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It is one of the most commonly faced dilemmas in home decorating; how to place a rug in a living room. Getting it right enhances your living room while getting it wrong can make the space feel awkward, cramped, and uncomfortable.

So, whether you are starting from scratch or doing a little redecorating, this guide will help you perfectly place your rug.

Choose the Right Size

Before you start figuring out living room arrangements, you need to take a step back and make sure you have the right rug size.

The perfect rug will enhance the room, making it feel more spacious, welcoming, and tied together. Unfortunately, people often underestimate the size of the area rug they need. So, when in doubt, always go with the bigger rug.

Unless your rug is curling up the walls, no one walks into a room and thinks, “gee, they bought a really big rug!”. However, even those not well versed in design will notice the awkwardness of a too small rug, even if they can’t articulate that the small rug is what makes the room feel awkward.

Buying a rug that is too small makes the living room feel smaller than it really is because it creates an unnatural visual line that breaks up the space. This also makes the room feel choppy, which makes it awkward to be in.

Finally, it brings down the quality, making the room feel cheap. The lack of design and forethought is a dead giveaway that someone other than a professional designed the room.

Rugs Size Guide

As a general rule, the majority of American homes have a living room that is large enough to support an 8 x 10 foot rug like this nuLOOM Ren Machine Washable Vintage Floral Area Rug. Unless your living room is unusually tiny, do not buy a rug under 6 x 9 feet. A 4 x 6 rug is simply too small for any living room in a home. Instead, save these smaller rugs for your bedroom, bathroom, or home office.

You Bought Small

If it is too late and you have already bought a small rug, there are a few things you do with it. This will save you from having to buy a new rug right away. Large rugs can be expensive. Try centering the small rug under the coffee table or a small table.

Consider layering the rug with another one underneath it. For example, your first rug is a lovely handwoven 4 x 6 that you picked up while traveling or is a family heirloom.

Place a jute or seagrass rug like the nuLOOM Elijah 9 x 12 Beige Solid Area Rug underneath for textural and color contrast. They are more affordable than other large rugs, and the two rugs create a purposeful feel to the smaller one.

Center the Rug

You shouldn’t position your rug so it is in the center of the entire room. Your rug placement needs to make sense with the positioning of the furniture.

As mentioned earlier, you can center a small rug under the coffee table. A larger rug should be positioned to coordinate with the largest furniture piece in the room. This is typically the sofa.

If you have two sofas, you should center the rug between the two. This may or may not be the center of the room. For example, if you have a sectional sofa that creates an L or U shape, the rug should be centered so that it is not longer on one side.

All Legs Off

Taking an all legs off approach works well in a small living room because it helps a small space to feel more open. The trick is placing the rug so that the edge of the rug just meets the front legs of the sofa.

This showcases the beauty of a patterned rug and makes it the focal point in the room. A smaller rug that does not meet the front of the furniture will not have the same effect and can lead to the choppy effect mentioned earlier.

All Legs On

For a living room that looks professionally designed, buy a larger rug that you can place all four legs of your furniture on. The rug needs to be large enough that it extends several inches or up to a foot beyond the outside legs.

The only exception is if your sofa is against the wall, then you would line both the rug’s edge and the sofa up with the wall. The all legs on approach works best in large living rooms or ones with an open floor plan.

This approach creates a visual zone, helping to define the living room space from the rest of the home.

If you have more than a sofa in your living room, this is an all or nothing approach. The rug should be large enough to position all of the furniture fully on it.

This includes multiple sofas or a sofa and accent chair combination. If the rug is not large enough for this, then scale back and position only the front legs of all of the furniture on the rug.

Front Legs On

If you do not have the budget or living space for the all legs on approach, then you can cheat by only putting the front furniture legs on the rug. The rug needs to be big enough that you won’t see the edge when it is tucked under. It also needs to extend beyond the sides of the sofa. This defines the seating area without overwhelming a smaller room.

Rounded

The traditional rule of vintage rugs is to choose a rug shape that matches the shape of the room. This helps create visual flow by creating parallel lines. The long lines of the walls match the long lines of the rectangular rug.

However, modern rules tend to put this aside for differently shaped rugs. Instead of using a square rug in a square room, try using a circular rug like this SAFAVIEH Chelsea Ivory Round Floral Border Solid Area Rug.

The curves of the round rug will create a unique visual effect that can soften the harsh corners of the room. It can also work well in a room that does not have a clearly defined shape.

Fully Cover High Traffic Areas

When choosing your living room rug size and placement, think about where people will walk through your living room.

The rug should either cover the entire walking path or leave it completely bare. You shouldn’t walk through with one foot on the rug and the other on the bare floor. This will feel awkward underfoot.

Leave Equal Space

Interior designers will tell you that the rules state that you should have about 8-12 inches of space on either side of the rug from the wall. However, this can vary greatly when you buy a larger rug.

Traditional rugs on hardwood floors can leave as little as 4-6 inches of space from the wall. The amount of space is not as important as it is equal.

The goal is to create a balanced look. If the rug covers the entire floor, look at the space between the edge of the rug and the wall.

If your rug is smaller, look at the amount of rug that extends beyond each end of the rug. If your rug is between multiple pieces of furniture, it should be equally positioned between them.

Use Multiple Rugs

The idea of layering rugs is relatively new in mainstream interior design. There are a couple of ways you can go about it. The first is simple, have two rugs that are the same shape, with one larger than the other.

Place the smaller rug centered on top of the larger one. Then arrange them as we described above. Typically, people choose a plain rug for the larger one because the majority of it will be covered. Then the top smaller one is more creative.

For example, it could be a patterned or colorful rug. You can skip the rug pads with this approach. The multiple rugs will feel thick like carpet, especially if you use wool rugs.

The other approach requires a bit more finesse and is harder to pull off. Buy several rugs that would be too small on their own, and then position them together.

This works well for Moroccan rugs like this Bungalow Rose Heba Moroccan Area Rug. You could position them with front legs on for each piece of seated furniture.

Or you could angle them haphazardly at 45-degree angles to cover the entire floor. This placement looks beautiful with bohemian decor or a nontraditional seating arrangement.

What colors go with a gray sofa? Well, the short answer is that almost any color can coordinate beautifully with your gray sofa. This gives you complete freedom to decorate your living room with your chosen color palette.

Unlike other colors, like blue or brown sofas, your creativity is not limited. When selecting your colors, think about more than just the colors. Consider the shades for a balance of light and dark and the interior design style you’re going for.

This guide will help you choose the perfect color palette for your room with a gray sofa.

1. White

White is bright, clean, and fresh feeling. It reflects the maximum amount of light, making it perfect for rooms that lack natural light. It’s also a top choice for those who like simple and modern designs. It doesn’t clutter up the space with unnecessary color.

However, the all-white aesthetic isn’t for everyone. This is where gray becomes an important addition. Adding gray upholstery to your white room softens the white and makes the room feel more comfortable and welcoming.

White works well with both light and dark shades of gray, so you can make your design work no matter what shade of gray your couch is. To really soften your white and gray room, add wood elements. Doing this gives you room a Scandinavian feel.

Try adding a light wood floor and furniture. This adds more warmth to the space and softens the white color’s brightness.

2. Black

On the opposite end of the color spectrum, there is black. It creates a moody and sophisticated feel. It also works well for a sleek and modern design.

You could commit to the black look and use it as the wall color on all four walls. However, this can be too much black for some people. Instead, try painting one wall black as an accent wall using a black wall paint like this one from Microblend, and leave the others white or a pale gray.

You could coordinate the light gray walls with a matching light gray sofa. The dark colors offset the light gray furniture. Be careful that the room doesn’t become too dark. Don’t block the windows with heavy curtains. Add light fixtures that can increase the amount of light.

3. Gray

Of course, gray decorative elements will coordinate with your gray sofa. Gray living room ideas are popular right now because gray is considered the trending neutral. It comes in a wide range of shades for versatile interior design options.

Don’t choose elements that match too closely. When you have gray walls, flooring, and furniture, everything blends to become one large bland blob of gray. It can look boring and dull. Instead, vary the gray tones to balance light and dark.

If you have a dark gray sofa, then choose light gray paint like this one from Prestige Paints for the wall, or vice versa. This creates depth in the room by making it clear that the sofa is separate from the wall and other furniture.

Choose textiles that have other colors in addition to gray. The pattern on the fabric and the weave of the material add texture to the room. This helps it to feel more cozy and welcoming.

4. Neutrals

Neutral may seem counterintuitive, but they can complement your gray sofa nicely. Choose neutral colors that are in the same shade family as your gray. For example, if you have a light gray sofa, then choose neutral shades that are also light.

If your gray sofa is darker, then choose shades that are also darker. This keeps the colors in the same family. It’s also good to choose either the gray or the neutrals to be the dominant feature in the room, and then the other color is a pop of color accent.

5. Earth Tones

Using earth tones with gray can bring some subtle and gentle warmth into the room. gray tends to be a cool color, so earth tones can make the gray feel less cold.

Colors that qualify as earth tones are ones that you would find in nature. For example, mustard, marigold, terra cotta, rust, burnt sienna, deep navy, and turmeric are all earth tones. These warm colors are a step up from the traditional neutrals.

Try using these colors with your gray sofa in the decor. This could be wall art, decorative pieces on a coffee table, pots for plants, or small items on a shelf.

6. Red

Red and gray don’t seem like they would go together, but this bold color can create a unique aesthetic in your home. The design choice tends to be hit or miss with people, so you’ll either love it or hate it.

Most people use a combination of bold, bright red with black and light gray. Balance the three colors in the room to create a balance of light, dark, and bright. Gray sofas are good for this because it provides a neutral furniture piece. Then you can add red accents.

If you decide you’re tired of this design, you can easily switch out the red decor for another color.

7. Pink

Pink and gray are a classic color combination that creates a design that’s the perfect balance between masculine and feminine design. Both colors work well together in light and dark shades, so you have a lot of freedom in choosing any color of pink that appeals to you most.

Darker shades of pink have a more sophisticated feel, while pastels work best in a rustic, farmhouse, or contemporary design. Mauve is a muted version of pink that works well for vintage-inspired designs like grand millennial decor.

To elevate your interior design, use more than one shade of pink. Choose one dominant shade for the room but then accent it with lighter and darker shades in the textiles with a multi-dimensional pattern. Florals like these decorative cushion covers work well for this because they naturally use varying shades of a single color.

8. Yellow

Using yellow in your interior design can help brighten your living space. It’s the color associated with the sun, so even if your room lacks light, this bright color gives the impression of more light. It’s a naturally bright and light color, so it will help reflect the light that is present in the room.

Pairing it with your gray sofa is a smart choice because the gray balances the yellow and gives it some softness. Pale yellow is perfect for farmhouse and contemporary designs. The light color adds some life to what would otherwise be a bland, neutral color palette.

If you like bold colors, choose a vibrant yellow that can balance nicely with a darker shade of gray. The contrast between light and dark makes for a bold interior design. Try to use equal amounts of each color so that your design is balanced.

9. Green

Bring a lush touch of nature into your living room by pairing your light gray sofa with rich green shades. Try adding a tropical leaf wallpaper to one wall and an accent. This will have multiple shades of green that will add depth to the room. You can then pick up those green colors throughout the rest of the room.

Add solid green curtains to frame the window. Dress the sofa with pillows and a blanket. Add an area rug that has a bold pattern that features green.

Finally, commit to the green nature aesthetic by adding actual live plants. Mount them on the wall opposite the feature wall or place one in a large plant in a dead corner.

10. Blue

Using blue with your gray couch is a smart choice if you want to create a calm and soothing aesthetic. Pale blue can brighten up a dark couch with a light throw pillow or a blanket.

Using light blue for the rug color is also good because it adds some lightness to the bottom half of the room, which keeps a dark gray sofa from absorbing too much light.

A charcoal gray color can also look beautiful with a deep blue paint color. The two dark shades will have a sophisticated and understated glamorous feel, especially if you accent it with gold fixtures and hardware.

Using blue, white, and gray can be a perfect color palette for a nautical interior design. It can also work well for a simple contemporary or Scandinavian design.

11. Jewel Tones

Choosing a jewel tone for your wall paint and color scheme will give your room richness and regality. These colors are highly saturated, and complement gray beautifully. Think deep peacock sapphire blue with hints of teal, deep ruby red that isn’t too bright but not dark burgundy either, and earthy emerald green that mimics the lush color of healthy tropical plants.

Inspired by the deep colors of gemstones, these jewel tones add life and vibrancy to your gray sofa. They work with both light and dark gray. Add metallic accents, and your plain gray sofa gets elevated into something that looks elegant or even luxurious.

Try pairing more than one jewel tone together for a coordinated look. For example, blue, green, and gray would look beautiful together and be a soothing design. Or red, orange, and gray can have an energizing but not overwhelming design.

12. Wood

Wood isn’t necessarily a color, but it’s an important element to discuss when styling your gray sofa. Adding natural elements to your living room helps bring warmth into your living space.

A common method for doing this is with wood flooring. However, having wood flooring typically means you’ll want to lay an area rug down. You’ll then need to consider the color carpet combination and how it coordinates with your gray sofa.

You can add more warmth to the room with wood end tables, a coffee table, or shelving. Choose woods that have cool undertones. This means avoiding woods like cherry with red undertones or oak.

Woods like ash, maple, pine, and popular all have cool undertones. These will pair better with the cool nature of gray. You could even further bring out these undertones by giving it a whitewash or graying treatment.

A brown leather sofa is a classic piece of furniture that looks beautiful in any home. The luxurious leather adds a sense of elegance and class that a fabric sofa simply can’t achieve. This is especially the case when you choose a classic upholstery design, like a Chesterfield sofa or a mid-century modern sofa.

Once you have your beautiful leather sofa, you now have to design the rest of your living room around it. So, what colors go with a brown leather sofa? This guide will help you find the perfect color scheme for your leather sofa.

1. Earth Tones

Pair your brown couch with a color scheme that features earth tones. These are colors that you would find existing in nature. Think rusty reds, burnt oranges, mustard yellow, sage, moss grey, and sandy beige. These colors pair well with your brown leather sofa because the sofa is also an earth tone shade naturally occurring in nature.

This KILZ TRIBUTE Interior Matte Paint comes in a range of earth tones including “Baked terra cotta”, “Haute red” and “Pottery beige”.

Choose a paint color that balances the shade of your sofa. For example, if your sofa is dark brown, choose a lighter earth tone for the walls. If your sofa is a lighter color, then skip the light beige for the walls and choose another color. This will create dimensions and depth in the room.

Classic earth tone color combinations are found in Southwestern design, the country cabin aesthetic, or even some mid-century modern designs. Do not try to use all of these earth tones in a single room as this is too much color. Stick with the 60/30/10 rule of three. You’ll choose three colors and use them 60%, 30%, and 10% in the room.

2. Warm Colors

Pair your dark brown sofa with warm colors like red, orange, and yellow. These warm-hued colors bring out the warm undertones in the leather. These colors can be overwhelming when painted on the wall, so be sure you are ready to make a bold statement before painting the walls red in your living room.

Instead, try using these warm colors in the accents and textiles. For example, keep the walls a soft neutral and hang red curtains, use a patterned area rug with red in it, and have red throw pillow combinations.

Also, try using different shades of red, orange, and yellow.  Bright yellow can provide light and dark balance to a dark brown leather sofa. A soft mauve can add a delicate feminine touch to your brown leather sofa that has a masculine feel.

3. Cool Colors

Cool colors are greens, blues, purples, and greys. Certain shades of these colors compliment brown leather sofas beautifully by balancing the warmth of the leather. For example, deep navy blue or forest green color walls will look sophisticated and elegant when paired with crisp white trim and a dark brown leather sofa.

In contrast, a bright coastal shade of blue with a light brown leather sofa will look fresh and inviting. Be careful when using purple, though. Purples can be hit or miss with brown. Stick with purples that are pale or have grey undertones for a more sophisticated look.

Blues and greens look good together, so you can have a color palette that features blue, green, and brown. Or you can balance blue and brown with a soft cream color for accents. Finally, tie the room together with an area rug that uses all three colors.

4. Grey

Grey is the modern neutral, and you will see it in various interior design themes. This makes it perfect for pairing with your brown leather furniture. Dark charcoal or pepper grey will look slightly moody and sophisticated, making it perfect for a distinguished Chesterfield sofa.

In contrast, a soft pale or pearl grey will look right at home with a modern brown leather sofa. Choose honey or chestnut leather for this look. To keep the room from falling flat, use more than one shade of grey.

Balancing light and dark grey shades creates depth and definition in the space. You also need other brown accents in the room to ground the sofa in the space. This approach would look good in a farmhouse or rustic sofa.

Then you could have brown cowhides on the floor instead of a traditional area rug. Or you could bring out the brown hues of the leather with wooden furniture. Add matching brown leather hardware for the drawer pulls.

5. White

White is the ultimate neutral and the go-to wall color. It will act as a blank slate for your brown leather couch. You can then choose bold colors for the accents. This could be with throw pillows, a blanket, area rug, window treatments, or artwork on the walls.

White is bright and reflects light well, balancing darker brown leather shades. You are also free to choose brown leather sofas with more unique undertones, like reds and oranges.

Next, accent your white room and brown leather sofa with black hardware and fixtures. Finally, place wood furniture with your sofa, and you will have a rustic farmhouse feel that won’t feel old or outdated.

6. Cream

White can look crisp, but it can also look stark and cold. It can also reflect a high amount of light, which isn’t necessary for rooms with a lot of natural light.

A perfect alternative is to use a soft cream color instead. This lighter shade is perfect to pair with a dark brown couch because there are warm undertones in the white shade.

Pay attention to the undertones in your chosen shade, as some are pink and others are more yellow.

Don’t pick a shade where the undertones are too strong, or you will lose the cream look and instead have pale pink or yellow walls. It’s also best to pair your brown leather sofa and chosen shades of cream with a third color that matches the undertones of the cream.

7. Black

An outdated fashion rule states black and brown should never go together. This rule is out and one that you can ignore. A black wall and chocolate brown leather sofa can look beautiful together.

Keep the decor to a minimum for a clean design and pair your black and brown with white and light woods. Accent the sofa with a soft cream-colored blanket like this one to soften the look. This is a minimalist approach to Scandinavian design.

Your living room will have an understated feel that is spacious and cozy. This design works best when your leather sofa looks slightly worn in and has an overstuffed feel to the cushions.

8. Jewel Tones

Jewel tones are colors that are derived from gemstones, hence the name. These are stones like sapphire, ruby, and emerald. The colors are highly saturated and eye-catching – check out this gorgeous velvet barrel chair.

Historically, these gemstones were associated with the ultra-rich nobility and royalty. This association has carried over today, and when used in interior design, they give a sense of regal-ness and distinction. This makes them perfect for use with leather furniture, which is also associated with someone who is upscale and has wealth.

The richness of the brown leather provides a complementary color that won’t compete with the bold jewel-tone colors. This color combination looks complete when you accent it with metal fixtures.

While painting your walls, a jewel tone makes a bold statement; not everyone is ready to commit to this. Instead, you could choose a jewel tone rug color. It will pop even more with brown furniture placed on it.

9. Metallics

Brown colors can look a bit dull, even if they are in the form of a luxurious leather sofa. You can play up the elegant feel of your leather by pairing it with other high-end materials.

Try adding metallic accents to the room that will elevate the interior design. Change out the legs on the sofa for copper, gold, or brass, or rose gold legs. Then carry your chosen metal hue throughout the rest of the room.

You could hang wall decor, add metallic picture frames, use table lamps with metal accents, or side tables that have metal frames. Don’t forget about the curtain rod over the window. Avoid cool metals like silver and nickel; they make brown leather sofas look cheaper.

Black metals have their place, such as in a vintage-inspired, farmhouse-themed, or industrial design. Look for black metal accents and fixtures that match your chosen aesthetic.

10. Neutral Colors

You can’t go wrong with a neutral palette when decorating with a brown leather sofa. Whether you have a honey, caramel, saddle, chocolate, or darker shade, all of these are considered neutrals.

Take the color of your leather sofa and build the rest of your neutral palette around it. If your sofa is dark, add medium and light shades. If your sofa is a medium shade, add dark and light shades. If your sofa is light, add medium and dark shades.

You want a good balance of light and dark because it will add depth and dimension to your room. Everything will blend and look incredibly bland if you have beige walls, textiles, furniture, and flooring. Don’t be afraid to add white, cream, or even black to your neutrals.

11. Vibrant and Bright Colors

No, we are not talking about neon colors. Brown couches and neon colors do not mix. However, a dark brown shade is a perfect color to ground more conventional bright colors, like a bright sunny yellow, southwest turquoise, or vibrant magenta. These colors are highly saturated and need a dark color to balance them out.

Dark brown furniture is perfect because it has a softness that pure white or black lacks. If you have a light brown leather sofa, pair it with bright kelly green elements like these throw pillows. Try using bright colors in a maximalist design that embraces vibrant colors, shiny metals, and bold patterns.