Rug Sizing Pointers & The Go-to “Magic Rug”

Rugs are hard. We get it. How do you know the right size and placement? Will it look good in your room? What if looks nothing like the photos online? If you have any of those thoughts, this post is for you. We are going to dive into an especially magical rug that goes with in short any colored sofa/wall/room, but also talk generally about rug size and placement. Plus, we have listed a bunch of other go-to rugs, vetted by us (we picked up them all with our own money & enjoy them – no affiliation with any of ’em).

The Magic Rug

Let us start with the magic rug. We picked up this rug many years ago for one of the duplex living rooms in Cape Charles.

I am not sure who first dubbed (in the rust color) the “magic rug,” but it all began when we realized it looked good with essentially any room, no matter the color scheme. There are warm & cool tones in it – and a wide range of each – so it seems to tie in and relate to in short anything. I mean, you can see it with a lime green sofa in a video later on in this post. So yeah, this rug has RANGE.

And since this discovery, we have been flooded with dozens, perhaps even hundreds (!!) of pictures from other people who’ve used it in their bedrooms, living rooms, and more – all with strong results. So if you are looking for a no-brainer rug decision, this is the one.

And based on our Instagram feedback, I’d say the magic rug has a hilariously large following of dogs who appreciate it too (or, at least, dog owners). This collage is only the pointer of the dogs-on-the-magic-rug-photos iceberg, folks:

Round of applause for everyone who took these pictures. Also, take note of how it flatters every dog. Literally goes with anything. Note: we have also received photos of a baby pig and a group of baby ducks on the magic rug. If only I could find those for this post.

Where Can I Buy The Magic Rug?

We purchased this rug under the name “nuLOOM Vintage Harriet Medallion Fringe Area Rug” from Overstock for our duplex rental three or four years ago. That name is quite the mouthful, which is another reason it is simply easier to call it “the magic rug.”

Harriet The Rug also goes by the names Ethel or Edessa on many other sites (perhaps with all of these alter egos we should call her Harriet The Spy instead). As you can see below, we found the same rug listed under distinct names on other sites like:

• Amazon
• RugsUSA
• HomeDepot
• Kohl’s

We are certain they are all exactly the same rug. The new names are simply how stores make it harder to price compare (boo hiss). So if you are someone who likes to shop around for the best deal, you’ve got OPTIONS in those bullets above. The only place you are unlikely to find it is in stores, unless you happen to stumble upon it randomly in HomeGoods or something (we have never seen it in a store).

What Makes This Rug So Magical?

The short answer is that it is a quite adaptable rug that plays nicely with a variety of home decor styles and color schemes. The pattern is classic and traditional, but many of the colorways – particularly “Rust” – still feel bright and fresh (not muddled and dark).

You can see how it pairs well with the modern chandelier and sofa in the photo below (as well as with the more traditional chairs, curtains, and a vintage coffee table). It truly anchors a seating area or bedroom the second you roll it out.

It is also fairly affordable: around $350 for an 8×10. So for many people, it becomes an accessible way to either add a new rug to a room that has never had one, update an old rug, or even replace a too-small rug with one that is a better size (for most bedrooms and living rooms we’d recommend an 8×10 (a 5×7′ tends to be too dwarfed under a bed or coffee table and you truly want to anchor those rooms with something larger – even if it is only a foot from the walls on all sides).

Because we are nothing if not thorough, let us talk a little more about rug sizes…

What Rug Size Is Right For My Room?

Buying a too-small rug is an extremely common mistake. Conveniently, the magic rug comes in a large assortment of sizes – including runners, round rugs, square rugs, and as large as 10′ x 13′. That is another reason why it is so adaptable to so many rooms. But which one’s right for your space?

We have written some room-specific rug guidelines since dining rooms, home offices, living rooms, and bedrooms all have distinct considerations. But our general pointers are:

#1: Buy the largest rug that your room and your budget can handle.

In most cases, you cannot go wrong with a rug that goes nearly wall-to-wall – although we typically like to stay 8-12″ from the edge of the room if possible. So if your wallet can handle it, measure for the largest size your room will fit. You can see below that we scooted the rug even closer to the wall along the two edges of the seating area since nobody is going to be admiring your hardwoods floors there and it helps to ground the seating area:

Here is a shot from further away to clarify how we placed it. See how it is closer to the wall in that back corner to ground the sofa and chairs in the sitting area and tie everything together. Meanwhile, more wood flooring is revealed in areas where you walk through and around this sitting zone.

#2: Rugs assist to define a space & connect the furniture

By connect, we mean literally touch. This means if you have a rug in a seating area, ideally the couch and chairs should at minimum have their front feet on the rug. You can see this principle in action below in the before and after sent to us by Sam on Instagram. Nothing else changed in the room besides the rug. Is not that wild? Shows you how much a new rug can do.

The old rug was an “island” that was drifting on its own without making contact with the other furniture (apart from the coffee table). The new larger rug now allows the front feet of all the furniture to connect to the rug, which better anchors the zone and ties everything together.

What Color Should I Choose?

This rug comes in nearly as many color options as it does sizes, which adds to its versatility (although you cannot consistently count on every option being in stock). Our go-to colorway is “Rust” which is the one we picked up for the duplex that earned this rug its mystical reputation.

The “Orange” colorway works similarly to Rust, but has a more colorful and high contrast energy to it. So if you want something with a little more pow, that one has you covered. And the “Light Brown” one reads as a soft muted beige/pink in every photo we have seen. Truly soft and subtle and pleasant.

Most of the other rug colorways are more muted or monochromatic – like “Light Blue” and “Silver” – both of which we have also seen in rooms (they look subtle and easygoing). So they are strong options if you have a tighter color palette in your space or are looking for something that is more subdued.

How Does The Magic Rug Feel?

Sufficient about looks, right? This rug is SO SOFT underfoot. Sherry likens it to “a chenille sweater” (it does not have that itchy rough or plastic-y feeling that some budget rugs have). It is not the thickest or most plush rug out there, however, so you will certainly want to add a rug pad. We like these grippy felt rug pads for some brought in cushion, but these affordable non-slip pads also do the trick.

What Else Should I Know About The Magic Rug?

Keep in mind that, like most rugs, this rug has a light and a dark side. This simply means that because of the luster of the fibers or the direction of the pile, the rug might look darker or lighter depending on which end you are standing. For instance, in the photo below you are looking at the “dark side” of the magic rug:

And here is the “light side” seen from the other end of the room. See how it has a bit more sheen and lightness?

We positioned the rug this way because the sunlight coming through the front windows helps the dark side look lighter. Had we done it the other way, the dark side would’ve appeared even darker because everything is backlit by the windows. So this arrangement minimizes, not exacerbates, the difference between the two sides.

Want To See The Rug In Action?

We have largely sung the magic rug’s praises on Instagram Stories over the years, so you can see more by visiting the RUGS highlight on our Instagram profile. But to make it easier, we have also edited a bunch of those slides together below for you. In this video, you can see:

• details about the binding and fringe
• a deeper explanation of the light and dark sides
• more before & afters of the rug in a variety of homes

Note: You can also watch this video on YouTube.

Our Other Go-to Rugs

And while we are on the topic of rugs, we have a few others that we have especially enjoyed. So let us touch on those before we go. Below you can see our bedroom rug, which is soft and interesting. Patterned but not too in your face. Quite muted and layered (the photos on the website do it no justice).

Upstairs we have one of our go-to rug finds of all time from HomeGoods around 9 years ago. They no longer sell it, but this one is similar. Do not forget to grab a rug pad to go under any and all of these rugs, simply to assist with grip and to thicken them up a bit.

In our daughter’s room we got this large light pink rug. It is soft underfoot and adds some lively pattern and color to the room without being too overwhelming. The other wall in this room has a large colorful mural, so we did not want the rug to fight with that.

We picked up the rug below for the art room in our last house & took it with us to our current house because it feels especially beachy (it now lives in our son’s room). It is so affordable and the soft blue/gray tones mean it can slip into nearly any space with ease (ours is the “indigo” color).

Another rug we truly enjoyed is this one that we had in the pink house’s living room. It felt extremely well made (it took SO MUCH abuse – including an especially memorable slime incident) and still looked like new. Also, shout out to that glossy white wall shelf in the background, which is one of the few things we took with us since we sold the pink house furnished. It lives on in our kitchen!

Upstairs at the pink house we also enjoyed this rug, which was QUITE SOFT and brought in some soft small-scale pattern with fringe on two sides.

This rug has more of a jute texture (not especially scratchy, but not extra soft like wool or cotton) and we liked that it felt solid and beachy. Simply would not kneel on this one, so avoid it in a room like a nursery where you might play on the floor a lot. Would be excellent in a home office, guest room, or sunroom.

Below is a photo of the duplex, and this bedroom rug was one of our go-tos. Once again it is a small-scale pattern and a fairly muted tone. Although there is blue in it, it read like a neutral in the room, while still lending some interest.

And last but not least, here is another go-to bedroom rug from the duplex. It is a jute look but did not feel quite scratchy. Simply pleasant and neutral while adding some depth to the room (it tied in so well with the blue-green doors there – see that one in the background?). Ours is the “blue natural” colorway.

Ok, that is everything I can think of on the subject of the magic rug… and beyond. We truly took quite a rug journey here.

*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.