For a queen bed, use an 8 × 10 ft rug (244 × 305 cm) turned crosswise under the bottom two-thirds of the bed; it shows 30 in at each side. For a king, use a 9 × 12 ft rug (274 × 366 cm), which shows 34 in at each side. Rug makers say to leave at least 18 in (46 cm) of rug past the sides and foot.
Rug size chart for every bed
Pick the rug by bed size and by how you want to place it. The most common layout puts the rug under the bottom two-thirds of the bed (Wayfair, Room & Board), turned crosswise so its long side runs parallel to the headboard wall. Loloi calls this placing the rug horizontally (Loloi).
| Bed | Two-thirds under | Whole bed on the rug | Runner each side | Accent rug at the foot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin 38 × 75 in | 5 × 7 ft | 6 × 9 ft lengthwise* | 3 × 5 ft | 3 × 5 ft* |
| Full 54 × 75 in | 6 × 9 ft | 8 × 10 ft | 2 × 6 ft* | 4 × 6 ft* |
| Queen 60 × 80 in | 8 × 10 ft | 9 × 12 ft | 2 × 6 ft* | 4 × 6 or 5 × 7 ft |
| King 76 × 80 in | 9 × 12 ft | 10 × 14 ft | 2 × 6 ft | 5 × 8 ft* |
| California king 72 × 84 in | 9 × 12 ft* | 10 × 14 ft | 2 × 6 ft* | 5 × 8 ft* |
Sources: Wayfair queen guide, Wayfair king guide, Wayfair full guide, Ruggable, Loloi, Crate & Barrel, Jonathan Y. * Our fit, worked out from the bed and rug sizes: at least about 18 in of rug at the sides, or an accent rug at least as wide as the bed. Mattress sizes: Sleep Foundation.
Whatever the placement, let the rug run at least 18 in past the sides and foot of the mattress. Wayfair sets 18 in as the minimum and 24 to 36 in for larger rooms (Wayfair), and Jonathan Y says 18 to 24 in on all visible sides (Jonathan Y). Crate & Barrel is a bit looser at 12 to 18 in (Crate & Barrel).
Rug size for a queen bed
An 8 × 10 ft rug (244 × 305 cm) is the standard rug for a queen bed. Wayfair, Ruggable, Loloi and Crate & Barrel all name it. Turned crosswise, its 10 ft (120 in) side runs across the 60 in mattress and leaves 30 in of rug at each side, comfortably more than the 18 in minimum (Wayfair queen guide). Room & Board says an 8 × 10 under a bed leaves at least 2 ft of rug on either side (Room & Board).
Go up to a 9 × 12 ft rug (274 × 366 cm) if you want the whole bed and the nightstands on it. It leaves 42 in at each side of the mattress. Loloi lists both sizes for a queen and notes that the larger rug makes the room look bigger (Loloi).
In a small bedroom, a 6 × 9 ft rug also works. Crosswise it leaves 24 in at each side but holds only the lower part of the bed. Jonathan Y suggests a 6 × 9 or 7 × 10 for a two-thirds layout and a 4 × 6 or 5 × 7 as an accent at the foot (Jonathan Y).
Turn the rug the right way. An 8 × 10 set lengthwise leaves only 18 in at each side, the bare minimum; crosswise gives 12 in more a side.
Rug size for a king bed
A 9 × 12 ft rug (274 × 366 cm) is the usual rug for a king bed (Wayfair king guide, Ruggable, Loloi). Turned crosswise under the bottom two-thirds, it leaves 34 in on each side of the 76 in mattress.
Wayfair calls 8 × 10 ft the minimum for a king (22 in at each side, crosswise), and Loloi agrees that anything smaller looks out of proportion. For a roomier look, Wayfair and Ruggable suggest 10 × 14 ft. To fit the bed, nightstands and a bench, Wayfair says at least 10 × 14 ft, and Crate & Barrel lists 12 × 15 ft for a king with its nightstands (Crate & Barrel).
Orientation matters even more with a king. Set lengthwise, a 9 × 12 leaves only 16 in at each side, the figure Wayfair's king guide quotes and below its own 18 in rule.
California king
A California king is 72 × 84 in, 4 in narrower and 4 in longer than a king. A 9 × 12 crosswise leaves 36 in at each side. Wayfair lists 8 × 10 ft as the minimum and 10 × 14 ft as the recommended rug for a California king, and Crate & Barrel says a 10 × 14 fits a king or California king with generous clearance (Wayfair, Crate & Barrel).
Rug size for a full or twin bed
Full (54 × 75 in). A 6 × 9 ft rug is the usual pick in a smaller room (Wayfair full guide, Crate & Barrel). Crosswise it leaves 27 in at each side. Wayfair moves up to 8 × 10 ft in a medium room and 9 × 12 ft in a large one, with the nightstands on the rug. Loloi suggests a 5 × 8 ft placed horizontally, which leaves 21 in at each side.
Twin (38 × 75 in). Ruggable suggests a 5 × 7 ft rug, or a 3 × 5 ft rug on each side of the bed (Ruggable). Crate & Barrel says a 5 × 8 fits under a twin. A 5 × 7 crosswise leaves 23 in at each side; slide it toward the foot so about half the bed sits on it and you get 18 in at the foot as well. For two twin beds side by side, Loloi suggests one 9 × 12 ft rug under both.
Four ways to place a bedroom rug
Two-thirds under the bed
The rug starts about a third of the way down the bed and runs past the foot. The nightstands stay on the bare floor. This is the layout most guides lead with, and it needs the smallest rug that still frames the bed (Wayfair, Room & Board).
Whole bed on the rug
All four legs sit on the rug, often with the nightstands too. Wayfair recommends letting the rug extend 18 to 24 in past the edge of the bed in this layout (Wayfair rug size guide). It takes the biggest rug: 9 × 12 ft for a queen, 10 × 14 ft for a king.
Runners on each side
Two runners give a soft first step. Wayfair suggests aligning each runner with the bottom edge of the bed, starting a few inches in front of the nightstand, and names a 2 × 6 ft runner for each side of a king, or 2 × 9 ft if it runs under the nightstands (Wayfair). Most ready-made runners are 2 to 3 ft wide (Rugs USA). Room & Board suggests a runner or a 3 × 5 ft rug on either side.
Accent rug at the foot
A small rug across the foot of the bed adds color. Jonathan Y suggests a 4 × 6 or 5 × 7 ft rug at the foot of a queen. For a round rug centered on the bottom of the bed, Wayfair suggests 8 or 9 ft across for a queen and at least 10 ft for a king (Wayfair).
How much rug shows: the numbers
Side overhang is simple arithmetic: take the side of the rug that runs across the bed, subtract the mattress width and halve it. For the foot, the two-thirds layout starts the rug one third of the way down the bed; the whole-bed layout starts it at the head wall.
| Bed and rug | Each side, rug crosswise | Each side, rug lengthwise | Foot, two-thirds under | Foot, whole bed on rug |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin + 5 × 7 ft | 23 in (58) | 11 in (28) | 10 in (25) | too short |
| Full + 6 × 9 ft | 27 in (69) | 9 in (23) | 22 in (56) | too short |
| Full + 8 × 10 ft | 33 in (84) | 21 in (53) | 46 in (117) | 21 in (53) |
| Queen + 6 × 9 ft | 24 in (61) | 6 in (15) | 19 in (48) | too short |
| Queen + 8 × 10 ft | 30 in (76) | 18 in (46) | 43 in (109) | 16 in (41) |
| Queen + 9 × 12 ft | 42 in (107) | 24 in (61) | 55 in (140) | 28 in (71) |
| King + 8 × 10 ft | 22 in (56) | 10 in (25) | 43 in (109) | 16 in (41) |
| King + 9 × 12 ft | 34 in (86) | 16 in (41) | 55 in (140) | 28 in (71) |
| King + 10 × 14 ft | 46 in (117) | 22 in (56) | 67 in (170) | 40 in (102) |
| Cal king + 9 × 12 ft | 36 in (91) | 18 in (46) | 52 in (132) | 24 in (61) |
| Cal king + 10 × 14 ft | 48 in (122) | 24 in (61) | 64 in (163) | 36 in (91) |
Inches, with cm in brackets. Measured from the mattress edge, with the mattress against the head wall. Mattress sizes from the Sleep Foundation. "Too short" means the rug ends before the foot of the bed. Highlighted rows are the usual picks.
A frame wider than the mattress eats into the side numbers by half the extra width. An IKEA MALM queen frame is 66 1/8 in wide (IKEA), about 6 in more than the mattress, so take 3 in off each side figure. A headboard that holds the bed off the wall cuts the foot figure by the same amount. See queen bed size for more frame sizes.
What size room each rug needs
Leave a border of bare floor between the rug and the walls. Room & Board recommends about 18 in for a bedroom rug (Room & Board). Ruggable suggests 12 to 18 in around an 8 × 10 (Ruggable rug sizes), and Wayfair suggests 2 to 3 ft (Wayfair). The table adds an 18 in border on every side, then a roomier 24 in.
| Rug | cm | Smallest room, 18 in border | Roomier, 24 in border |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 × 5 ft | 91 × 152 | accent size | accent size |
| 4 × 6 ft | 122 × 183 | accent size | accent size |
| 5 × 7 ft | 152 × 213 | 8 × 10 ft 244 × 305 cm | 9 × 11 ft 274 × 335 cm |
| 5 × 8 ft | 152 × 244 | 8 × 11 ft 244 × 335 cm | 9 × 12 ft 274 × 366 cm |
| 6 × 9 ft | 183 × 274 | 9 × 12 ft 274 × 366 cm | 10 × 13 ft 305 × 396 cm |
| 8 × 10 ft | 244 × 305 | 11 × 13 ft 335 × 396 cm | 12 × 14 ft 366 × 427 cm |
| 9 × 12 ft | 274 × 366 | 12 × 15 ft 366 × 457 cm | 13 × 16 ft 396 × 488 cm |
| 10 × 14 ft | 305 × 427 | 13 × 17 ft 396 × 518 cm | 14 × 18 ft 427 × 549 cm |
| 12 × 15 ft | 366 × 457 | 15 × 18 ft 457 × 549 cm | 16 × 19 ft 488 × 579 cm |
Standard sizes as sold by Ruggable, Crate & Barrel and Wayfair. Rooms are the rug plus the border on all four sides, rounded to whole feet. Metric is converted from feet and inches.
The 18 in border matches the makers: Ruggable says an 8 × 10 fits an 11 × 13 ft or slightly larger room (Ruggable).
In a bedroom the rug isn't centered: with a two-thirds layout it starts about 27 in from the head wall, under the bed. So a queen on a crosswise 8 × 10 needs about 13 ft of wall across the bed and about 11 ft 9 in from the head wall to the far wall.
Picking a rug for the living room as well? The border rules are similar; see living room rug size.
How to pick the size in five steps
- Measure the width of the bed, mattress or frame, whichever is wider. A queen mattress is 60 in, a king 76 in.
- Add 36 in (18 in a side). That is the shortest rug side that can run across the bed: 96 in (8 ft) for a queen, 112 in (9 ft 4 in) for a king, so a king needs the 12 ft side of a 9 × 12 across it.
- Choose the depth for your layout. For two-thirds under, take two-thirds of the bed length plus 18 in: 71 in for a queen, so at least a 6 ft deep rug. For the whole bed, take the full length plus 18 in: 98 in, so a 9 ft deep rug.
- Check the room: the rug plus about 18 in of bare floor at each wall, and add the part of the rug that sits under the bed to the depth.
- Tape the rug outline on the floor and walk around it before you buy.
Questions people ask
What size rug goes under a queen bed?
An 8 × 10 ft rug, turned crosswise under the bottom two-thirds of the bed. It leaves 30 in at each side. Use a 9 × 12 ft if you want the whole bed and the nightstands on the rug.
What size rug goes under a king bed?
A 9 × 12 ft rug, turned crosswise, which leaves 34 in at each side. Wayfair calls 8 × 10 ft the minimum and suggests 10 × 14 ft or larger to fit the nightstands as well.
Is a 5 × 8 rug big enough for a queen bed?
Only as a partial rug. Crosswise it leaves 18 in at each side, the minimum, but at 5 ft deep it reaches only about halfway up the bed if you keep 18 in at the foot. Crate & Barrel pairs a 5 × 8 with a twin bed.
How far should a rug extend past the bed?
At least 18 in at the sides and foot. Wayfair and Jonathan Y suggest 18 to 24 in, Room & Board about 2 ft at the sides, and Crate & Barrel 12 to 18 in.
Should the nightstands be on the rug?
It is your choice. The two-thirds layout keeps them off the rug. For a queen, Wayfair says an 8 × 10 or 9 × 12 holds the nightstands; an 8 × 10 pushed to the wall leaves only 16 in at the foot, so the 9 × 12 looks better. For a king, use a 10 × 14 or 12 × 15.
Which way should a rug go under a bed?
Crosswise, with the long side parallel to the headboard wall. An 8 × 10 under a queen leaves 30 in at each side that way, and only 18 in turned lengthwise.
What size runner goes beside a bed?
About 2 × 6 ft on each side, or 2 × 9 ft if it runs under the nightstands (Wayfair). Line it up with the foot of the bed.
Sources
- Wayfair, What size rug for a queen bed is best?; What size rug do you need under a king bed?; What size rug is best for a full-size bed?; How to position an area rug in a bedroom; How to choose the right rug size
- Ruggable, Bedroom guide; Rug size guide
- Loloi, What rug sizes work best for different bed sizes in a bedroom? (help center)
- Crate & Barrel, How to choose a rug
- Room & Board, How to choose a rug size
- Jonathan Y, What size rug should you use for a queen bed?
- Rugs USA, Your guide to buying the right runner
- Sleep Foundation, Mattress sizes (mattress dimensions)
- IKEA, MALM bed frame, queen (frame width)
Checked October 7, 2026. Metric values are converted from feet and inches. Overhang and room figures are worked out from the listed bed and rug sizes.