Dining Rug Size Calculator

Enter your table. You get the smallest rug size that is actually sold and still keeps the back legs of every chair on the rug when someone sits down — and, if you add the room, whether that rug fits it.

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Table shape
Rug past the table
Check it against your room (optional)

How the size is worked out

A dining chair moves back about 20 in from the table for someone to sit down, and the rear legs go with it. So the rug is sized to the chairs, not the table: 24 in past the table edge on every side, which means the table's footprint plus 48 in in each direction. Then round up to the first rug size that is actually sold — rugs come in a short list of fixed sizes, and that is where most people end up one size short.

The full reasoning, with two to-scale plans of the same table on an 8 × 10 and a 6 × 9, is in Rug Sizes Under a Dining Table: The 24-Inch Rule.

Common tables at a glance

TableRug must coverSmallest sizePast table
48 × 30 in96 × 78 in8 × 1033 in
60 × 36 in108 × 84 in8 × 1030 in
72 × 36 in120 × 84 in8 × 1024 in
72 × 40 in120 × 88 in8 × 1024 in
84 × 40 in132 × 88 in9 × 1230 in
96 × 42 in144 × 90 in9 × 1224 in
42 in round90 in across8 × 10 or 8 ft round27 in
48 in round96 in across8 × 10 or 8 ft round24 in
60 in round108 in across9 × 12 or 9 ft round24 in

Buying the size you just got

Nominal sizes are rounded. A rug sold as 8 × 10 is often 94 × 118 in, and when the calculator shows no spare inches, those two inches decide it. Check the listed dimensions, not the size name.

Rug Source lets you filter by exact size and has enough range inside each size to choose on material — low pile or flatweave, so chairs slide instead of catching. Articlelists real dimensions on every rug, which is what you want when the margin is thin.

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