How to Place a Rug Under a Sectional: Your 6 Best Options

Last Updated on April 1, 2024

Sectional sofas are the bomb.

They’re comfy, they’re versatile, and most of them are pretty stylish, too. Not to mention they can frame your living room by themselves.

But how they interact with your living room rug is a question that stumps even the most savvy interior design hobbyists.

We’re going to walk you through six different options for placing your rug under a sectional sofa:

1. Place the Sectional Fully on an Oversized Rug
2. Go with a Round Rug Inside the Sectional
3. Place the Corner of the Sectional on the Edge of the Rug
4. Go for a Smaller Rug Framed by the Sectional
5. Place the Rug Under the Front Legs of the Sofa
6. Center the Rug in the Room

1. Place the Sectional Sofa Fully on an Oversized Rug

If you’ve got an oversized rug (something 9′ x 12′ or larger), one option is to place the entire sectional sofa onto the rug. You won’t have to wonder, “How much should be on the rug vs off the rug?” It’s a nice and easy solution – especially if you’ve already got the rug.

This option can also serve to section off the room and create a defined area for seating and conversation (or TV watching) for more open concept spaces. You can throw a round coffee table and a few chairs on the rug as well.

But as mentioned, this will probably only work if you’re working with a 9×12 or 10×14 foot area rug.

2. Go with a Round Rug Inside the Sectional Sofa

If you’ve got a round rug, your best option will probably depend on its size.

If you’re working with a slightly smaller round rug, your best bet is to place it on the “inside” of the sofa and allow the sectional to frame it. Such a combination of rugs and carpets gives a very attractive appearance.

But if you’ve got a larger area circular rug, you may have to play with just a little bit of overlap.

3. Place the Corner of the Sectional on the Corner of the Rug

If you’ve got a smaller sectional and a mid-sized rug, this is probably your best bet. Align the corner of the sectional sofa with the corner of the rug, and let the sectional hang off by a foot or less.

If you go this route, there should be plenty of space for a coffee table. If you wanted to add one chair, you could line it up with the opposite corner in a similar fashion. If you wanted to add two chairs, you could put them halfway on the rug, halfway off.

Toss a few living room plants or a hamper in there, too. The possibilities are endless!

4. Go for a Smaller Rug Framed by the Sectional

If you’ve got a small rug in the 5×8 or 3×5 range, it typically makes the most sense to allow the sectional to frame the rug.

This makes for a nice symmetrical look. It makes coffee table placement super easy, and if you want to add a few chairs, you can either stagger them half on, half off or you can place them around the rug and keep it as the central piece.

Again, this approach works best with small, rectangular rugs. If you’ve got anything 8×10 or larger, you’ll have to get more creative with one of our other suggestions. And make sure your space doesn’t get encroached by an angled wall.

5. Place the Rug Under the Front Legs of the Sofa

If you’ve got a little too much rug to use the sectional as a frame, but you do like the idea of the sofa sort of “going around” the rug, you’re going to have to slide part of it under the sofa. One of the best ways to do this is to place the rug just underneath the front legs of the sofa – no more than a foot underneath it.

6. Center the Rug in the Living Room

In the rare situation you really have no idea what to do – or your sectional just doesn’t play nice with your rug of choice – it’s never a bad idea to simply center the rug in the room and then arrange your living room furniture around it.

So the rug is your central piece and then you can place your sectional over it along with your other living room furniture. Bam!

Here are a few of our favorite rugs to go under sectionals

02/21/2025 05:10 am GMT

Go with Your Heart, Don’t Let the Sectional Steal the Show

A sectional sofa is a big piece of furniture, but don’t let it bully you into returning that rug or having a breakdown over how to place the rug under it. Truth is, sectionals are versatile, and you can’t really go wrong.

So take a deep breath, relax, and go place that rug under your sectional!