds; a bound wool broadloom rug of the same size, 90 to 130 pounds; a 14x20 bound rug can pass 200 pounds. Specify white-glove delivery with the installer placing the rug and pad, confirm door and stair clearances on the site visit, and ask us to ship rolled on a core rather than folded; folded creases in a hand-tufted rug take weeks to drop. Large rugs ship by freight to the site anywhere in the United States and our installer in the client's city places them.
Construction and pad for a big rug
A large rug is the floor of the room, and it takes the traffic of one. Wool is the fiber: hand-loomed or hand-knotted for a piece, bound wool broadloom for the value and the size. Keep viscose and silk blends to rooms without a path through them. Pad is a 1/4-inch felt-and-rubber under a hand-made rug and a 3/8-inch felt under a bound broadloom rug to give it the hand of an installed carpet; both are cut 1 inch inside the edge. Over wall-to-wall carpet, use a thin rubber-topped pad to stop creep.
Questions designers ask
What is the largest standard rug size?
12x15 is the largest size most lines carry, and 10x14 is the largest most carry in every colorway. A few hand-knotted lines run to 12x18. Above that the rug is custom, either bound from broadloom in 3 to 5 weeks or hand-made in 18 to 20 weeks.
Is a 12x15 rug too big for a living room?
Not in a room 15 by 18 feet or larger; it leaves 18 inches at the walls. In a 14 by 16 room it leaves a foot, which reads as badly fitted carpet, and a 10x14 is the right call.
How much does an oversized rug cost compared with two smaller ones?
Pricing is quoted to trade accounts, but the shape of it is fixed: a bound broadloom rug is priced by the square foot plus binding, so a 14x20 costs less than a comparable finished 12x15 plus a 6x9. Hand-made rugs are also priced by the square foot, with large sizes carrying a longer loom time rather than a surcharge.
Can a large rug be made in a non-rectangular shape?
Yes. L-shaped rugs for a sectional, rugs with a cut-out for a hearth or a column, and curved ends are cut from broadloom and bound, or drawn into a hand-made custom. The custom shape rugs guide has the templating steps.
How do you keep a large rug flat on a hard floor?
The pad does it. A felt-and-rubber pad cut 1 inch inside the edge holds a 12x15 without tape. Let the rug lie for 48 hours after unrolling and have the installer back-roll any corner that lifts.
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