What size should a Rug Runner be?

What size Runner Rug should I buy?

Should a runner touch the wall? Do I leave a gap? How big of a gap should I leave? Where should I place my runner? We often forget to ask ourselves these questions before we fall in love with the idea of introducing a runner rug to our home, which leaves us scrambling for the answers too late!

The below post is a one-stop guide on ensuring you purchase the right size runner, for the perfect fit alongside your existing décor.

Stair Runners

Stair Runners, fortunately, are the most straightforward to ensure correct and preferential sizing; the only decision that you really have to make is how much of your beautiful hardwood stairs you’d like to leave exposed!

At runrug, we stock stair runners from 1.8 feet up to 3.3 feet wide to fit the majority of staircases. We recommend leaving a 2-3 inch gap on either side of the runner, to reveal just enough of your stairs whilst maintaining the most coverage with your runner; for example, if your staircase is 3 feet wide, we would recommend purchasing a width around 2.5 feet.

Rug Runners

What size Rug Runner should I buy? Is a more complex question. The placement of your runner is important, so your hallway doesn’t appear cluttered and narrow, producing the total opposite impression that a well-fitting runner should give!

Around the entire perimeter of the runner, it’s important that some of your flooring should be showing – we recommend at least 4-6 inches on all sides of the runner, whether that’s away from skirting or furniture (your runner sitting underneath furniture can shrink the appearance of your hallway!).

A final note to make regarding the sizing of your rug runner is to where possible ensure the runner doesn’t partially cover a doorway, make sure your length is appropriate to finish before any perpendicular doorways or flow entirely over.

Kitchen Runners

The most common place for a Kitchen Runner is in front of the sink. It’s where we’re most often stood stationary, and faces a lot of foot traffic. Though kitchens come in endless shapes, sizes, and orientations – so sizing-wise, it’s best to just abide by a few key rules!

We recommend a length that can run in front of your sink leaving a 4 inch gap before it meets the wall and a width that too allows the same gap, before meeting the island or cabinets parallel to the sink.

In Summary 

The most important rule to bear in mind is to leave a border around the perimeter of your runner, to let your flooring shine and avoid the illusion of clutter and chaos!