Thanks Jan, and points taken. The house is not an open concept barn, it's a 1958 home with doors to every room (even the kitchen), but hardwood floors throughout and large windows. Sound really seems to carry between the two floors. The rugs we've added so far have helped. We will just keep adding more as the budget allows. I would still appreciate any advice on whether it's feasible to lay down cork underlayment as an area rug. I really need a runner for a long upstairs hallway that's 15' x 4', with a couple of jogs. Decor isn't really important in that space, just sound absorption. Cutting pieces from a roll of cork would be much easier than piecing together area rugs to cover the 3 different sections. The hallway connects all of the bedrooms, and the stairwell funnels downstairs noise straight up to the hallway and bedrooms.

Wow! That rug looks like it was made for your room which is gorgeous, btw. My daughter recently found a La Barge table at a local shop for $100. We didn't know anything about it, but she fell in love instantly. It's a little taller than a standard coffee table, but works perfectly in her space. Looks like this one being sold for $1600 on 1st Dibs... I kind of like this, though. She could hang out anywhere in the room until you need her ; )

I put regular (i.e., cheap) area rugs directly on my Coretec LVP floors almost 2 years ago. I avoided the rubber pads on purpose, and figured since the rugs are underneath heavy furniture they're certainly not going to move around. Zero issues. These are the cheap 9x11 area rugs sold at big box stores - no rubber backing like a bath mat. I could envision any rubber creating a haze or ghosting issue on the LVP, but I'm not sure any regular wool or cotton rug with no backing can do any harm. I've had no issues in over 2 years, and just pulled them both up a few weeks ago to clean crumbs from underneath the edges....

Beverly to the rescue! Her chart make the rug-to-bed ratio very clear, and includes the nightstands. I would definitely look at 10x14, 9x12 and even a bit bigger if the foot of the bed has a lot of walkway. In my bedroom I bought a 12 x 14 to extend the rug past the foot of the bed so more floor was covered. More than one rug could become a tripping hazard, depending on the foot traffic from the bed to the master bathroom. Polypropylene rugs are not crazy expensive, so if bigger will be better, add that size to your list. Also, you can put painter’s tape on the floor to map out what you want covered. That will give you a helpful visual.