The most popular rug materials
Popular rug materials
Wool
Wool rugs are an excellent choice for your home. They offer a soft and warm feel underfoot, exude luxury, and are highly durable, making them a great long-term investment. Naturally resilient to stains, wool rugs are ideal for living rooms, bedrooms, home offices, and hallways. However, they are not well-suited for humid environments.
Compared to other popular rug materials, wool rugs stand out for several reasons:
Synthetic Fibers: While synthetic rugs are often more affordable and resistant to moisture, they lack the luxurious feel and natural resilience of wool.
Cotton: Cotton rugs are easy to clean and lightweight, but they wear out faster and don't offer the same level of warmth and durability as wool.
Jute and Sisal: Rugs made from natural fibers like jute and sisal are eco-friendly and durable but can be rough underfoot and are less stain-resistant compared to wool.
This beautiful rug is handwoven in India by talented artisans, this rug is made from 100% wool.
Jute, Sisal, Seagrass, & Bamboo
Natural fibers such as Jute seagrass bamboo and sisal rugs are environmentally friendly and are becoming more popular. The fibers are strong, but soft and make these rugs durable & can withstand wear & tear. These rugs are not suitable for rooms with humidity. The look is natural & can accompany most styles, this works well layered with other rugs.
They are ideal for heavy traffic rooms such as living rooms, hallways, kitchens, dining rooms.
Photo by Max Vakhtbovych from Pexels
Polypropylene
Polypropylene rugs are an affordable alternative to a wool rug.
They are soft to touch although they feel synthetic, unlike the wool rug. They are usually low pile and are made to be stain-resistant, easy to clean, water-resistant & durable. They are flammable when near intense heat.
They are ideal for high traffic rooms such as kid’s rooms, hallways & outdoors such as patios and conservatories. They don’t fade even in sunlight.
Viscose Rugs
Viscose rugs are a great alternative to the expensive silk rug with a silky-smooth texture and low pile. Made from a manmade fiber, that feels luxurious and soft to walk on and creates a plush, lavish look although it is affordable.
Viscose will need care and is known for shedding so careful cleaning will be required. More suitable in low traffic areas.
Ideal in bedrooms, living rooms, & areas with no children or pets.
Sheepskin
Sheepskin rugs are timeless rugs that come in many colors and sizes. This natural rug adds a feeling of coziness and warmth & luxury to any room.
They are easy to clean and hard-wearing and will last for many years. There are many ways to use the rug such as on a bench seat, top of a bed, or a throw on a sofa, as well as the traditional rug.
Ideal in the bedroom, living room, dining room as a seat cover, office.
Photo by Amanda Vick on Unsplash
Faux fur
Faux fur rugs are an alternative to real animal fur made from acrylic fibers & come in styles of different animal fur imitations such as sheepskin, zebra, bear. They feel and look luxurious and won’t break the bank. They are easy to maintain by fluffing them with your hand and some can be machine washed. Like real sheepskin fur rugs, there are many ways to use them, such as on a bench seat, top of a bed, or a throw on a sofa, as well as the traditional rug.
Ideal for rooms that you want to add the feeling of warmth and coziness.
Photo by Ksenia Chernaya from Pexels
Nylon
Nylon rugs are extremely durable & at a low cost. The rugs are flat, strong, & do not fray. Nylon rugs are easily maintained, & come up a treat when cleaned with the carpet cleaner as the fibers bounce back. The downside of this rug is although it looks great it isn’t as soft as other synthetic rugs & is prone to some shredding. Removing stains need to be done as soon as possible as it can be hard to remove food and wine from the rug.
They are ideal for kid’s rooms, living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, hallways, and the office.
Cotton
Cotton rugs are made from one of the most popular natural fibers, are soft to walk on, light in weight, & easy to clean.
Although the rugs can be colorful they can fade with time especially when placed in direct sunlight.
They are ideal for all rooms of the house except bathrooms.
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
Cowhide
Cowhide which is not to everyone's taste, however, they are a timeless tradition and will last for years. They are also really easy to care for and withstand heavy wear & tear. Hide rugs don’t trap allergens unlike other rugs so are hypoallergenic. They are soft to touch and warm on the feet. The interesting shape creates an exotic look to the room and can be placed on top of another rug.
They are ideal for heavy traffic areas such as the living room, hallway dining room, & bedroom.
Photo by Roma Shilin on Unsplash
This rug is made from strips of 90% reclaimed leather, 10% recycled cotton handwoven by artisans in India
Polyester
This polyester / wool rug resembles jute however is incredibly soft and durable making it perfect for a bedroom, home office, or dining room, also easy to match most color schemes.
This post contains affiliate links a small commission is paid to wowedesign if you purchase through this blog post, however it does not affect the price you pay. We only recommend products that we believe in and add quality to your home.