Best Place to Buy Rugs + Shopping Tips

Rug shopping can feel overwhelming when you're buying online. These are some of my favorite vendors for finding the best place to buy rugs.

The day I revealed my living room makeover (back in 2013) was a big day here at The Turquoise Home. At the time, it was the 4th most-viewed post on my blog and had been pinned more than 26 thousand times.

Navy and white rug from online — The rug in our old living room prompted lots of questions back in 2013.

That's why it has generated more questions than almost any post on my blog. I'm often asked about my curtains, wall color, media cabinet, couch, and club chair. But the item people ask about most in my living room is by far my rug.

RELATED: Find out what size rug to buy for each space in your home.

This was back when online shopping for rugs was a new trend, and everyone wanted to know where to find the best rugs online.

Today, people buy rugs from all over the web, and it's not as hard as it might seem. Before I get into my favorite retailers, though, I thought I'd share some tips for buying rugs online.

Tips for Buying Rugs Online

1. Price Match

Most of the rugs you see online are sold at multiple retailers under different brands and names. One way I find them at different stores is to search by description.

One of my favorite rugs can be found at multiple retailers by searching "olive charcoal rug." The same rug pops up all over the web. So I click through and compare prices and shipping costs at each one until I find the cheapest. Obviously, you'll want to pick a reputable retailer (from my list below), but that's the best way I've found to price match.

Shoji White by Sherwin Williams in feminine office space — Blush and Gray Rug in my Office

2. Search for real-life photos online

I always look to see whether another blogger has used a rug I want in their home. When I'm price matching a rug, I make a list of all the names it goes by online and search for each one. It's an easy way to see the real colors of a rug in someone's home before you buy!

3. Measure your space

Don't just eyeball your space and then buy a rug. Rugs are too big, bulky, and expensive to guess. Either take a tape measure and visualize the rug in place, OR I highly recommend taping the size of the rug on the floor with painter's tape.

You'll be surprised how often you think you know what size you need, and then you tape it out and realize it would have been way too small or too big.

Ask me how I know.

Blue Vintage-Style Rug in the Living Room — Blue Vintage-Style Rug in my Living Room (this rug hides a multitude of stains!)

4. Know the "rules" of rug sizes

I've written up some helpful rug size rules in this post and I hope it helps you on your rug-buying journey!

And like any rule, some are meant to be broken. So if you LOVE the look of a rug that floats in the middle of a living room floor, or a big rug that touches all the walls of a room, then by all means go for it!

The Best Place to Buy Rugs

When I first wrote this post, I had only bought four rugs for my home, from three different sources. Today I've bought quite a few more, and my list of retailers has grown a bit. I think you'll agree these are the best places to buy area rugs online.

1. WayFair.

I've bought more rugs from Wayfair than anywhere else because it offers free shipping and is typically very fast. Do check their returns policy, though, because returns aren't always free. Their customer service is great, and if there's a problem with your order, they'll take care of you!

They have a lot of great-quality rugs at the lowest prices. I bought my living room (blue) and bedroom (beige) rugs from Wayfair and have been very pleased.

christmas bedroom with neutral rug — Beautiful Ivory and Charcoal Vintage-Style Rug in our bedroom

Amazon has pricing very similar to Wayfair, and it carries many of the same rugs. But I'll buy from Amazon when a rug specifically offers free returns. Right now I'm shopping for a dining room rug, and I'll use Amazon because they're offering free returns on this item.

So, again, this is a reputable retailer with good customer service, usually good shipping times, and free shipping plus free returns (on some items) with Prime membership.

3. Ruggable.

Ruggable is a new favorite place to buy rugs online! I'm sure by now you're familiar with Ruggable, the washable rug. So smart! After hearing several friends rave about their Ruggable rugs, I tried a runner for myself in our kitchen. Messes and spills are common there, so I'd always been wary of putting a rug in the kitchen. But so far we're loving it.

I've washed it a few times now, and it washes and dries really well. Aside from a little pilling on the binding, it looks just like it did the day it arrived. I even got pink icing out of it with no problem!

The prices are reasonable (as rugs go), and the practicality can't be beat in a high-traffic or spill-prone area.

Kitchen with runner | Best places to buy rugs online! — Our Ruggable (washable rug) runner in our kitchen is great!

4. Overstock

I've had good luck buying rugs at Overstock over the years. I find they have very similar inventory, pricing, and shipping timelines to Wayfair. So if something is sold out at Wayfair, always check Overstock, and vice versa, and price match between the two. I've found that one is usually cheaper on any given day.

5. Ballard Designs

I've been so impressed with the rugs I've bought from Ballard Designs. I even had to return one because I didn't like how it looked in my space, and they made it so easy! I know a big drawback to buying rugs online is the return policy, so if you shop with Ballard, rest assured you can return one if you need to. They even send a bag to put it in for the return. Amazing!!

Spring decor on the dining table — The Dori Sisal rug in my dining room.

6. Chris Loves Julia Rug Collection by Loloi

You can find the Chris Loves Julia rug collection at several online retailers, but I had to mention it because the rugs are beautiful and affordable! Loloi makes awesome rugs (I own two of them), and they're high quality for the price. I don't think you'll go wrong with any of these! Find them at Amazon or Wayfair.

Have you found a new favorite place to buy rugs online? Where do you like to shop for an awesome, budget-friendly rug? What are your best tips for buying rugs without seeing them first? Tell me in the comments below!