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Dining Room Dilemma – Rug vs No Rug – This or That

November 20, 2018
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The dilemma remains, rug vs no rug in the dining room. I am trying to decide what to do at my house. Currently, I do not have a rug under the dining table. I always thought it was weird to have a table full of food over any surface other than hardwood, stone or tile, but lately, all these fabulous dining rooms with rugs under the table changing my mind. Dining tables with rugs underneath them are winning me over.

Let’s decide on the rug or no rug debate. Here are a bunch of great dining rooms: some with a rug under the table, some without. Which do you think looks better in these fabulous dining rooms? I found a few great ones with rugs under the table and a few without.

7 Dining Rooms to Help Decide: Rug vs No Rug

Alt tag for Emily Andrews Photography no rug
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Emily Andrews Photography

I love the simplicity of this room. A rug here would take away from the minimalistic feeling and distract from the oversized frame. I can just imagine having a meal on this walnut table. Less really is more. The no-rug look here elevates the elegance of this dining room. From the giant canvas painting to the golden chandeliers, adding another big accessory in this area would crowd the room. The sleekness of this dining room design is what makes it special.

Alt tag for veneer designs dining room
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Photographer: Amy Bartlam
Design: Veneer Design

On the other hand, I love how cozy the rug makes this room. A similar walnut table looks very different with a faded rug. I especially love the long buffet and mirror above to tie in this great dining room. The rug and walls are similar in color and they balance each other out. That makes the dining table and long buffet stand out and makes them the center of attention in the dining room.

Alt tag for calabasas house veneer design style me pretty
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Style Me Pretty
Photographer: Amy Bartlam
Design: Veneer Design

This dining room is a serious inspiration. Who knew a striped rug could work in a dining room? I love the way the black and white tie in with the leather chairs. This is such a great, simplistic meets country look. The black stripes on the carpet balances out the whites in the room. It makes the dining table the centerpiece of the room as it is the only item that is a somewhat different color from the black-white theme going on.

Alt tag for Jette_Ventura_Dining_Room_026
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Design: Nicole Franzen

I need this much natural light in my dining room. Love the black chairs and reclaimed wooden table. With the oversized light fixture, banana leaf plant, buffet and artwork, a rug in this dining room would take away rather than add. The sleek, empty flooring puts emphasis on the other decorations in the dining room. Each item gets its own time to shine and a rug in this case would just crowd the area and you wouldn’t even know where to look!

Dining Room Rug
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Amber Interior Design

This wall puts white walls to shame. And this rug just feels so cozy. I can just imagine Thanksgiving dinner here. Especially with these chairs. The browns in the rug and dining table and chairs blend super well together. It creates a contrast between the grey/blue walls and each section of the dining room gets its own moment. The golden spikey chandelier also creates some balance between the rug and the upper area of the room.

Alt tag for laura resen dining room no rug
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Laura Resen Photography

But every time I think I’ve decided on a dining room with a rug, I see how simple and perfect the no-rug look can be. I love how long this dining room table is. There might just be five chairs, but this table can fit many more. It makes for a great dinner party setting and the sleek, no-rug floors will definitely come in handy if there ever is a spill. The flowers on the table and the back table create a very cozy and friendly environment around the dining table.

Alt tag for style by emily henderson rug dining room
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Emily Henderson Design

The view isn’t the only great thing about this room. I seriously want these chairs in my life. They create such a great balance with the dining table. This dining room wouldn’t be complete without that rug. It would feel too empty without it. The minimalistic decor in the room needs a centerpiece, and the rug is it.

SHOP DINING ROOM RUGS

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What do you think? Rug or no rug?

 

xo

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3 responses to “Dining Room Dilemma – Rug vs No Rug – This or That”

  1. Deb says:
    November 20, 2018 at 6:09 AM

    I love the look of no rug. Clean, simple, your eye is drawn to other elements of the room. However, after years of dealing with those felt pads that fall off and leave adhesive all over the floor, I may be tempted. ( She says after scrubbing said adhesive off of floor on her hands and knees yesterday.)

    Reply
  2. Bleubook says:
    November 20, 2018 at 7:37 AM

    In each photo without a rug, I feel like the room looks incomplete. I used to be very into the stark look of bare floors, but now, I feel like every nearly every dining room needs one. I think it’s something about all of the table and chair legs looking like they are going to slide around or something.
    There are minimal rugs that would keep the look serene, yet finished. I don’t feel this way about kitchens for whatever reason…

    But in some of those photos, I want to remove the end chairs, because they look like they are falling off the “island.” A dining room rug needs to be large enough to accommodate all of the chair when they are pulled away from the table…and that means a pretty big rug in may cases.

    Personally, I have found Flor tiles to be the perfect solution to the DR rug question. They are often patterned, very easy to vacuum crumbs, and can even be washed in a sink if a real spill happens. And their modular design makes customizing the size really easy.

    Reply
  3. Shawanna Bailey says:
    November 21, 2018 at 8:55 AM

    Although it’s a pain to clean a rug that is under the dining room table, I agree rooms looks unfinished and somewhat cold to me in the absence of a rug.

    Reply

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