Very few homes have a guest room that's only a guest room. For most of the year, it's the place where someone works from home, where the family prays, where the treadmill lives, or where boxes wait to be sorted. Then, a few times a year, it needs to look welcoming for a visiting parent or friend. The rug is one of the few things in the room that has to work for every one of those uses at once. Here's how to choose it.
Decide what the room does most
Start by listing the room's jobs in order of how many days a year each one happens. For a typical spare room, it might look like this:
- Home office: most weekdays.
- Prayer space: daily, for one or more family members.
- Guest bedroom: a few weeks a year, often around the holidays.
The rug should be chosen for the everyday use first and the occasional one second. If the room is an office 250 days a year and a guest room 20 nights, the rug must handle a rolling chair. If it's a prayer room every day, the rug needs to be clean, quiet and comfortable to kneel on.
Size: one rug that covers the shared floor
Multi-use rooms tend to collect small rugs: one by the bed, one under the desk, a mat in the corner. That creates edges to trip on and makes a small room look cluttered. One larger rug that covers the main open floor usually works better.
With a queen bed
A 6.5×10 ft (200×300 cm) rug placed under the lower two-thirds of a queen bed, running across the room, gives guests a soft landing on both sides and leaves the rest of the rug open in front of the bed for a desk chair or prayer. If the room is larger and the bed is a king, see rug sizes under a queen or king bed.
With a twin bed, daybed or sleeper sofa
Smaller beds leave more open floor. A 5×7.5 ft (150×230 cm) rug in the open floor area works as the office and prayer zone during the year, and becomes the bedside rug when guests are here. A daybed against the wall can sit just off the rug, or with its front legs on it.
With no bed at all
Some families keep the guest room open and bring out floor seating or a folding mattress when visitors come. Here, a rug covering most of the floor makes the whole room usable. Our Afghan toshak and Arabic majlis floor seating work well along the walls of a room like this, giving guests a place to sit and leaving the center clear for prayer.
Our rug size guide has floor plans for each size.
If the room is an office
Office chairs are hard on rugs and rugs are hard on office chairs. A few rules make them get along:
- Low, dense pile. A tall, soft pile stops casters from rolling and gets crushed in the chair's path. A dense pile of around 10 mm, like our main rugs, stays firm enough for most casters.
- The whole chair zone on the rug. The rug should extend at least 60–75 cm behind the desk so the chair doesn't roll off the edge when you push back.
- Consider a chair mat on top if you sit at the desk all day. It protects the rug in the spot that takes the most wear.
- Flat edges. A rug that curls catches casters. Our rugs have a cotton backing that lies flat.
We go into more detail in choosing a rug for a home office or study.
If the room is a prayer space
Many families use a spare room for daily prayer, and a guest room often doubles as one when visiting relatives stay. The rug matters more here than in most rooms, because people kneel and put their forehead to it.
- Keep it clean. A rug in a prayer space should stay free of shoes. If the room also has a desk, it helps to make the rule "no shoes in this room" so the whole rug stays suitable.
- Choose a calm design. A geometric, floral or traditional pattern in two or three colors is less distracting than a busy, high-contrast rug. Many families prefer designs without figures of people or animals for a prayer space.
- Comfort for kneeling. A dense pile is more comfortable for sujood than a thin flatweave. Many people also use an individual prayer mat on top. Our prayer mats are polyester with foam padding, made in China, and add cushioning for knees and forehead.
- Think about the qibla. Place the rug so there's clear space in the direction of prayer, ideally against the wall that faces the qibla. Our guide to setting up a prayer room at home covers finding the direction and arranging the space.
Color and pattern for a room with many jobs
A multi-use room needs a rug that doesn't take over. A few choices help it suit everyone:
- Mid-tones over extremes. A cream rug shows the marks of an office chair and guests' suitcases; a very dark rug shows dust. Mid-tone blue, soft red, warm gray or a muted multicolor handle traffic and look fresh for guests. See our blue, red, gray and beige and brown rugs.
- All-over pattern. Furniture in multi-use rooms moves around. An all-over design looks right whether the desk is centered or the bed is pushed to one side; a central medallion wants something centered on it.
- Work with the bedding. Guest bedding is usually neutral. A rug with one color that can repeat in a throw or pillow makes the room feel finished when guests arrive.
Getting the room ready when guests arrive
- Vacuum the rug and the floor around it; office rooms collect paper dust and crumbs.
- Move the desk chair out of the room or tuck it under the desk to free floor space.
- Fold prayer mats and put them on a shelf or in a basket within reach, so a guest who prays can use one.
- Check that the rug doesn't creep where the guest will get out of bed at night. Large rugs with our cotton backing generally stay flat without a pad at about 3 m² and up; a small bedside rug on a hard floor may need a non-slip underlay.
Questions we get
Can I use a regular area rug for prayer?
Yes, as long as it's kept clean and free of shoes. Many people also place an individual prayer mat on top for each prayer.
Will an office chair ruin a rug?
A chair in the same spot every day will wear the pile there over time. A dense, low pile holds up better, and a chair mat on top protects it most.
What size rug for a small guest room?
In a room around 10×10 ft, a 5×7.5 ft rug usually fits beside or partly under the bed with walkable floor around it. A 6.5×10 ft rug suits rooms of about 11×12 ft and up.
Should a guest room rug be soft or practical?
Both, if it's dense. A dense pile feels soft underfoot and still lets a chair roll and a prayer mat lie flat.
Quick checklist
- List the room's jobs and choose for the everyday use first.
- One larger rug beats several small ones.
- Queen bed: 6.5×10 ft. Twin, daybed or small room: 5×7.5 ft.
- Low, dense pile for chairs and kneeling.
- Calm, all-over, mid-tone pattern.
- Keep it shoe-free if the room is used for prayer.
Browse the full rug collection, 5×7 rugs for smaller rooms, prayer mats, and toshak floor seating. Shipping is free in the US and Canada on orders over $110, with 30-day returns.
Plan the room with us in Sacramento
Our showroom at 3423 Watt Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95821 has rugs, prayer mats and floor seating in one place, so you can put together a multi-use room in a single visit. We're open daily 10 AM–7 PM. Bring your room measurements, or call (916) 890-4077. Directions and details are here.
