Dining Table Rug Size Chart To Improve Your Dining Room

A staircase railing is much more than a functional aspect of an entryway or living room. It’s even more than just a safety precaution. Believe it or not, there are many ways to turn your stair railing into an eye-catching part of your home — one that you and your guests will marvel at.

Whether you land on a simple DIY paint job or a more elaborate structural shift, here are 15 ways to turn your stair railing into a focal point of your space.

Dining Room Rug Size Matters

The most common mistake you can make is to choose a rug that is too small for your table size. If backing your chair away from the dining table leaves only the front legs of your chair on the rug, then your rug is too small. 

Select Your Rug in Relation to Your Dining Table

Leave at least 24 to 30 inches of space between the table to the edge of your rug; this allows enough room to back up your chair. You don’t need the annoyance of chair legs getting caught on the edge of the rug when you’re trying to pull your chair up under the table. 

Want to make sure you get this measurement right? Use painter’s tape on your dining room floor to mark where a rug edge would comfortably accommodate chairs pulled away from the dining table. Measure this area and take the number with you as you shop for your ideal dining room rug. 

An even easier way to prep for rug shopping is to create a mock-up of your dining room using Spoak’s room visualization tools to see exactly what size table and rug best fits your space. No tape needed!

Select Your Rug in Relation to Your Dining Room

Besides keeping your rug size proportional to the table, keep an eye on how well it fits in the dining space. Unless you’re trying to hide an unsightly issue with your flooring, it’s best to keep your rug sized to fit the room it’s in — small rugs for smaller rooms and big rugs for larger ones. 

A floor space of 10 to 16 inches showing past the edge of the rug is often recommended. If you’re trying to decide between two sizes that will both work in the space, but one leaves a bit more room for dining chairs to pull out — go bigger. However, if your dining room is rather tiny, try subtracting two feet from the room's length and width and searching for a rug using these measurements. 

Source Standard Sizes of Rugs 

The average dining room size is around 14 x 16 ft, so the average rug size of 9 x 12 ft. is a good fit if your table is rectangular. Unless you go custom, you’ll find most stores carry similar rug sizes.

These are the most common area rug sizes you’ll find: 

• Rectangular rugs measure 5 x 8 ft., 8 x 10 ft. (a table for six), 9 x 12 ft., and 12 x 15 ft.
• Round rugs with diameter sizes of 4 ft., 6 ft., 8 ft., and 10 ft. ( a table for six)
• Oval rugs in lengths of 4 ft., 6 ft., 8 ft., 9 ft., and 10 ft. 
• Square rugs measure 4 x4 ft., 6 x6 ft., 8 x 8 ft. (a table for four) and 10 x 10 ft. (also a six-seater dining table)

Use Irregular Area Rug Sizes for Irregular Areas 

Of course, these sizes are just the norm. Plenty of companies sell rugs in atypical shapes (think: wavy, asymmetrical!) and sizes, and you can always have a carpet company cut and bind the carpet to your desired dimensions. Additionally, vinyl matting (with prints that would make you think it’s a classic low-pile rug) can often be ordered in unusual sizes to serve as an extra-large rug for an unusually long rectangular dining table.

Think About Rotational Symmetry for Area Rugs

Just as you might use symmetry to line up sconces on either side of a window, rotational symmetry is a design pattern where decor remains unchanged when rotated around the axis of symmetry. In your dining room, this would play out by having your chandelier lined up over your table that is centered on a larger rug of the same shape for serious impact.

Use Rectangular and Square Rugs for Matching Dining Tables

Square rugs for square tables and rectangular rugs for rectangular tables? This shouldn’t be too hard, as these are the most common rug shapes out there.

Source the perfect rug style to fine-tune your dining experience in Spoak’s discovery feed. Make sure it‘s large enough by adding four feet to both the length and width of your table dimensions as you search for your perfect rug.

Use Round Rugs for Round Dining Tables

Keep the radial balance by setting a round table on a round rug. When calculating what size rug your table needs for both comfort and symmetry, you can measure as we mentioned above or just take the diameter of your round rug and add four feet to it. (The Four Feet Rule is super helpful, even if you don’t use the same rug shape as your table.) 

Use Oval or Rectangular Rugs for Oval Tables

Of course, finding the exact oval rug you’d need for your oval dining table would be quite the coup. Since oval floor coverings aren’t as readily available as other shapes, a rectangular rug would work. 

Though they are not quite the same shape, the table's long side mirrors the rectangle enough to create a pleasing symmetry for the eyes. The Four Feet Rule applies to oval tables situated on rectangular rugs, too. 

Are you starting to see a clearer vision of your dining room? A crystal globe chandelier hanging above your glossy white tulip table, complete with a graphic black and white low pile rug? We can see it! 

Choose Your Rug Fiber Type

We mention pile because that‘s part of the equation in a dining room, especially for those who are leery of having children eat over a rug they splurged on. High pile rugs, like a scrumptious shag, would be the ultimate bedroom rug but may end up kind of gross after a few meals in the dining room. Stick with low-pile, easy-care rugs for effortless dining room upkeep and overall maintenance.

Invest in Flat Weave Wool and Mohair Rugs 

A flat woven rug makes brushing and vacuuming crumbs up a breeze, and the low pile makes backing chairs in and out a smooth process. Fibers like wool and mohair are antimicrobial by nature, tend to be environmentally friendly, and will wear well over many years.

Go With Jute for the Texture

Hand-braided jute rugs add interesting geometry to the dining room, especially when shaped into a round rug. Jute fibers are tough but can stain more easily than others mentioned. If you love it, get it, but first, review texture guidelines to ensure you’re making the best choice for your needs. 

Relax With Cotton and Polyester Washable Rugs

There’s a vast market for washable rugs today for both the living room and dining room seating areas, so finding one that matches your tastes should be a snap. Since a washable rug is usually a thin topper over a rug pad, you can gather it up after a particularly rowdy dinner party and toss it in the washing machine without a second thought. 

Use an Outdoor Rug for Easy Care

You can thank us later for this incredible dining room rug hack: use an easy-care outdoor rug. Outdoor rugs are easy to source in large sizes as they’re meant for patios, and the polypropylene content is mildew and stain resistant. However, the obvious trade-off here is that it is not a natural fiber. If that’s a top priority, this suggestion may be a hard pass.

Apply Those New Rug Sizing Skills

The mystery of the correct size rug for a dining room is solved! Now you can assess your current table and chairs with your floor plan and find the rug size that not only fits your interior design style but also literally fits your space. 

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^{Photo Credit: (Left) Fold Inside}

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^Sources:

^{Green Label Plus | CRI}

^{How to Choose a Dining Room Rug | The Spruce}

^{Symmetry - Angles, lines and polygons | BBC Bitesize}