How to Slide a Rug under a Sectional Sofa

Sectional sofas are a popular furniture choice for the contemporary home, and for a good reason. With their modular design, sectional sofas offer versatile seating options and add to a room’s aesthetic quality. Placing a rug underneath your sectional sofa is an excellent way to make the area feel more intimate, make the room look more spacious, and can be more affordable than carpeting. Sofas, especially sectional sofas, are large, bulky pieces of furniture. What is the easiest method to accomplish this task if you decide to add or replace the rug underneath?

There is a process that makes sliding a rug under a sectional sofa easy and manageable. It’s all about keeping the carpet rolled up so that you can manage it and strategically lifting the legs of your sectional couch so you can slide the rug underneath the sofa. 

Replacing or adding a rug underneath your sectional sofa may seem like an overwhelming project. There are steps you can take to make this job easy and manageable—we’ve taken the time to outline them so that you have a good grasp of how to tackle this project—keep reading to learn how. 

Sliding a Rug Under a Sectional Sofa 

We’ve covered why sectional sofas are an excellent furniture choice for your home and the advantages of adding a rug underneath one. The question here is—how do you approach the project of replacing or adding a rug, and what steps make this job easy and manageable? 

First Things First, Placement 

The first thing you’ll need to do is decide where you want the sectional placed on the rug. Before you even unroll the carpet or start moving furniture around, you’ll want to decide on rug placement underneath your sectional couch. If you have a clear idea of placement, that’s wonderful—you can skip ahead to the actual steps—if you don’t, here are some ideas for positioning your sectional sofa on your area rug. 

• Many people choose to place their sectional sofa with all the legs on the rug. This type of placement unifies the couch and the rug and makes this setup the focal point in the room. 
• You can also place just the front legs of your sectional on the rug. This approach makes more of the rug visible and is especially effective if you want to showcase your rug. 
• You can place the sectional around the edges of the rug and put your coffee table or ottoman directly in the center of the rug. This arrangement also places more focus on the rug. If you have a smaller rug, this may be the best option so that the sectional sofa isn’t crowded all together. 

There really aren’t any rules for rug placement. It’s all about your preferences and how much you’ll enjoy where you decide to place your sectional sofa on the rug. The good news is that with sectional furniture, you can always switch up your layout. For other ideas on placing your sectional sofa on a rug, check out these creative ideas.

Now that you’ve decided how you want your sectional placed on your rug, we’ll explore how to get your new rug underneath it. 

The Steps to Sliding a Rug Under a Sectional Sofa

The beauty of sectional sofas is that they are modular—modular furniture is designed to be re-arranged so that you create many distinct looks in your living space. Another enormous benefit is that because they are sectional, they can be reasonably easy to move around. 

Let’s look at the three examples outlined above and explain how to slide the rug under the sectional sofa most easily. 

• Placing your sectional with all four legs on the surface of the carpet- Move your sectional furniture away from where you want the rug. Bring in the new rug, rolled-up and put the exposed edge as close as possible to your furniture legs. Unroll enough so that you can lift each sectional unit on the rug. Once you have some of the furniture placed, you can now unroll the entire rug and lift and place the other furniture pieces where you’d like them. 
• Partial placement of a sectional sofa on a rug- Follow the exact instructions as above, but you’ll only lift and place the front two furniture legs on the rug.
• Sectional sofa located around the rug with space between the carpet and sofa– Simply move your sectional pieces far enough away to place the rolled-up rug where you’d like it, unroll the rug, and move your furniture up to the edges of the rug. 

Seems pretty straight forward right? We think so—here are a few tips we’d like to share with you that can help make this project go smoothly. 

• Make the job easier and safe– Remove side tables, coffee tables, lamps, decorative items, throw pillows, and throws from the area so that you have an open and safe space to move in the new rug without worrying about damaging anything. 
• Use glossy magazine pages under the corners- Glossy magazine paper reduces friction and makes it so you can slide the sofa on the rug if it is too cumbersome to lift. 
• Use your knees and legs when lifting- Bending from your waist and back can lead to injuries; using your legs reduces strain on your back. 
• Consider using shoulder dollies for lifting- shoulder dollies are lifting strips that take the weight off your back and move it to your shoulders. This simple action helps reduce accidental back strains and injuries. 
• Need extra hands to help slide a new rug under your sectional? Consider hiring someone (or a crew) to help with the job—or invite a few friends over, have them give a hand with the project and reward them afterward with a home-cooked meal and beverages. 

And there you have it, instructions on how to slide a rug under your sectional sofa and a few tips to make the job easier. 

Conclusion 

Sliding a rug under your sectional sofa isn’t a difficult project. If you follow the steps outlined above and use the tips we included, this project is simple, straightforward and very doable. You’ll be enjoying the look of your new rug under your sectional sofa before you know it, and if you need to change your layout or swap out the rug, you now know how to.