Interior Design Secrets: The Most Common Design Mistake I See

Hi, everyone, and thank you for being here! Somehow more and more of you are finding this little corner of mine, and I’m so very grateful.

Since I joined this platform, I’ve had a goal of writing a new post every week. Yet it’s been over a year, and I still haven’t accomplished that… Which means my annual review will have a “does not meet expectations” next to Substack. Back in my corporate days we would call that an “opportunity” — not a weakness, an opportunity (I do not miss those annual reviews — woof).

But the truth is, 2026 has been very rocky for me. I began the year with a major surgery, one that I haven’t been recovering from as well as I had hoped. So thanks for sticking around as I continue to navigate it all as I truly appreciate each one of you being here.

OK — let’s get to it, shall we?

In the last 4 plus years, I’ve seen hundreds of homes and there’s one design mistake that I see 9 out of 10 times.

Area rugs that are too small. Especially living room rugs.

Why is this? I have no idea. Maybe it’s because rugs can be are extremely expensive. But for whatever reason, it’s as if everyone has assumed that in a living room, an 8’ x 10’ area rug is the size they should use.

For example, earlier this year, a client came to me after they had been working with an in-store designer at a local home retailer. I was reviewing their selection listing which included a 174” sectional and an 8’ x 10’ area rug.

Here’s why this matters…

That 8’ x 10’ rug meant the rug’s longest side equated to 120 inches. The sectional was 174 inches. Which means the sectional outran the rug by well over 4 feet.

Yes, we axed the rug and opted for this Amber Lewis x Loloi one instead.

Area rugs should ground a space, quite literally. The size of your rug sets the foundation for how furniture is arranged and how the room feels as a whole.

When your area rug is too small, it makes the room feel disjointed, unbalanced, and the rug will often look like it’s floating in the center of the room rather than anchoring (or grounding) the furniture.

Honestly, in my opinion, the smallest size most should have in their living room is an 8’ x 10’ rug. The majority should have a 9’ x 12’ area rug, if not larger.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I’m not in the business of gatekeeping design secrets, so read on for some area rug tips and tricks.

Allow your furniture to fully sit on the rug, like shown in our Chaska New Build project (photo below). This is especially important if you have a swivel chair, a recliner, or a rocking chair.

Here’s why this matters…

Anything that moves needs a consistent surface underneath it.

For example, swivel chairs. A swivel chair needs its entire base on one level surface. If you have half on the rug and half off the rug, the chair will not only be uneven but the constant pivoting will grind the rug edge in one spot, so it crushes and frays fast. A rocking chair is even worse, because the whole point is repetitive motion, and that motion will slowly walk your rug across the room or fold up the edge into a tripping hazard.

If your rug can't fit all the furniture fully, the next best rule is to let the front legs of each seating piece rest on it. This is the layout most living rooms utilize and it works because those front legs are what tie each piece to the rug.

Once the front legs are on, your eye reads the sofa, the chairs, and the rug as one connected grouping, instead of furniture scattered around a mat.

If you opt to have the front legs (of your furniture) rest on the rug, be sure to let the rug run another 6-12 inches behind the legs.

Here's why this matters…

A chair, sectional, or sofa whose front legs are perched right on the lip of the rug appear like they’re about to slide off. It also looks like you knew the rug was a hair too small but you gave up and forced it to work together.

Allowing for this extra length of rug reads completely differently. It allows the furniture and rug to look intentional. The entire group (furniture, plus rug) feel and look grounded.

If you’re uncertain about size, use painter’s tape to mark out the desired rug size on the floor.

Here’s why this matters…

Because it’s an easy way to avoid an expensive mistake. A roll of tape costs a few dollars; the wrong 9’ x 12’ rug will likely cost you hundreds of dollars, once you consider restock fees and shipping costs. And don’t forget that you’ll need to schlep that sucker all the way to FedEx, too. Have fun with that.

Instead, tape off the exact dimensions of the rug you’re considering, then arrange your furniture against those lines exactly how you’d place it. Suddenly the abstract “is the 9’ x 12’ area rug big enough?” question becomes something you can actually see and walk around.

All of these tips can be applied to your patio, deck, or any outdoor space you’ve got. And since it’s almost summer, I’m guessing a lot of you, myself included, are shopping for outdoor rugs right now as opposed to indoor ones.

So I did the work for you. Here’s a roundup of outdoor rugs that have attainable price points (please do not spend thousands of dollars on an outdoor rug, I’m begging you) and my stamp of approval.

TAP FOR OUTDOOR RUGS

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