The point of a bedroom rug is where your feet land in the morning. If there's bare floor there, the rug is the wrong size or in the wrong place.
For most queen beds, the answer is simple: an 8 x 10, laid sideways.
Why an 8 x 10 works for a queen
A queen mattress is 60 inches wide. An 8 x 10 rug turned sideways is 120 inches across the bed. That leaves about 30 inches of rug on each side, a comfortable step when you get up, even with a bed frame adding a few inches.
Always sideways
Turn the rug so its long side runs across the bed, not along it. Laid lengthwise, a rug disappears under the mattress and leaves you stepping onto bare floor.
Where the rug starts
Slide the rug up until it starts just below the nightstands. It should cover the lower two-thirds of the bed and run out past the foot.
The nightstands stay on the bare floor, level and steady. A nightstand balanced half on a rug edge rocks every time you put a glass down.
8x10 or 9x12?
Both work under a queen. The difference is the room.
- 8 x 10: about 30 inches of rug at each side. Right for most bedrooms.
- 9 x 12: about 42 inches at each side. Better in a big bedroom, or if you want the rug to reach under the nightstands too. Check it still leaves at least 12 inches of floor at the walls.
If the bigger rug pushes up against the walls or the dresser, it's too big for the room. Go with the 8 x 10.
Small bedroom? Drop one size
In a small room, a 6 x 9 laid sideways leaves about 24 inches of rug at each side. That still works.
A 5 x 8 sideways leaves about 18 inches at each side. That's the bare minimum, and it covers less of the bed. A 5 x 7 is too small to sit under a queen; it works better as a runner-style rug at one side or at the foot.
Queen bed against a wall or in a corner
If one side of the bed is pushed against the wall, there's no point paying for rug there. Shift the rug toward the open side, so the rug shows where you actually get out of bed, and keep it square to the bed.
Mistakes to skip
- A rug laid lengthwise under the bed.
- Nightstands wobbling on the rug edge.
- A rug that stops before your feet do. If you step out of bed onto bare floor, the rug needs to move up or size up.
FAQ
Does the rug go under the nightstands? Usually not. With an 8 x 10, the rug starts just below them. With a 9 x 12 in a big room, it can reach under them.
What size rug for a king bed? Bigger again. The same sideways rule applies, and the full table is in the book below.
Is a rug at the foot of the bed enough? It looks nice, but it misses the point. Your feet land at the sides.
What size rug for a queen bed in cm (UK)? A UK king is close to a US queen, and a 200 x 290 cm rug laid sideways does the same job as an 8 x 10.
Every bed, every size
Right-Size Room, No. 03 in the Decorwick Measured Home Series, has the rug for every bed from twin to king (and UK single to super king), with the inches that show at each side, plus 10 bedroom layouts drawn to scale. See Right-Size Room
