As the evenings elongate and the weather improves, the balcony serves as a safe haven where you enjoy spending most of your free time just lounging or relaxing.
However, for a cozy and aesthetic balcony, you need an outdoor rug that perfectly fits the space and complements your interior design.
A rug automatically improves the feel of any space by the texture and warmth it provides. But if it is the wrong size, it may just make the area feel congested, out of place, and unwelcoming.
Therefore, when picking out a rug for your balcony, many factors should be considered, including the balcony’s size, the layout, the design, and the materials used in your balcony.
To make your balcony styling easier, we are sharing a few guidelines so you’ll be able to choose the best rug size for your balcony. Read on!
Choosing the Best Rug Size for Your Balcony
Choosing the right outdoor rug for your balcony can be challenging because they come in a variety of sizes.
You wouldn’t want to end up buying a size that makes your space feel unbalanced and odd.
To make the task simpler, here are a few standard rug sizes to take into consideration:
- Small Outdoor Rugs: these are available in sizes 4′ x 6′ or less and can work as a decorative rug giving a more inviting feel to your balcony or patio.
- Medium Outdoor Rugs: The dimensions of these rugs are 5′ x 8′ and 7′ x 9′. You can use them to make a variety of layouts, specify the look of outdoor spaces, and even divide them.
- Large Outdoor Rugs: the standard size of these is 9′ x 12′ and 8′ x 10′. If you have a spacious balcony, large outdoor rugs can be an excellent idea. They are a terrific method to completely transform the appearance of a room and/or establish distinct boundaries around an area, making it simple to identify different outdoor locations.
- Extra Large Outdoor Rugs: Rugs wider than 12′ are referred to as extra large. These work best in open spaces where they can completely cover the floor without bunching up or overlapping at the ends.
- Runners: while these are mostly intended for spaces with high foot traffic, such as hallways and entryways, they also function extremely well in narrow balconies or patios.
Now that you know the different rug sizes, you will have to decide exactly how you want your balcony to be used.
Will it be used as a small dining area or just a casual space where you can lounge, or do you want it to be an extension of your living space?
Once you’ve narrowed that down, you can then decide the size of your rug and its pattern.
Balcony Layouts
There are four typical designs for outdoor rugs that you can pick from.
These arrangements employ the furniture to choose the optimum rug dimensions and placements rather than just putting the rug in the middle of the room.
All-in Layout
This type of layout involves a large rug covering the entire surface area of the balcony.
Now, this would also require you to measure the dimensions of your balcony as every balcony is different, some big and some small.
Once you’ve measured the dimensions and know that you want to cover the entire floor area of the balcony with a rug, you will know which size will be ideal.
Also, bear in mind that each furniture piece will have to be placed on the rug, which will perfectly tie the balcony space together.
For such a balcony layout, it is important that you carefully choose a pattern that is not too busy as it will make the balcony space appear too crowded.
This type of layout is ideal for a formal outdoor seating space, where you can extend your indoor lounge with the balcony, and it will be pretty useful to accommodate an additional number of guests.
It may be used casually as well; however, it is better suited as a formal seating area.
The all-in layout goes pretty well with casual outdoor dining spaces with the entire dining table and chairs placed on the rug.
Legs Only Layout
This type of layout involves using either medium-sized or small-sized rugs, depending on the size of your balcony.
This design can work for both formal and casual seating styles and involves only the front legs of your furniture on the edges of the rug. Usually, a coffee table is placed in the center to bring the entire look together.
This kind of layout is excellent if you are on a tight budget and can’t afford to buy a large or extra-large-sized rug.
It will give a classy and chic look with a smaller rug making the entire space look cohesive and beautiful.
This style can also be utilized in larger balconies to divide areas into two portions; one as a dining area and the other as a seating area or a reading corner.
On The Edge Layout
Each piece of furniture in this arrangement is placed on the ground, and the front legs of the furniture pieces border the rug.
This placement style is ideal for smaller balconies and involves using small-sized rugs.
What’s so great about this layout is that it makes smaller pieces seem spacious while the center of the rug looks like it is afloat, making the entire space feel more relaxing.
Let’s look at some of the challenges people encounter when choosing rugs for balconies now that we’ve covered the majority of standard layouts for balconies and the sizes of carpets that go well with them.
Frequent Challenges While Selecting Rugs for Balconies
- Picking out a rug that is either too big or has a huge pattern on it. This mistake ends up crowding the balcony too much and suffocating it rather than making it a space where you can relax. This is especially true with balconies that are too tiny or too narrow.
- Sometimes owners tend to pick rugs that are too small, making it look like the rug was a mistake rather than part of the design. That is why it is important that you plan out the layout you want for your balcony and then pick out the size that will perfectly complement it.
- Not measuring the balcony dimensions before purchasing a rug. This is a rather careless mistake, but still a common one. Sometimes individuals buy rugs only to come home and find it is a little too big and folds at the edges.
Some More Considerations Before Picking Out a Rug
Always take into account the shape and size of your balcony before picking out a rug.
As a rule of thumb, the outdoor rug’s measurements should be at least 12 to 24 inches smaller than the dimensions of the balcony to fit perfectly.
Even for an all-in layout, make sure there is enough space for you to properly spread out the rug.
For instance, If the balcony is 6 feet wide and 9 feet long, search for an outdoor rug that is no larger than 5 feet by 8 feet.
Consider using a 3-foot-wide runner on a small balcony (such as a 4-foot by 9-foot balcony).
For a balcony, this size, a small rug with dimensions of 3×5 would be a good choice.
You can also incorporate circular rugs in smaller balconies, as they would not congest the space and make it appear more spacious.
These rugs would work particularly well if you plan on utilizing your balcony as a casual dining area.
If your balcony is long and narrow, consider using rectangular rugs or runners.
Runners are the best choice for narrow balconies since they easily cover the floor span and can be used as pathways as well.
However, ensure that your runner is no longer than the balcony itself.
Additionally, it is crucial that you pay close attention to the pattern on the rug, as this also plays a crucial role in the look of your balcony.
On smaller rugs, modest, detailed patterns typically look better instead of dominating your terrace. If you really like a complex patterned rug, then make sure it is used as an entrance rug and is not more than 3×5 in size.
Smaller rugs usually look good with simple patterns like lines or only borders. However, designs and patterns look great on larger rugs.
If you have the space to incorporate a larger rug, you can go all out and choose a nice, vibrant color with a geometric pattern or a beachy theme, or you could go with something minimalistic yet classic, like a floral pattern with light pastel colors.
Also, make sure the rug you are selecting for your balcony is washable since they are bound to get dirty often due to the outdoor dust and weather fluctuations.
Outdoor rugs should also be resistant to milder mold and not fade when exposed to chlorine or sun.
In Conclusion
We anticipate these recommendations will help you select the best rug size for your balcony.
Just remember to always measure the dimension of your balcony, as there is nothing worse than purchasing something that doesn’t fit.
Also, plan your layout and consider the theme and purpose you want your balcony to fulfill, and picking out the perfect rug will be easier, and you will end up with a space that will not only impress your friends but also end up being your favorite spot at home.