Hi Jan, IMO, it's a personal choice and if you want/don't want to cover up the wood. I've been using an area rug over carpeting and wood for a number of years, and feel it completes the room, and gives the floor a statement all it's own.

I had a small eating area in my condo kitchen(wood flooring), and had a round rug. I find the round rugs feel a little more casual with the rectangular style being more formal. However, that wouldn't stop me from buying a pattern I really liked! Hope i've helped you make a decision. ;o)

patty cakes - I think area rugs under dining tables look very nice, but I'm hesitant to cover so much of the wood flooring. Not much would be left exposed surrounding it, since the space isn't super large. I love rugs, though!

I just addressed this issue myself, JIW. It took me a long while to find a rug which I felt would give the room the look I wanted (colorful, warm, unpredictable), and I often wondered, in the midst of the hunt, whether leaving the floor uncovered would be preferable. We do love our new area rug and we're glad we went w/it.

Ours is wool and, from my experience w/wool rugs, you can't kill them. Spills do not seem to absorb into the carpet but "sit" on top until addressed.

Good luck!

I've been looking at this Rooster rug from Front Gate. I swore I wouldn't get another rooster item for my kitchen (already have a couple of them hanging around!), but I do like it. :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Rooster Rug

I love mine under the DR table. It isn't a thing that you got to have but it really finished my room off decor wise. Here is the pic........Bonnie

I don't think it's necessary with the size of room you described. If it were a formal DR like above, then yeah, a rug would definitely make a difference.

My DR is right next to the kitchen, and since I have a checkerboard tile floor in the kitchen, wallpaper on one wall in the DR, there's no need for a rug.

In fact, it's the only room that doesn't have a rug and I like it that way. We do have felt on the chair and table legs.

I don't think it's a necessity. Your space, design preferences and needs should dictate.

I have a small, almost square formal dining room, 12 x 11 and you walk through it on one side to get to our kitchen. We used to have a rug in there, but in order to have a properly sized rug for our table (so that the chairs sit fully on the rug when seated), we ended up always walking on the edge of the rug as we passed through. So we have been doing without a rug for several years now and it works well and looks fine to us. I love the *look* of a rug there but it wasn't practical in our situation.

I recently bought a rug from Rugport located in Palatine, Illinois. The owner was extremely knowledgable and helped me with rug for my kitchen. If you live in northern Illinois or Southern Wisconsin, I highly recommend his services - you won't be disappoited. The number is 847-202-0600.

As to your question, I think a rug in the kitchen is a necessity and you can't go wrong.

Peggy

I'm in the camp where I prefer not to use rugs in my eating areas. I just never thought them necessary. I have area rugs in the adjoining rooms and it seems to add the warmth that's required.

Jan, if you want a rooster rug, of coure you need it:)

Seriously, I love the looks of a rug under my table, but our DR is fairly large (used to be LR) and quite casual. My family uses the table also to play card games, board games and just to hang out and the rug is sure nice and cozy under our feet. And mine is just a cheapo $100 thrift store/JCP liquidation purchase, but it looks nice. Want a wool someday.

Tuesday

I had a rug under the table, but it got to be a chore to keep it clean. After I removed it the room looked so much bigger. However, our eating area flooring is 16 inch tile. If it were in a dining room with wood floors, I'd probably want to keep a rug under the table.

I have a round table/rug. It's made of olefin, a synthetic (but doesn't appear to be) material. I got it from Home Decorators long ago. It has worn like iron! I love it.

I love them...gives the room a nice, finished touch--but, I wouldn't have one if my kids were still young~~

Personally, I like rugs under tables. That being said, my floors are naked. When we moved into our present house 13 years ago, I put a rug under the dining room table. This caused the floor to be uneven in color when I pulled up the rug. We then replaced the flooring in the dining room and the adjacent areas (replaced carpeting and vinyl w/wood). This was three years ago. I am waiting until I feel that the flooring has aged enough before I put anything down.

Lisa, your DR is exactly the way mine is. We even have similar table and chairs but in different colors. Your's are so pretty though, I wish I had the white. In fact, not having a rug under the table in a DR like our's, actually showcases the beauty of our tables.

Jan, if you all eat at the table a lot and have small kids or little one's come visit, a rug can be a mess.

Yesterday my 28 month old GS came over for a couple of hours, and I made him a Red Velvet Cake, and boy, were there crumbs all over the floor! No problem. :)

Also, I think having a rug in a DR this size would make it appear smaller than it is.

Oakleyok,

I could not agree with you more. My dining areas are small since I live in a TH. All the reasons your posted are the reasons I have never had area rugs in eating areas.

Also, when you have gone through the expense of putting beautiful floors in, show them off. Wood is warm without rugs.

IMO the elements in the room will dictate whether or not it needs a rug. If there is a lot of woodwork in the room, than a rug will soften the look. If there is not enough color in the room, a rug will add that.

We had a wool rug under the dining table and removed it due to shedding. Went for without a rug for awhile until we had company over the holidays & I was concerned about the floor. So I pulled out a different rug from storage. When college son came home, he's the one that commented the most...he was so glad we put a rug back. He thought it looked too bare without.

Personally, I like the clean line of no rug, but it does add pattern and color. It's really a personal choice.

i like rugs under tables...more cozy and comfortable that way(i'm barefoot alot!!) i've also looked at that rooster rug frontgate quite a few times---really like it!

i currently don't have a rug-haven't had one for about 3 years now---we have two big dogs, one is an aging newfie who will occasionally have an "accident" on rugs--our nice rugs in kitchen/mudrrom area have been removed! i miss the table rug...

I'm struggling with the same dilemma in our new house (I've never had hardwoods before). So far, I've only put down rugs in front of the sink and rangetop to protect the floor.

Bonniee---I love your rug. Is the red a burgundy red or a brownish red? I'm having a hard time finding a rug with just the right shade of red for my foyer (painted in SW Blonde) which leads to the greatroom where I have a very browned-red ceiling (between coffers).

Thanks!

Wow, thanks for the replies, everyone! It helps a lot to hear your thoughts. Bonniee and Lisa Mocha - your rooms are beautiful (with and without a rug). Right now, I'm leaning toward getting a rug for the kitchen sink area only (maybe a rooster runner - ha! ha!), and leaving the table floor area bare. I already have two wool rugs in the adjoining front foyer hall, so another nearby might be overkill.

I love hearing everyone's thoughts about this. Thanks again!

I have an issue with heavy chairs on top of rugs. I feel like I can't scoot in close to the table easily. With lighter chairs, I don't think it would be a problem.

What are the measurements of the area that the rug would be centered on?

Anne

Thank you Jan, Tracey b, & Lisa Mocha for the compliments on my rug! TraceyB, the red in the rug is leaning towards a raspberry sort of red. When I saw it I was sure it was the right shade of red so I know how you feel about looking for just the right rug! OUr foyer is painted the Ivorie and DR is restrained gold on that same paint strip as Blonde.
Good luck with your search and your rooms sound amazing!
Bonnie

I weighed this question quite recently. I like the wood floors in my old house, but felt a rug would anchor the table nicely. I didn't feel desperately in need of a rug, though, so I waited until the perfect one appeared. When it did, it was on sale! :-)

Although all the other area rugs in my house are wool, I didn't want wool in the eating area. Decorating mavens will probably think the rug could have been a little bigger, but space constraints kept it to this size. I figured if I didn't like the look, I could banish it to the guest room or something. But I loved the look immediately. And since the floors are cold, the rug makes dining a more comfortable experience.

Here's before and after. I used flash in the second picture, so the rug looks lighter and more prominent then it actually is.

It is a personal call....but for me, this is what worked~~

When we put in our hardwood floors, I thought--why pay for the floors and then have to buy an area rug to cover them up? Solution we came up with ...actually I had seen something like this done in a model home once. We put about a 2 1/2 foot outlined area around the dining room in the hardwood...and put a carpet remnant (I think we got it for $75.00) inside the outlined area where the table/chairs would go. Worked great!!..and another advantage, no one catches the chairs on the rug when they pull them in and out~~ Sorry I don't have pics...someday I'll learn how to do them~~

I like the warm feeling that a rug under a dining table gives. I've never had a table w/o a rug under it. Even in my old house where I had a ceramic floor - I just like the finished look that the rug gives.

I love rugs in the dining room but sometimes it's not practical with kids. We use our dining room every day for lunch and dinner. My kids are now 10 and 13 and could handle a rug but my nephews (9 mo and 3) are here a few days a week. It will be awhile before we get a rug. If you have kids (and pets) and want a rug I would go with synthetics. They can take lots of abuse and nothing seems to harm them. We have them in other rooms. Once the spills and other accidents are less frequent (years from now) we will move on to wool. I love the feel of wool but it's impractical in our house now.

I had a rug recently for a little while and I have birds nearby, it got to be a chore cleaning the seeds and stuff out of the rug. Life would be easier if I stashed the critters in another room, but they are in the living room.

Bonniee: Love your dining room! Is your rug an 8 X 10, or a 9 X 12..? I also have a rectangular table and can use either size...just not sure which to go with.

I love my rug under my kitchen table. The area would probably look a lot bigger if the rug wasn't there but I like the feel of the rug under my feet. The rug is wool.

Used to have a rug under the dining table where we eat every day. Never felt that the rug was clean no matter how much i vacuumed.

I am proud to say that i am rug free for more than 4 years ;)

Thank you bama12! Just checked and my rug in the DR is 8 x 11 size. Hope you have some luck rug shopping.....I love rugs! :) Bonnie

Any good sources for online ordering rugs? I have searched everywhere locally, and not having much luck! I am looking for reds, not burgundy, along with touches of yellow/gold and blue. It is really hard to find true reds! So many of the nicer wool rugs lean more towards burgundy....

I dislike wearing shoes in the house, so I like the warmth of a rug in winter when seated at table.

bonniee....

Loved your picture of your red rug! Did you order it online, or get it at a local store? (hope you don't mind me asking your rug source..ha!)

Any good sources for online ordering rugs?

I got my wool Oriental rugs from Rugman.com, and my dining table rug and several upstairs rugs came from HomeDecorators.com.

I didn't read all the post - ready for bed - but I have rugs in both the breakfast room and dining room. I think a rug finishes those rooms and brings some softness into an area without much!

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures, if you want to see

alisande: Thanks! I will check your sources online...

allison0704: Just saw your home on the link....It is absolutely gorgeous, and in such a beautiful setting! I live in Florence, in N. Alabama. Are you close to Montgomery? I am going back and read the whole article about your home! Thanks for your input!

I agree...Allison's home is stunning! I'm drooling:)!!

Thank you both! I am in central AL, about half way closer to you. Wondered where you were when I saw your moniker. I've never been to Florence, but hear it's beautiful.

Dining room rug? Yes. I think it completes the dining room. If it's a kitchen? NO! You eat in the kitchen every day and you spill and I always thought they were too much trouble. I also prefer a hardwood kitchen floor with just the table and chairs. Looks clean.

Personally for me think they look beautiful either way. BUT, and it's a big but, I wouldn't want to have to worry about keeping a rug under a table clean. I may love to vacuum, but I it's just not so fun when dodging table can chairs under a dining table. It's so much easier to sweep a bare floor in this situation. But that's just me.