When you decide where you want the area rug, figure out what shape you will want.
They come in a few different shapes, rectangle, squares, ovals and circles.
Once you got that decided, you need to measure the space.
Measure your room and measure the area where you want to put the rug.
It is going to anchor all your furniture, so think of the area rug as a Twister mat.
You remember that game, you have to be touching the mat at all times, so does your furniture.
So your area rug should be larger than the blank space between your furniture pieces.
Write you measurements down and go shopping.
Living Room.
It typically goes in front of the sofa with the coffee table on top.
If you have accent chairs, their legs should be touching the rug as well.
Dining Room.
The rug should go under the table and when you pull the chairs out from under the table, the back legs should still be on the rug.
Bedroom.
Two approaches one is two place the rug under the bed with enough of the rug showing on either side of the bed.
The other approach is to use multiple rugs with one for each side of the bed and one at the foot of the bed.
If you go with the first approach, remember you won't see much of the rug, so choose something that is plain in design.
These beginning steps will set you on your way to selecting area rugs for your home that look right and save you on restocking fees if you hadn't thought about which one to go with first.