How To Use a Round Rug In a Dining Room (with photos)

Round rugs can be more challenging to incorporate into a dining space. They are a lot more rare so they can be a great way to make your dining room stand out. The right rug can be a natural focal point. Rugs are also a good choice if you want to give your dining room a sense of intimacy.

There are a few rules of thumb to follow if you want to use a round dining room rug. They also work better in some rooms than they do in others, depending on the shape of the room.

You’ll see examples of round rugs with all different types of tables and learn a good rule of thumb for the best size.

5 Places To Use A Round Rug?

1. Round rugs work in spaces square spaces, or spaces that are more square than rectangular.

2. A circle rug works if you are segmenting a large open living room and you want to put a dining area at one end of the space.

3. A round area rug works can be the ONLY solution when you have an unusually shaped space. In this example, the space is not large and not square. It’s barely big enough for a round table, but a square rug wouldn’t fit.

4. A round rug works in small spaces. They’re a great choice when no other size fits and you want to add visual interest with a rug.

5. In front of a fireplace, especially if the fireplace is at an angle. The round shape might be the only one that works.

Here are a few layout examples, so you can see visually how a round rug works with each table shape.

If you are using a round rug at the end of a larger living space, you need to make sure the overall space has a cohesive look. You can accomplish this by making sure the whole room uses the same color palette.

Sizes of Round Rugs

There are fewer available circular rug sizes because they are less common. The standard sizes that could work under a dining table are 7-foot, 8-foot and 9-foot. A larger rug is hard to find.

The rule of thumb for interior designers is that you need to add 18-24 inches on each side of the table. It’s not enough to have the front legs on the rug, you need to be able to push each chair out without it going off the rug.

This means if you have a 48-inch table (round or square) you need a minimum of 84-inch rug, which is a 7-foot circle.

Here’s an example of a rug that’s a bit too small for the table (in this photo they use a natural fiber rug). You can see the chair slides off the rug, which makes a gorgeous photo, but if you constantly have to pick your chair up to get it back on the rug, it’s really annoying.

If you’re planning to use a rectangular table, you will probably have to limit the length of your table to 72 inches with a 9-foot rug.

Do I Have to Use a Round Table on a Round Rug?

The short answer is no. You can’t have to use a round table on top of a round rug. As you can see from these images you can put a square table or rectangular table on top of a round rug.

You can use any shape dining room table on a round rug as long as you get the size rug right.

Can I Use A Round Rug Under a Rectangular Dining Table?

You CAN put a round rug under a rectangular table. You just need to make sure that the table still has enough room for the chairs to be pushed back without going off the rug.

Can I Put a Round Rug Under a Square Table?

Yes you can put a round rug under a square table. The rug shape doesn’t have to match the table. As long as you choose the right size rug, meaning there’s at least 18 inches behind all the dining chairs.

I had a hard time finding a square table, turns out they are pretty rare. I found this really cute one at Wayfair.

Where to Find Round Rugs

If you really love the look of a round rug you can find natural fiber rugs at West Elm and Pottery Barn. The largest (and best) selection of round rugs I’ve found is at Rugs-direct. They have wool rugs and lots of patterned rugs.

The GREAT thing about rugs-direct, is that you can try any rug in your room. You just upload a picture of your room and their site uses AI to show you what the rug looks like. It’s a great option if you’re not sure the rug looks good in your room. Here’s an example where I tried two rugs in a room I’ve been working on.