Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: Tips for Selecting the Correct Size Rug…

  • July 20, 2022July 20, 2022

Guidelines for Purchase the Right Size Area Rug for Your Living, Dining, and Bedrooms

rug example
Interior design by Karen Mills
  1. Living Room Rug Size – When selecting the right size rug for your living room, look for a rug that will hold all your furniture, but if that isn’t in the budget then ensure the feet of your upholstery sit on top of your rug at a minimum like shown here.  That’s important because a smaller rug or one that doesn’t sit up the feet of your upholstery will feel disconnected as though it’s just floating in your room.  Ideal sizes for living room rugs usually start at 8 x 10 or 9 x 12 sizes.

  3 Tips for Getting Cozy with Area Rugs

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Best Bedroom Rug Size – Interior design clients often have difficulty with understanding the concept of flipping an area rug the other direction when placing it under a bed but why that direction is so effective is because it allows the bedside tables to be included so they feel like a part of the focal point, making a more powerful statement.   When placing your rug under the bed lay it perpendicular to your bed ending right at the edge of the nightstands but not under them.  That placement will allow a few feet of the rug to still show beyond the base of your rug like shown.  Ideal rug size for a king size bed would be 9 x 12.

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior Design by Karen Mills

3. Best Dining Room Rug Size – As an interior designer I often see rugs that are just too small under the dining room table. Calculating this rug size can be tricky because you want two feet on each side of the table to allow room for sliding back the chairs from the table, but you also need to ensure the final rug size fits into your space like the one shown here. For more design ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook  and Instagram now! If you feel someone you know could benefit from this helpful information, pass it on.

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

5 Frequent Furniture Arranging Mistakes We Make in the…

  • September 23, 2021October 7, 2021

What to Avoid When Space Planning Your Bedroom

Karen Mills' blog example
Interior design by Karen Mills
  1. Not Making Your Bed the Focal Point In this bedroom we emphasized the bed as the focal point by placing it on the longest wall, ensuring you can see it from the entry, and by layering in a luxurious blue green wallpaper behind it. Flanking end tables and lamps along with a bench and area rug also emphasize the bed as a focal point. 3 Suggestions for Creating a Restful Bedroom Retreat
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Placing the head of your bed in front of windows without draperies framing it. The only exception to this design rule would be if you had a glass wall and you were floating the bed in front of it and the view beyond enhanced your bed. That’s because if you place the head of a bed in front of a whole or partial window suddenly the bed loses importance and the window/view gains it. In this space the bed placement is perfect not only because its on the longest wall and can be seen from the entry but also because the bed now affords a view of the spectacular woods beyond. End tables and lamps enhance the look along with a textural wallpaper behind the headboard.

Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Unrelated furniture or furnishings As an interior designer I often walk into a master bedroom for the first time to discover a desk or something else totally unrelated to the bedroom which takes away from the rest of the design. Of course with the trend to stay at home right now a desk might be necessary because of space limitations but in general all work related items need to be out of sight so you can focus on just relaxing and enjoying your sanctuary.

In this bedroom sitting area the furniture fits perfectly providing a place to take a nap, read a book, or just have a conversation.

photo example
Interior decorating by Karen Mills

4. Lack of seating. Having a place to sit down on put on shoes or just relax and rejuvenate should be a top priority if you have the space. In this master suite a bench at the end of the bed provides an option for removing shoes while the chairs in the forefront offer a place to unwind at the end of the day. 3 Biggest Mistakes We Make in The Bedroom

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

5. Wrong size or placement of rug under bed. This problem is often one of the most common problems we encounter as interior designers. The rug is either turned the wrong direction, not under the bed at all or doesn’t emphasize the bed in a positive way.

Area rugs should be long enough span the width of the bed and nightstands. Place the rug in front of the nightstands ensuring the part of the rug is showing beyond the end of the bed to enhance the bed as your focal point.

For more great interior design ideas, sign up for our design blog here!

plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook  and Instagram now!

And if you feel someone you know could benefit from this helpful information, pass it on!

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Tips for Selecting the Right Size…

  • July 15, 2021July 15, 2021

A Designer’s Secrets to Picking the Right Rug for Your Room

example
Interior design by Karen Mills
  1. Best Living Room Rug Size – When calculating the ideal size for an area rug for your living room, try to find a rug that lays underneath ALL of your furniture in the room. But if you want to show off more floor or save money, you can also buy an area rug where only the front feet of your upholstered furniture sits on top of the area rug like shown here.
Karen Mills' rug sizing example
Interior design by Karen Mills

The last option and definitely least preferred by the interior design and rug community is to place a smaller rug in front of your sofa but not under the feet. Please note however, that this example is a larger rug that would actually work under the feet of the sofa and chairs nearby (not shown).

3 Tips for Getting Cozy with Area Rugs

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Best Bedroom Rug Size – Interior design clients often have a difficult time understanding this concept but a bedroom area rug should be large enough that it can be laid perpendicular under your bed just up to the edge of the nightstands without sliding under them and still have a few feet showing at the bottom of the bed like shown.

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior Design by Karen Mills

3. Best Dining Room Rug Size – As an interior designer I often see rugs that are just too small under the dining room table. Calculating this rug size can be tricky because you want two feet on each side of the table for room to slide back the chairs, but also need to ensure the final rug size fits into your space like the one shown here.

For more design ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook  and Instagram now!

If you feel someone you know could benefit from this helpful information, pass it on.

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Tips for Selecting a Cozy Rug…

  • December 10, 2020November 30, 2021

An Interior Designer’s Ideas for Creating a More Inviting Feel in Your Living Space Using Area Rugs

Interior design by Karen Mills
  1. Create a cozy seating area for conversation. In this room we introduced a rug that not only adds another layer of texture but also nice contrast to this darker space, picking up some of the daylight beyond. To further enhance the coziness of this interior design we went with a wool and silk rug that has a luxurious soft texture so it feels great on bare feet or in socks. Tips for Selecting the Correct Size of Area Rug
rug sizing example
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Layer an area rug under the furniture (or at least the feet) of your seating area. Placement of the rug under your furniture in a cozy arrangement draws onlookers into the space for a closer look like shown here where we used a high quality hand knotted wool rug that is both washable and comfortable to walk on. 3 Tips for Creating a More Inviting Living Room

Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Select a rug with a soft hand or texture that feels great underfoot. In this living space our interior design firm layered in a super lush long shag area rug where you can dig in your toes and snuggle up for conversation, reading, or just watching a movie.

For more great ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

Plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook or Instagram here!

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: Tips for Selecting Correct Size of Area…

  • July 17, 2020July 17, 2020

How to Right Size Your Rug by Room

example
Interior design by Karen Mills



  1. Best Living Room Rug Size – When or calculating the ideal size for an area rug for your living room, try to find a rug that lays underneath ALL of your furniture in the room. But if you want to show off more floor or save money, you can also buy an area rug where only the front feet of your upholstered furniture sits on top of the area rug like shown here.
Karen Mills' rug sizing example
Interior design by Karen Mills

The last option and definitely least preferred by the interior design and rug community is to place a smaller rug in front of your sofa but not under the feet. Please note however, that this example is a larger rug that would actually work under the feet of the sofa and chairs nearby (not shown).

3 Tips for Getting Cozy with Area Rugs

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Best Bedroom Rug Size – Interior design clients often have a difficult time understanding this concept but a bedroom area rug should be large enough that it can be laid perpendicular under your bed just up to the edge of the nightstands without sliding under them and still have a few feet showing at the bottom of the bed like shown.

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior Design by Karen Mills

3. Best Dining Room Rug Size – As an interior designer I often see rugs that are just too small under the dining room table. Calculating this rug size can be tricky because you want two feet on each side of the table for room to slide back the chairs, but also need to ensure the final rug size fits into your space like the one shown here.

For more design ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook  and Instagram now!

If you feel someone you know could benefit from this helpful information, pass it on.



Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Biggest Mistakes We Make in the…

  • February 6, 2020February 13, 2020
Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

1. Lack of a Focal Point – Often as an interior designer I walk into a bedroom to discover a stark cold space that has no focus. Your bed is the focal point of the bedroom and the area you want to emphasize.

Here in this beautiful inviting bedroom we enhanced the existing poster bed with crisp white bedding, a gorgeous calming textural leaf wallpaper, and a warm hand knotted wool rug.

blog photo
Photo courtesy of Kravet

2. Uninviting – Often a bedroom becomes a dumping ground for everything we need to put away or even worse our home office space so to begin remove everything that’s not bedroom related.

In this space by Kravet, simple timeless bedding, a cozy bed that envelopes you and simple furnishings help create an inviting space.

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Too Cluttered or Crowded – In this smaller attic bedroom we didn’t want the room to feel crowded or cluttered with the king size mattress the clients needed so we designed a bed that didn’t overwhelm the room. Floating tables we designed along with light fixtures we adapted to hover over the tables gives a more open airy feel to the space.

Looking for more great bedroom design or decorating ideas?  Sign up for our weekly interior design blog here,

Karen Mills' blog

Plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on 
INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or LINKEDIN here!

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: 3 Tips for Getting Cozy with Area…

  • October 24, 2019October 24, 2019

Suggestions for Creating a More Inviting Feel in Your Living Space Using Area Rugs

Interior design by Karen Mills
  1. Create a cozy seating area for conversation. In this room we introduced a rug that not only adds another layer of texture but also nice contrast to this darker space, picking up some of the daylight beyond. To further enhance the coziness of this room we went with a wool and silk rug that has a luxurious soft texture so it feels great on bare feet or in socks.
rug sizing example
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Layer an area rug under the furniture (or at least the feet) of your seating area. Placement of the rug under your furniture in a cozy arrangement draws onlookers into the space for a closer look like shown here where we used a high quality wool rug which are washable and comfortable to the touch.

Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Select a rug with a soft hand or texture that feels great underfoot. In this living space we layered in a super lush long shag area rug where you can dig in your toes and snuggle up for conversation, reading, or just watching a movie.

For more great ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

Plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook or Instagram here!

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: How to Determine Correct Area Rug Size…

  • August 22, 2019August 21, 2019

rug sizing example
Interior design by Karen Mills
  1. Best Living Room Rug Size – When sizing or calculating the ideal size for an area rug for your living room, try to find a rug that lays underneath ALL of your furniture in the room. But if you want to show off more floor or save money, you can also buy an area rug where only the front feet of your upholstered furniture sits on top of the area rug like shown here.
Karen Mills' rug sizing example
Interior design by Karen Mills

The last option and definitely least preferred by the interior design and rug community is to place a smaller rug in front of your sofa but not under the feet. Please note however, that this example is a larger rug that would actually work under the feet of the sofa and chairs nearby (not shown).

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Best Bedroom Rug Size – Interior design clients often have a difficult time understanding this concept but a bedroom area rug should be large enough that it can be laid perpendicular under your bed just up to the edge of the nightstands without sliding under them and still have a few feet showing at the bottom of the bed like shown.

Karen Mills' blog rug example
Interior Design by Karen Mills

3. Best Dining Room Rug Size – As an interior designer I often see rugs that are just too small under the dining room table. Calculating this rug size can be tricky because you want two feet on each side of the table for room to slide back the chairs, but also need to ensure the final rug size fits into your space like the one shown here.

For more design ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook  and Instagram now!