Finding the right bedroom rug ideas for your scheme is an important part of planning your design. After all, it’s the first thing you’ll feel underfoot at the start of the day. It is, quite literally, the epitome of putting your best foot forward.
The rug is not just a practical choice, but a décor that adds warmth, color and layer to the bedroom. In the list of bedroom ideas, rugs are essential. They help soften wood floors, but they also help ground furniture, which helps create zones. You can also be more ambitious with your choices in the bedroom, compared to other areas of the house that require basic materials.
Kellie Burke, lead designer, Kellie Burke Interiors, suggests that “bedrooms are a great place to show off a fine silk or fine wool.” “It’s where you’re usually barefoot, so wearing shoes and well-worn shoes is not a concern, which means you have to spend a lot here if you have the budget.”
So, with practicality the least important, the world is your oyster when it comes to choosing a rug for your bedroom. Here, we have 10 great ideas to inspire you to be more creative with your choice.
10 bedroom rug ideas that go beyond the basics
The bedroom is a place you can escape to and recharge yourself for the day ahead. Since this is a place of renewal, every element inside should help you relax and calm down. Think about how smooth and luxurious surfaces you feel. Rugs add a touch of comfort and warmth that hard floors sometimes don’t.
And unlike areas like the kitchen or even the living room, where practicality plays an important role in guiding your design choices, a low-traffic space like a modern bedroom allows you to bring in luxurious, sophisticated and even high-end materials. Since this is a private and exclusive area, you have the license to be indulgent.
Choosing soft, quirky, or even bulky rugs will add a lot of design and joy to your room, so don’t starve yourself for that fun.
1. Don’t be afraid of weird shapes
(Image credit: Design by Jamie Nesbitt Webber. Reagan Wood Photographic Photography)
Besides the fact that rugs add an element of interest and layering to a room, it can soften the linear nature of a bedroom. If you want to add a quirky touch to your space, ditch the usual round, square or rectangular rugs and go for an irregular shape. They can also help solve problems in rooms with difficult layouts.
“The rug was hard to lay down because this bedroom’s walls were angled on either side of the room,” says Jamie Nesbitt-Weber, interior designer at Jamie Nesbitt-Weber Interior Design. “But we solved this problem by using an anamorphic braided rug made of grain that softens the harsh angular lines of the walls.”
2. Mirror the colors of your scheme into a rug
(Image credit: Baldiwala Edge)
When deciding on a rug, color can be one of the most difficult elements to get right. The rug should connect perfectly and compliment the rest of the palette.
This bedroom from Baldiwala Edge is a great example, where the green and yellow on the bed are easily mirrored in the rug. The entire room, from the walls to the floor, looks flush with color and cohesive.
“Area rugs can be a great way to layer texture and color in a bedroom and define a space,” says Reena Sotropa, principal designer at Reena Sotropa. “It can be a great way to support your basic color scheme as well.”
3. Use the rug to add softness to a rustic scheme
(Image credit: Rohit Bhiwit)
Rugs can also soften an interior, especially in rustic bedrooms. If a room is essentially colorless and features distressed finishes, stone floors, and dark paints, a rug can add a touch of comfort to a space.
Choose soft materials like wool, nylon, alpaca, or a wool-silk blend that also looks luxurious. Pure wool rugs are natural, sustainable and have insulating properties. They are often not durable, but this is less important in an adult bedroom.
4. Choose an oversized rug
(Image credit: Lucas Interior)
“An oversized rug adds a warm layer to the bedroom,” says Susie Lucas, principal designer at Lucas Interior. ‘When finalizing rug sizes, we are always careful to make sure all furniture will fit comfortably on the rug. With wood floors throughout the house, we made sure to expose the wood floor in the bedroom at the doors and entrance hall for a seamless transition into the space.
If you have a large bedroom and want to create a more cohesive and warm look, you can use an oversized rug to bring the entire room design and dimensions into one area.
An oversized rug can also act as a wall in your room, so you can move your furniture around instead of pushing everything against the edges.
5. Use a bedside rug only
(Image credit: Baldiwala Edge)
If you like the idea of a rug but it isn’t sold as a room staple, consider one next to your bed that’s big enough to step on when getting out of bed.
When choosing a style, consider the style of your bedroom. For classic or nautical-inspired rooms, a flat woven striped rug can be used. For a bold bob, opt for a geometric print.
6. Wear warm rugs and rugs
(Image credit: Ligne Roset)
There could be several reasons to use a rug if you already have a bedroom rug. One of them may be that you are a renter and have to live with the already installed wall-to-wall carpeting. One way to get rid of this is to add a bright, vibrant rug of your choice.
Another reason could be to cover up an unattractive design of the carpet. By adding a large rug, you can create the illusion of an individual floor material and hide all the signs of the original rug.
Aside from these practical solutions, another great reason to add rug when you already have rug is layering materials. By adding two luxurious materials underfoot, you can ensure the compositional richness of your bedroom. In general, wide lights don’t have much patterns, so you can use a rug to add to that.
7. Calvin hanged her
(Image credit: Simon Brown)
Some rugs are so striking that you’ll want to treat them as art, so why not hang them as bedroom wall decor? First, they double as great works of art, so you don’t need to invest in expensive paintings to spruce up your room.
If you have antique rugs, placing them on the wall in glass frames will help you maintain and maintain them. Handwoven and intricately handcrafted Persian rugs look especially eye-catching against brick walls if that is the design of your room. Just be careful about the way you hang them, as rugs that are hung unevenly can cause warping, sagging, or even ripping. You could consider sewing the coverlet to the back of the rug or using Velcro to attach it to the wall.
8. Add a fun element with rugs in the children’s bedroom
(Image source: Design by Reena Sotropa + Alanna Dunn. Photography by Phil Crozier)
“Area rugs are a great tool to spark interest and add a graphic look to pattern or color in a very soft or monochromatic way,” says Reena. Our client asked us to choose foundational finishes for her baby nursery that wouldn’t necessarily make a bold statement of style that would allow for easy changes as her child grows and her ability to express her style. Our client was thrilled with the soft, white and gold blush outline, but we agreed something was missing.
“The zebra hook wool rug was an inexpensive last minute addition that not only provided a soft, cozy ‘tummy time’ but also added instant personality to the space,” says Rina. “Area rugs are a very popular request by our customers for their children’s bedrooms. Kids spend Plenty of time on the floor playing, reading, or just lounging. An area rug can protect the hard floors in the little ones play space and in the case of our client, who already had a separate playroom, can provide a comfortable place to stretch out and hang out with his friends in his own space.”
Although not as soft as wool, a flat rug is often preferred in a nursery because toys and furniture can easily slide through. Low piles make it a cleaner material that doesn’t attract a lot of dust and dirt. Wiping up spills is also much easier with a flat woven rug.
9. Use it to add color to a neutral room
(Image source: Design by Lena Zovarova. Photo by Evgeny Kulibaba)
In a largely neutral space, a bright rug can do all the talking. Don’t be afraid to use large engravings on them as well, if the rest of the furnishings are basically plain. The rug will help create a beautiful bedroom layout and make heads turn and break the room’s visual monotony.
You can make a statement rug like this that does double duty, too. Use it to define traffic lanes as well as spaces, by placing it between the bed and the en suite bathroom. You can add more interest with an exaggerated length.
10. Express Yourself Mat Printing
(Image credit: Marmelo Design)
What is the best type of rug for bedroom flooring?
The bedroom is an ideal place for plush rugs, a raised rug, or even a décor, as it receives the least amount of traffic. Polypropylene and wool are durable and can provide great softness for feet.
If you are laying the rug in the children’s bedroom, choose a flat weave because it does not collect dust and dirt, and is easier to clean. For a sophisticated look in your master bedroom, choose pure wool rugs and shaggy rugs.
Silk rugs look elegant and can be long lasting, yet they are not very stain resistant. A great way to use silk rugs is to place them on the walls or use them in the least amount of space in the room.
Olefin is similar to wool, and although it is not as durable, it is just like wool and is cheaper. Speaking of cheaper alternatives, polyester is an economical material, and dyeing is very easy. It is also water and stain resistant.
What size rug should I get for the bedroom?
Bedroom rugs can be thin bedside designs, layered over the rug, or oversized. It can be placed next to or under furniture. Yes, the rug can be placed under the bed but there are sizes and dimensions that need to be taken care of.
Keep in mind, for the area rug to look balanced under the bed, make sure it extends beyond the sides of the bed, at least 18 inches. Of course, depending on the size of the room, there can be more extensions around the bed, but ideally not less, otherwise the rug will seem insignificant and lost in the scale of the bed.
If you want to put the rug under the bed, think about the size of your room, the amount of furniture in it, and of course the size of the bed, nightstands, and bench. Ideally, in a queen size bed, an 8″ x 10″ rug could be used, which could extend beyond the bed and under the bedside tables as well.
Otherwise, approximately 6″ x 9″ will cover the bed area and shoot under a little. 5″ x 8″ will cover half of the area under the bed.
In a king size bed, 9×12″ should ideally cover the entire bed and nightstands. An 8×10″ would only cover the bed, while a 6×9 would only cover half of the bed.
