Rugs for An Office – Rollable Rugs

With more of us working at home these days you may be experiencing roller chair problems in your home office. Rolling chairs just don’t work on many rugs and I hate those plastic roller pads that you can put on top of a rug.

I’ve had many rugs in my office and most of them were terrible. They were either so flat they had no life or so thick it was like rolling through the grass. But a rug can really add so much warmth and texture that I like to have one in my office. They also help with noise control.

If you have a home office space and you want to add a new rug, these are important things to remember. A good starting point is to determine rug materials that do and don’t work. Another important factor is rug size.

If you’re looking for more ideas about how to improve your office space, keep reading to the end to see other creative office makeover ideas.

Types of Rugs You DON’T Want In an Office

These are the rug styles to avoid in an office space:

• Natural fiber rugs like seagrass, jute and sisal don’t accommodate rolling chairs very well. These natural fiber rugs often have a very loose weave and chairs can get stuck.
• Rugs that have a high pile like shag rugs and flokati rugs. If you are wondering what a flokati rug is, check out this list of rug types with pictures.
• Rugs with a raised pattern that chair wheels can get stuck in, like this example below.

Rug Materials That Work in an Office

Pile height is very important for an office rug. You want low-pile rugs or flat weave rugs, less than 1/2 inch is best. These are all types of rug with low pile height:

• Indoor/outdoor rugs are usually made from synthetic fibers and are considered low pile rugs. They are the perfect rug to use under a rolling office chair. They are also very affordable.
• Cotton rugs – Cotton rugs are very flat. They are easy to roll over BUT they also move around easily. If you go with a cotton rug make sure your chair doesn’t need to be close to the edge. A great way to prevent the edge of the rug from rolling is to use rug sticky pads so the edge stays firmly in place (or the spot close to your chair).
• Oriental or Persian rugs – This class of rugs includes many wool rugs that have a low pile height and a tight weave.

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Part of what makes a rug work in an office space is the size of the rug. No matter how great your rug is, if you have to keep rolling on and off the rug that’s a problem. See more about how to choose the right size below.

Consider how much traffic your office will get. This might include traffic from children or pets. A great option for high-traffic areas is to use a rug with pattern, which hides dirt. Whatever your decor style, modern design, traditional design, geometric patterns, floral rugs or classic style, there are a multitude of choices for patterned rugs.

You can also choose a rug based on a color scheme. A solid color area rug in a darker shade would be a good choice in high-traffic areas.

My favorite office rugs

These are my favorite office rugs. My office is black and white (you can see my favorite black and white office accessories here).

• Target black and white rug available in lots of sizes.
• Global stripe rug available in many sizes and two color combinations
• Chevron rug available in three different colors and sizes tons of sizes

• Diamond indoor/outdoor rug – comes in two blues, pink, grey, yellow
• Arrow rug comes in many different color combinations.
• Striped rug from West Elm

What Size Rug Should You Choose for Your Office?

A rug can be the perfect addition to add warmth and texture to your office. If it’s too small it can make the room feel awkward. Here are the three size rules for office rugs.

1. Get a rug that fits all the way under the four corners of your desk.
2. If your desk is up against a wall make sure the rug sits up under the desk at least 2/3 of the way. This means when you are sitting at the desk and your chair is pulled in, your feet are on your nice warm rug.
3. Make sure any pieces of furniture around your desk, like guest chairs or a couch, have at least the two front legs on the rug. A larger rug is almost always better.

A picture can be worth a thousand words, so here are some examples of people who didn’t choose the right size rug for their office. In this first one, the wheels are half on and half off. That’s no fun if you have to sit at this chair very often.

In this one, the rug looks like a postage stamp in the room. It would be better to have no rug. You want your rug to fit all the way under your chair no matter where it rolls.

This one is just right. This cute chair from CB2 fits all the way on the rug even if it rolls back.

Before you go, you might enjoy how to squeeze an office into a small space, how to make a cover for your office chair and 4 steps to makeover your office.

Creative ideas for your office

How To DIY A Can Organizer for Supplies from Chas’ Crazy Creations

Home Office Makeover from The House On Silverado

Home Office Organization from Life at Bella Terra

Create a Command Center to Reduce Clutter from Health Home and Heart