Area rugs serve many purposes

DEAR GAIL: We're looking to purchase area rugs for our dining and family rooms. We replaced our wall-to-wall carpet with wood laminate last year because of my son's allergies, but we find that the furniture slides around a bit. What sizes should we be looking for? -- Bibi A.

DEAR BIBI: Hard flooring surfaces are good for ease of maintenance and also best if someone in your home has any allergies. Wall-to-wall carpet does grab all of the dust in our desert environment and, unless you vacuum frequently, it can cause havoc with allergies.

Area rugs serve many purposes along with softening and bringing warmth underfoot. They define a seating area, unite a mixture of furniture and bring color and added style to a room. Plus, in your case, they help stop the furniture from easily moving around.

As far as size, there is no rule that all the legs of the furniture have to be on the rug, except in the dining area. In your dining room, you want to make sure that when the chairs are fully pulled out, all of the legs fall on the rug. You don't want to be rocking in your chair when you're eating. Plus, if only the front legs are on the rug, when someone sits down and pulls in his or her chair, he or she will most likely get the back legs caught on the edge of the rug.

So, what size do you need? Let's say you have a standard 48 inch by 72 inch table -- that's 4 feet by 6 feet without the chairs. I like to have between 2 and 3 feet from the table to push a chair out, so the minimum size you should have is 8 feet by 10 feet.

For under your upholstery, a lot depends on the room size, furniture placement and the traffic flow in and out of the room and area. The first concern with any area rug is safety and tripping. Do not let it extend into any of the traffic flow areas, so check if you'll be stepping on it coming around a corner or walking through the room to the back door.

I like to have at least the front legs on the rug. Others will disagree and feel that all legs must be on the rug. But, sometimes to get all the feet on the rug, it's too big for the room.

One thing I do not like when all the legs are not on the rug is any rocking of furniture. You'll either have to level the legs with pads or place all the legs on the rug.

What you don't want is to get a rug that is too small and have it just under your coffee table. This makes the coffee table look like a small island and doesn't do anything to unify your furniture or arrangement.

Don't be afraid to angle the rug under your furniture. If your room allows this, it is a wonderful way to enlarge the area. Look for any architectural angles in your room as a guide. Is your tile on a diagonal? Do you have an angled fireplace? Do you have an angled breakfast bar? Following the angle brings a natural flow into the room.

This is even fun to do in a small bedroom. Angle the rug so that it is on a diagonal when you walk into the room. Your eyes run with the rug and it gives the room a more spacious and less boxy feeling.

Here's a word of caution when buying your rugs. You'll find that there are really no absolute standard sizes. Rugs vary anywhere from 3-6 inches from the basic size. So, an 8-foot-by-10-foot rug may really only be 7 feet 9 inches by 9 feet 6 inches. Each manufacturer is different so make sure you check the actual size of the rug you are purchasing.

You also need to inquire about the store's return policy. As with anything, you want to try it out in your home under your lighting conditions.

If you can't find what you're looking for, you can have any regular carpet bound to the exact size that you want. You'll pay the regular yardage price plus the binding, which will range around $2-$3 per foot.

And lastly, remember to purchase the correct pad for underneath. They make one specifically for laminate so that you will not damage your floor.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.