How to Put a Rug Under a Bed

My husband and I have bought and sold a number of homes but it wasn’t until we worked with a professional stager that we even knew how to put a rug under a bed. Sure, we had placed throw rugs next to our beds. However, to make a bedroom look magazine worthy, there were certain ways to place a rug under a bed.

For example, we learned that centering a rug underneath a bed was a no-no. Unlike a dining room table that might look posh with a rug under it, not so a bed. It’s usually because if you have a bigger bed, say a king size, there is no way to get a rug fully under it without achieving a certain design aesthetic.

Rules for putting a rug under a bed

So what are some of those rules for rugs under the bed? Below I’ve laid them out for you, including how to position an area rug in a bedroom with a queen size bed or a king size bed.

In addition, I’ll offer suggested sizes and dimensions for these floor coverings. You might be surprised at how much bang for the buck you can get with staging a bedroom with just one well placed rug.

Rug under king bed

So, what size rug should you position underneath a king bed? According to Ruggable, maker of washable rugs, first you want to center the king sized bed on the wall. Then, you want to center the rug underneath that piece of furniture.

But, you want to do this in a way that creates a walking area around the sides and bottom of the frame. Basically, you don’t want to step off the rug and onto the cold floor when you get out of bed.

Fitting a rug under a king-sized bed

Ruggable says that the ideal size for a king size bed would be 9 feet X 12 feet or 8 feet X 10 feet. So, how does that work if a king size mattress measures 76 inches wide (a little over 6 feet) by 80 inches long (a little over 6 1/2 feet)?

One, you’ll want to turn the rug sideways. Then, you’ll want to center it under the frame, from left to right, but slightly towards the end of the bed.

This positioning will give you about two feet of around at the sides and end of a king size bed. Also, this puts the rug in front of any end tables or nightstands you might have in your bedroom.

Rug under queen bed

When we were selling our house in New Jersey, we staged the primary bedroom using a queen sized bed. Why not a king size? Because one of the guest bedrooms was actually bigger than the primary suite so a king sized bed fit better there.

We worked with a stager to put a rug in that primary bedroom. We’d never had one in there before.

Positioning under a queen size

However, unlike the positioning described above for the king sized bed, she had us do something slightly off center. That is, the rug only stuck out from two sides of the bed instead of three. She had us do this for a simple reason.

As mentioned above, you always want to center a bed on the wall as we did with the king one. So, we positioned that queen size bed on the longest wall of that primary suite.

However, because of a window and other furniture that was already in there, there wasn’t a lot of room on one side of the bed. So to have the rug peeking out from both sides would have actually looked awkward.

Instead, we put the rug off center under the bed. That way you could see it out in the open on the biggest portion of the floor. Check out the photo I’ve shared here from how that gray rug was positioned in the primary bedroom.

Queen rug sizes

What size rug is that? It was a 6X9 foot rug. That’s because a queen-sized mattress is 60 inches wide by 80 inches long or five feet by six-and-a-half feet.

In fact, Ruggable says that the best size rugs to use with a queen size bed are:

• Six foot by nine foot
• Eight foot by 10 foot

You may have a 5X7 foot rug that you’d like to try to use with queen size. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work as well because it’s simply not big enough not to look awkward.

Rug under a full sized bed

So let’s say you’re working with a bedroom that has a full sized bed. That’s slightly smaller than a queen but can still fit two people, albeit more tightly. A double or full-size mattress is 54 inches wide by 75 inches long, making it six-inches narrower and five-inches shorter than the queen mattress.

Like a queen sized bed, a full bed will benefit from an 8X10 or 6X9 rug underneath it. If you’re thinking about using a 5X7 rug, don’t.

Ruggable says that, instead, you should be thinking about putting a rug next to a full bed, not under it. That is, it would be better to get two 3X5 rugs, and place them on either side of the bed.

Rug under a twin bed

A 5X7 rug is perfect under a twin bed. You can turn the rug so the seven foot-long side goes underneath and parallel to the length of the bed. Then, you’ll position it slightly towards the foot of the bed.

This will achieve two things. One, it will keep the rug from being underneath side tables, where it could be wobbly. And, two, this should give you an even walking space around the sides and end of the bed.

Common rug sizes

I think I’ve already spelled it out but it’s worth repeating. There are a few common rug sizes that will work best when positioning a bed in a bedroom.

Sizes for a king bed

You’ll had the best luck using these sizes rugs with a king size:

• 9X12
• 8X10

Sizes for a queen bed

Choose rugs for under a queen bed in one of these two sizes:

• 8X10
• 6X9

Sizes for a full bed

You have a few more choices for rug sizes with a full bed. For under a bed, choose:

• 8X10
• 6X9

Or, if you want to have rugs around the bed, go with two 3X5 rugs. I supposed if the room is big enough, you could use a 5X7 rug on each side, too.

Sizes for twin beds

Depending on the size of a bedroom with a twin bed, you could use a rug under the bed in one of these sizes:

• 5X7
• 6X9
• 8X10

Or if you have a bedroom with two twin beds, you can position a 5X7 rug under the bottom of both beds, or put a 3X5 rug between them. Finally, you can try a runner at the end of the beds as well.

Do you know how often you should clean your carpets, including area rugs?

Here are tips for buying a new mattress. And, if you’re not sure what size mattress to get, this bed size guide can help.