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Nov 04, 2024

The 14 Best Area Rugs of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Shannon Palus, Gregory Han and Daniela Gorny We will soon be adding three new picks: Annie Selke’s Poppy Handwoven Wool Rug, Target's Threshold Eliot Geo Area Rug, and IKEA’s Tversted Rug.

By Shannon Palus, Gregory Han and Daniela Gorny

We will soon be adding three new picks: Annie Selke’s Poppy Handwoven Wool Rug, Target's Threshold Eliot Geo Area Rug, and IKEA’s Tversted Rug.

Sometimes you need an area rug to cover ugly floors, to keep downstairs neighbors from hearing you walk around, or to make your place feel homey without spending a lot of money.

We spent more than 60 hours researching hundreds of area rugs, interviewing experts, and testing rugs with panelists. Then we put our feet on our favorites at home (and let a cat do his best to destroy them) for many more hours.

Of the 42 rugs we tested, we recommend 12 that come in multiple sizes, colors, and patterns. We have picks for flatwoven, low-pile, and high-pile rugs that will suit a range of rooms and styles.

Flatwoven rugs have no pile (fibers that stick up), and they’re easier to clean and good for high-traffic areas.

These rugs usually have fibers up to ¼ inch high; they provide a bit more cushioning than a flatweave but are still easy to clean.

Medium- to high-pile rugs have a more cushioned feel, with fibers between ¼ inch to ½ inch (medium pile) and over ½ inch (high pile).

Rugs with fibers longer than ¾ inch are considered plush or shag. They add plush cushioning but are harder to clean.

Even if you don’t fall in love with any specific rugs in this guide, there are many here that can point you in the right direction. We share the advice of design pros regarding which types of rugs function best in high- and low-traffic areas and what rug size to buy.

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This guide combines the collective research and testing of three writers. Shannon interviewed four experts on rugs and home design: Lisa Wagner, a second-generation rug cleaner and blogger at Rug Chick; Elana Frankel, a design consultant who was formerly the vice president of creative at One Kings Lane and an editor at Martha Stewart Living; Rebecca Atwood, a Brooklyn-based designer and author of the book Living with Pattern; and Jessica Probus, currently at BuzzFeed, former interior designer and author of the book Home Decor Cheat Sheets: Need-to-Know Stuff for Stylish Living. We also consulted the design book Domino: Your Guide to a Stylish Home to learn tricks from pros Jessica Romm Perez and Shani Silver.

We sifted through editorial reviews and the websites of big-box stores and discount rug sellers, comparing the finer details of nearly a hundred rugs. We made trips to IKEA and ordered samples of more than two dozen rugs from a variety of retailers to put to a testing panel of nine people. For the 2020 update to this guide, Gregory Han called in four new rug styles, re-tested previous picks, and added long-term test notes to existing picks. Gregory is a writer at Design Milk and the former managing home technology editor for Apartment Therapy. Gregory has been writing about home design and products since 2006 for a multitude of design-focused outlets, including Dwell, Metropolis, and Domino. For an update in 2022, supervising editor Daniela Gorny added long-term testing notes on several existing picks and tested four new rugs.

Flatweave rugs have no pile—that is, no fibers that stick up. They’re a good option if you’re looking for a budget rug to cover a large space or to occupy a high-traffic area. Generally, a decent flatweave won’t cost as much as a quality rug with pile and will be easier to keep looking nice year in and year out. Flatweaves won’t trap as much dirt as rugs with pile, and they’re easy to vacuum or wipe down with a damp cloth. You can even machine-wash some of them, such as cotton rag rugs. When they do get stained, most are reversible.

Flatwoven rugs work best in kitchens or dining rooms (they’re easy to scoot chairs around on), or in playrooms (they provide a solid foundation for a tower of blocks). The softer ones can work in bedrooms, too. Consider starting with a flatweave as a base and adding a few smaller high-pile or shag rugs to make the room feel cozier.

Using a thick rug pad can make a big difference with these rugs, transforming them from something that feels most appropriate in a kitchen to a rug that is cushioned enough to put in a bedroom. With a thick rug pad, a flatwoven rug will feel springy underfoot and soften the effect of a rough surface. (Plus, it will provide a gentler landing pad for kids to fall down on.) On bare floor or over a thin antislip lining, your feet will feel every bump in the rug’s construction.

If you don’t use a pad, a flatweave can slip and prove hazardous. This type of rug also won’t hide a bad stain as well as a higher-pile rug.

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This is one of the most affordable rag rugs we’ve found. It is reasonably durable and great for kitchen use because it can be washed, and it comes in a wide range of colors and sizes.

*For more sizes and colors visit overstock.com or amazon.com, $25 to $150

Best for: kitchen, dining room

Why it’s great: Rag rugs rank among the best choices for a kitchen, because they’re machine washable, and due to their rustic appearance they still look okay with a bit of wear and tear, like some loose yarns or worn spots. We like Safavieh’s hand-woven rag rugs, which cost less than most other rag rugs we’ve seen, feel comfortable to walk on, and come in a wide range of colors and sizes. The design, consisting of variegated yarns (or rags), means that most small stains will simply blend in. This rug is easy to flip over or toss in the wash—although the larger 8-by-10 versions may require a trip to the laundromat to use their large-capacity washers. At least, if you really ruin it, it’s inexpensive to replace (it’s the least expensive of the kitchen options we looked at). One of our editors has had the multicolor version of this rug since 2015, and it’s holding up well—just a few of the yarns have pulled out slightly. And the white one has held up well in a kitchen through a couple of years of testing; Shannon tosses hers in the wash every couple of weeks to keep the color nice. You can sometimes find Safavieh’s area rugs for better prices on Amazon, though the selection is a bit scattershot. A more unconventional version with a white speckled center and a bold border in colors from gray to hot pink is available at Target and Walmart.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: While soft, this rug is a little thinner and bumpier underfoot than many flatweaves—get a thick rug pad to go with it. This rug also may shrink slightly after washing; one editor found that her runner shrank a few inches in length (even with air-drying), so keep shrinkage in mind when ordering the size to fit your space. Another editor found that his rug warped in shape under the weight of an office chair rolling around, as well as the wear and tear of a cat clawing at it—unsurprising given that the weave of the rug is on the looser side.

Sizes: 2′ by 3′, 2′6″ by 4′, 2′3″ by 5′, 3′ by 5′, 4′ by 4′, 4′ by 6′, 6′ by 6′, 5′ by 8′, 6′ by 9′, 8′ by 10′, 9′ by 12′

Material: 100% cotton

Colors: blue, ivory, purple, ink, yellow, multi, gray, turquoise

Shipping: free to $5

These finely woven natural jute rugs are easy to maintain and barely shed. Unlike thick, bumpier jute rugs, these are thin and ideal for under a dining table or layering in a living room.

*For more patterns and sizes visit Revival, $100 to $1,400

Best for: dining room, kitchen, hallways, or layering in living rooms or bedrooms

Why it’s great: The Hart Jute Rug from Revival is a great natural fiber option for using under a dining table, as a runner in a hallway, or for layering with other rugs in a living room for a more cushioned feel. We like how soft the jute feels underfoot and that it barely sheds, unlike thicker and bumpier jute rugs. The Hart Jute Rug is flexible and finely woven, giving it a more delicate, flat appearance.

Besides the natural, unbleached tan color that jute is known for, the rug also comes in eight other colors. Like a flatweave, the Hart Jute Rug does not provide a lot of cushioning by itself (something you can adjust with a rug pad of choice). We tested the 5-by-8-feet size under a dining table and in a kitchen, and it was easy to vacuum and lightweight enough to shake out outside when it needed a deeper cleaning. You can also spot clean with some water, but jute is very susceptible to water and humidity, so avoid wetting it too much.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Two of the corners on our jute rug kept curling up for the first two months, even after we’d placed weights and bent it in the opposite direction, but Revival’s advice to bend and roll the corner seemed to finally do the trick. Most of Revival’s rugs arrive gently folded (instead of rolled), which means you can expect some creases when you unpack it. Besides the corners curling, we found most of these folds faded after a couple of weeks.

Sizes: 2′ by 3′, 3′ by 5′, 4′ by 6′, 5′ by 8′, 6′ by 9′, 7′ by 7′, 8′ by 10′, 9′ by 12′, 10′ by 14′, 12′ by 16′, 2.5′ by 9′, 2.5′ by 12′, and round and custom sizes

Materials: 100% natural jute

Colors: black, terracotta, olive, teal, sienna, navy, gray, natural (tan), light (white)

Shipping: free in the contiguous US

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These tightly woven cotton rugs feel smoother and softer than a rag rug. We like that they are machine washable and come in a wide range of patterns and sizes.

*For more patterns and sizes visit Hook & Loom, $24 to $345

Best for: dining room, living room, bedroom, kitchen, kids room, bedroom

Why it’s great: Our testers named these flatweave rugs as a favorite for their interesting designs. They come in a vast array of colors and patterns (solid, striped, geometric), offering the most variety we’ve seen in a single line. Though their feel is far from the plush texture of a rug with pile, these rugs are softer than most flatweaves we’ve tested. To our testers, the weave was tighter and felt less bumpy underfoot than that of the multicolored rag rug we tried.

These flatweaves will resist signs of wear and tear. After being tested since 2016, they’ve held up well in a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, and they show dirt less than the other polyester-cotton blend competition (as Lisa Wagner writes on Rug Chick, polyester rugs love grabbing grime and pet hair). The small geometric patterns found in these rugs do a good job of masking marks and stains, as Jessica Probus, author of Home Decor Cheat Sheets: Need-to-Know Stuff for Stylish Living, told us. You can machine wash them, so they’re great for a location where they are likely to get spilled on (think kitchen or dining room), though you’ll need to take larger sizes to a laundromat.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:. A former staff writer owned one of these rugs and reported that it pilled at first. She complained to the company, and representatives offered her a refund and let her keep the rug. The problem then disappeared after she moved it from the living room to her bedroom—a lower-traffic area—and washed it a couple of times. Keep in mind that pilling could be an issue.

Sizes: 2′ by 3′, 3′ by 5′, 5′ by 8′, 8′6″ by 11′, 2′6″ by 9′, 3′ and 6′ round (for braided rugs)

Materials: 85% cotton, 12% polyester, 3% other

Colors: wide variety of patterns and colors

Shipping: free

This rug’s attractive woven pattern will add texture and interest to any room without commanding too much attention. We like that small stains and marks won’t stand out against the intricate lines of the weave.

Best for: living room, bedroom

Why it’s great: We saw a lot of rugs with patterns that were either too boring or too loud. The Dash & Albert Herringbone Woven Cotton Rug strikes a Goldilocks-worthy balance between interesting and understated. Colors such as ocean, dove grey, stone, and coral are neutral yet more intriguing than your typical cream or navy. The fine herringbone pattern will hide small marks or stains, to boot. Our testers noted that this rug had a slight texture underfoot that felt pleasant, though not as soft as some of our other favorite flatweaves. One of our editors, who has a young child and a dog, has used this rug since 2017 and said: “It’s been pretty solid. It gets a lot of wear from being in one of the most trafficked areas in the apartment, and while there are a few snags in places, they don’t look bad or particularly noticeable. The design hides dirt and stains well, and the material is easy to clean.”

Flaws but not dealbreakers: This rug comes in relatively light colors and has a significant amount of white. We wouldn’t recommend it for high-traffic areas, or rooms where kids and pets will track dirt or eat food. It’s also pricier than most of the rugs we tested for this guide. When we put this rug through the washer and dryer—Dash & Albert recommends hand washing or professional cleaning—it shrank by 10% in area, on a par with the other rugs we cleaned this way. Like most flatweave rugs, we recommend getting a rug pad to avoid any slipping.

Sizes: 2′ by 3′, 2.5′ by 8′, 2.5′ by 12′, 4′ by 6′, 6′ by 9′, 8′ by 10′, 9′ by 12′ (swatches also available)

Material: 100% cotton

Colors: Swedish blue, indigo, ocean, citrus, dove grey, stone, coral, sky

Shipping: free for orders over $100; $10 flat rate for everything under $100

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This is the softest, nicest-looking large wool rug we’ve found for around $300. It comes in four patterns, and the black-and-white-striped version is a favorite of design blogs.

*For more sizes and colors visit ikea.com, $200 to $300

Best for: living room

Why it’s great: Of the budget rugs we looked at, the IKEA Stockholm was one of the few we liked that consisted largely of wool (it has cotton warp and weft and a wool surface). We tried this rug in an IKEA showroom, and it was the only flatwoven rug there that we really liked in our under-$500 price category for a large rug. It has a great price for a wool rug, and it’s softer than the other budget wool rugs we put our hands on. Of the five patterns it comes in, we’ve most often seen the black-and-white-striped Stockholm pop up on design blogs. This particular pattern suits a range of decorating styles, as noted on Apartment Therapy: “It gives formal antique-filled rooms some punch and brightness. It serves as a neutral backdrop for more modern rooms.” If you live close to an IKEA store, you might want to pick up this rug in person.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The wool will shed at first (which is normal), so you’ll need to vacuum it regularly. The striped version we examined in an IKEA showroom looked a little dingy from foot traffic. We’d think twice before putting the black-and-white version in a home with lots of foot traffic from kids (or even a home where you don’t have a no-shoes-inside policy). It also feels rougher than our other favorite flatweaves.

Sizes: 5′7″ by 7′10″, 8′2″ by 11′6″

Materials: wool and cotton

Colors: black and white striped, red and white striped, yellow (net pattern), gray (net pattern), brown (checkered pattern), orange (zigzag)

Shipping: $10 to $100, depending on location

If you like the look of the striped Stockholm but want a softer rug or more color choices, this all-cotton rug is a good option. The smaller stripes aren’t quite as bold.

Best for: living room, bedroom

Why it’s great: The Safavieh Montauk Rug (Striped) (previous called Juliette) is a nice alternative to the IKEA Stockholm. Testers liked the soft feel—it’s softer than the Stockholm—and it’s available in more sizes. Since it’s made of cotton, it can go in the wash.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Even though this rug is all-cotton, we sucked up a significant amount of fiber the first several times we vacuumed it. The stripes are smaller than those on the Stockholm, lending the rug a beachier look. The white areas make this rug more prone to stains and looking dirty. The sizes aren’t consistently available in every color. Like all cotton rugs, this one will shrink slightly if you put it through the dryer. Note: Safavieh names a lot of their rugs under the "Montauk" name. The one we recommend here is the alternating striped pattern, similar to the IKEA Stockholm above.

Sizes: 2′3″ by 7′, 4′ by 6′, 5′ by 7′, 8′ by 10′

Material: 100% cotton

Colors: light blue, blue, light gray, gray

Shipping: free

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This 100% recycled polyester flatweave rug, with its neutral yet contemporary modern design, should adapt to most decor and nearly any room setting. Plus, it is durable, comfortable, and easy to clean.

Best for: living room, bedroom, office

Why it’s great: If you’re looking for an area rug with a contemporary, yet neutral design that whispers hygge—cozy, comfortable, warm and welcoming—the Burrow Cape House rug is a solid pick on looks alone. Its heathered chevron pattern is subtle like a well-loved sweater. The tightly woven rug also impressed us with its ability to withstand the stress of stretching cat claws despite its prominent loops, and a couple of “I don’t remember the cat eating that!” cleanup incidents, living up to its advertisement as a low-maintenance and easy-to-clean floor covering. And unlike some rugs made with polyester, the overall texture was neither too slick or silky, a credit to its chunky weave.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Like most flatweave rugs, the Cape House rug performs best when paired with a rug pad underneath to avoid sliding around. Burrow also sells their own rug pad, which you can add to your order when selecting your rug size.

Sizes: 5′ by 8′, 8′ by 10′

Materials: 100% recycled polyester

Colors: heathered-gray chevron

Shipping: free

These quality flatweave organic-cotton rugs come in neutral and geometric patterns and can be machine-washed and hung to dry.

*For more patterns and sizes visit Revival, $110 to $430

Best for: dining room, living room, bedroom, kitchen, kids room

Why it’s great: Revival’s flatwoven machine-washable cotton rugs feel soft and substantial underfoot, unlike thinner synthetic rugs advertised as machine-washable (like our Ruggable pick). They are 100% cotton, come in several patterns, and like other flatweaves, are relatively easy to wash. The rug we tested was the Holding - Taupe in 3′ x 5′, and while the colors did fade slightly after a couple of washes, it has held up well after several months of use. By itself or with a thin rug pad, this rug is better for kitchens and high traffic areas, but when combined with a thick rug pad underneath, this rug could work well in bedrooms and living rooms where someone may want a more cushioned surface. Most of Revival’s rugs arrive folded (instead of rolled), which means you can expect some creases when the rug arrives, but we found most of them faded after a couple of weeks. Revival has also released denim and recycled polyester washable rugs, but we have not tested those yet.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The rug size we tested was 3 feet by 5 feet, and while it washed well and easily fit in a standard top-loading washer (like most cotton flatweaves), cotton is heavier to handle when it gets wet, so washing anything 6′ x 9′ and above may get tricky and/or require a larger washer.

Sizes: 3′ by 5′, 4’ by 6′, 5′ by 7′, 6′ by 9′

Materials: 100% cotton

Colors: several neutral earth tones and patterns available

Shipping: free

Low-pile rugs have yarns that usually extend up to ¼ inch from the rug’s backing. The surface is flat and supportive but also provides more cushioning than a flatweave rug. They’re great for dining rooms since you can scoot chairs around on them, but bare feet will also have a nice surface to rest on. Low-pile rugs work well in kids rooms, since they’re soft enough for kids to roll around on and are generally easier to clean than higher-pile rugs. (Low-pile rugs are commonly found in schools.) These rugs will also benefit from a thick rug pad.

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These two-piece and lightweight machine-washable rugs are in a category all their own, available in hundreds of styles and eleven sizes. But we don’t recommend them for high-traffic areas.

Best for: lower-foot-traffic areas like kid playrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and where heavy furniture won’t sit on them (so they can be easily removed for washing)

Why it’s great: Ruggable rugs are unlike any other option we tested, offering a two-piece design that combines the appearance of a traditional floor rug with some of the feel and function of carpet tiles. The Quadra Teal design we tested is Ruggable’s main type of rug, which they call a chenille rug. It comes in many color and design options. Ruggable's Classic Low Pile rugs are only ⅛-inch thick (thinner than most low-pile rugs), so they can more easily be thrown into the average-size washing machine. This system consists of a rug pad and a rug topper (the “topper” is the actual rug), which is not unlike the setup we recommend for most of our picks, but with Ruggable rugs the pad is not optional. The Standard rug pad is ⅛-inch thick and made of polyester and thermoplastic rubber, similar to a yoga mat. The Cushioned pad is about twice as thick as the Standard (⅖-inch thick) and much more supportive. The thin water-resistant rug topper, made of polyester, then attaches securely to the pad.

When the topper is combined with the thinner Standard pad, the result is a low-pile rug that looks and feels more like carpet tiles—firm, but comfortable—than something we’d call cozy. Still, for spaces where the everyday thrills of spills are a reality of life, Ruggable’s design makes a strong argument for compromising a little comfort for hard wearing convenience. Our smaller 3-by-5-foot sample on the Standard pad also proved to be a pretty good workout mat, sufficiently cushioned and nonslip for cardio, and never exhibiting any pilling. We also tested one of their shag rugs, which we were not a big fan of (more info in our Competition section). In 2022, we found that people on staff who used their Ruggable topper with the thicker Cushioned pad were much happier with their setup. The Cushioned pad is more expensive but we think most people will be happier with a more supportive and cushioned rug.

In 2023, Ruggable added Premium Medium Pile rugs, which are just over ¼-inch thick (7mm). Compared with the ⅛-inch (2mm) Classic Low Pile, the Premium rug feels more substantial and plush underfoot. Paired with the thicker Cushioned rug pad, this rug feels even more thick and luxurious. The surface still has that synthetic, slippery feel that most polyester rugs have, but if you like a thick rug and prefer being able to throw it in the washing machine, we think it’s worth the upgrade.

The Premium Medium Pile rug isn’t available in as many sizes or styles as the Classic, but Ruggable said it will continue to expand the line. It was tricky fitting the 6-by-9-foot Premium version we tested in our standard, 4.5-cubic-foot washer, but it was still possible. Keep sizing in mind for anything above 5 by 7 feet, or if you have a smaller washing machine.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The rug we tested laid flat almost immediately upon unrolling, but one side remained curled every so slightly before we used a kettlebell to press the stubborn corners into place. In 2022 we received feedback from several people on staff who own Ruggables that curling and edges lifting up was a widespread issue, especially in high-traffic areas like hallways and kitchens (which we expand on in our piece on Ruggables). Ruggable claims it started rolling out a redesigned rug in September 2021 that helps with the curling issue, but we haven’t tested the new version yet. People on staff who use their rugs in low-traffic areas—where activity is centered in the middle of the rug rather than around the edges, like playrooms and kids’ bedrooms—are still very happy with theirs, so for now that's where we recommend using them. Our original tester rug from 2019 is still holding up great, even after dozens of washes. In some instances we found the rug can sound a little squeaky as it acclimates to a space, but the sound fades with time and use as the pad compresses.

Sizes: 2.5′ by 7′, 2.5′ by 10′, 3′ by 5′, 5′ by 7′, 6′ by 9′, 8′ by 10′, 9′ by 12′, 6′ round, 8′ round

Materials: polyester with a polyurethane water-resistant barrier, thermoplastic rubber pad

Colors: wide variety of colors and patterns

Shipping: free (excluding Hawaii, Alaska, and the US territories)

These square-foot-size tiles inexpensively hide ugly flooring. They’re a good option if you like the look of Flor tiles but can’t afford them (these are one-fifth the price).

Best for: kitchen, dining room, kids room

Why it’s great: If you need to cover ugly flooring—say, linoleum in your living room—on a bare-bones budget, these Lowe’s indoor/outdoor rug tiles are a great option. They cost less per square foot than any other rug we tested and are similar to the popular Flor tiles (though not as design conscious, they cost only a fifth of the price). You can easily install them in any configuration, thanks to peel-and-stick backing. Though they are thinner than Flor’s indoor/outdoor offerings, the texture is comparable: rough, but also a little cushy underfoot. The tiles are great for an area that sees high traffic from accident-prone kids or pets—if you damage a tile, you can simply remove and replace it. The adhesive should be easy to wipe off the floor with a cleaning solution (your mileage may vary depending on the surface you’re adhering to).

Flaws but not dealbreakers: These tiles look and feel industrial—like something you’d find in an office building or an elementary school. They won’t add the same unifying coziness to a room that other rugs will, and of everything we’re recommending here, they’re the roughest. Because they are tiles, they don’t have the finished edge most rugs do and will look best covering a space wall-to-wall. We’d hesitate to use these in a bedroom or living room.

Sizes: The square-foot-size tiles (which you can cut smaller for fine-tuning) allow you to make this rug any size you want it to be.

Material: polyester

Colors: black, oatmeal, chestnut, ocean blue, denim, taupe, ivory, olive, mocha, sky gray

Shipping: free store pickup; shipping rates vary depending on location

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Minimalist in design and maximalist in feel, this wool rug warms up any room with its toe-curling soft texture and the richness of its dyes.

Best for: bedroom, living room, kids room

Why it’s great: Revival’s Ombre Wool Rug is plush, soft, and almost silky—the type of area rug we imagine most people want in rooms where comfort and warmth are paramount. Of all the rugs we tested, this rug offered the most supple and pleasant feeling to walk on. It would work great near a bed or in a living room where kids can play around. The rug is made of 100% wool with a cotton backing and has a medium pile (around ⅓ inch thick). We didn’t notice any unpleasant off-gassing, and it was fairly easy to spot-clean with some water and wool-friendly detergent. Unlike other rugs that ship rolled, Revival rugs arrive folded in a cardboard box. The faint creases from shipping were barely noticeable and faded after about a week.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Everything we like about this plush, soft rug may be a drawback in high-traffic situations. Like most wool rugs, it pills and is probably best in “no shoes inside” households, but we found the pilling did subside after the first few months. It’s a more delicate rug than a flatweave or polyester rug, and you need to get it professionally hand-washed every 3 to 5 years depending on your use (we also have more in-depth rug cleaning advice). Also, because of its deeper pile, you need a powerful vacuum to get dirt out from its depths (but avoid the rotary vacuum attachment). Revival also has more detailed rug care advice you can follow.

Sizes: 4′ by 6′, 5′ by 8′, 6′ by 9′, 8′ by 10′, 9′ by 12′, 10′ by 14′, 2′5″ by 9′, and custom sizes

Materials: 100% wool with 100% cotton backing

Colors: ombre red and orange, ombre taupe and pink, ombre green and yellow, ombre gray and blue

Shipping: free shipping within the contiguous US

The dense, soft fibers make it a great rug for a child’s room or any space to which you want to add a luxurious, plush feel on a budget.

Best for: bedroom, kids room

Why it’s great: The Safavieh Milan Shag feels amazing underfoot: “SO PLUSH!” wrote one of our testers. Of the six shag rugs we tested, this rug was one of our favorite budget shags. Unlike on the other shag rugs we tried out, the fibers are both close together and soft, not dry.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The fibers are long—2 inches—and particularly prone to trapping dirt. Even after our vacuum test, this rug held on to a lot of quinoa from our “dirt” test. This shag rug is great for the price, but if you think you want something extra soft and plush, consider the Hay Raw rug, a more luxurious (but expensive) shag option. If you’re not sure, consider ordering a small size to test it out first.

Sizes: 2′ by 4′, 2′ by 6′, 2′ by 8′, 2′ by 10′, 2′ by 12′, 2′ by 14′, 3′ by 5′, 5′1″ square, 4′ by 6′, 5′1″ by 8′, 6′ by 9′, 8′ by 10′, 8′6″ by 12′, 10′ by 14′, 7′ round, 5′1″ round

Materials: primarily polypropylene with jute backing

Colors: aqua, brown, dark beige, dark gray, gray, ivory, navy, purple, red (some colors not available in all dimensions)

Shipping: free to $15

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We sifted through hundreds of rugs on discount home-decorating sites like Wayfair and Overstock, as well as on Amazon. We checked out the offerings from retailers such as Crate and Barrel, Pier 1 Imports, Target, Walmart, and West Elm, too. Yet per the advice of second-generation rug cleaner Lisa Wagner, we remained skeptical of the price of rugs from big-box stores, because such rugs are often made of the same materials as much cheaper counterparts on discount sites.

We originally called in samples of 38 rugs, all of which had positive owner reviews or came from a major retailer whose offerings we were interested in putting to the test. We were able to eliminate a couple of contenders immediately: one rug that felt more like a dish towel, and another that looked like a thin, faded ghost of a Persian rug. We set the rest up in the Wirecutter office in New York City and had nine testers walk around on them and give us their thoughts on the feel and design of each rug. For the October 2020 update to this guide we called in four new rug styles, which our writer Gregory tested in his own L.A. home due to the pandemic. In the future, we plan to bring these new rugs into the office to get more feedback.

Experts we spoke to advised going with a more neutral rug as a base layer and then adding smaller accent rugs on top—the way you’d add a colorful throw pillow to a plain couch.

After that, we did a vacuum test. We made a mixture of dry quinoa, cinnamon, and crumbled toast that mimic common messes and are easily stuck in fibers, and then sprinkled it over a selection of the rugs of different pile heights. The primary thing we learned from this test was: Don’t spill dry quinoa on your floor. It was a huge pain to vacuum up off every kind of surface.

We also stained swatches of several rugs with wine and chocolate ice cream to see how easy they were to clean off. Finally, we let a cat roll around on several samples of rugs. Egged on by catnip and treats, he pawed at the rugs; we observed which ones held up to his claws. In 2020, our rugs were stress-tested by Gregory’s two senior cats in his home that provided plenty of messes to clean up.

You can easily do these tests at home yourself. Many sites sell rug swatches for $1 to $25. If you’re buying from a retailer like Amazon or Wayfair, rugs often (though not always) come in a small size, such as a 3-by-5-foot version. We strongly recommend ordering swatches and samples of your top few choices, putting them to a foot test, and letting your pets hang out on them. (Ultimately, our vacuum and stain tests were less useful.) Rugs often look different in person than they do online and feel different than you might think—usually, in our experience, rougher. An 80-square-foot rug is a hassle to return if you’re not satisfied with it when it shows up. (Keep in mind: On the smaller versions of rugs, we found that the pattern could sometimes be on a slightly different scale.)

This felt-and-rubber pad offers the most cushioning underfoot of any we tried, and is also one of the best at keeping rugs in place.

Some rugs have a rubberized nonskid backing, in which case you may not need a rug pad. But if you do need one, a thick rug pad will help keep your rug firmly in place, protect floors and the rug itself from excessive wear and tear, and also provide more cushion underfoot.

The pad should be smaller than your area rug by 1 to 2 inches on all sides, so that the edges of the rug lie flat against the floor and don’t become a tripping hazard. This also reduces wear and keeps the pad hidden. If you have a good-quality pad, you should not need any additional adhesives to hold it in place.

After researching dozens of rug pads, interviewing rug cleaners and manufacturers, and testing 15 models, we found that the ¼-inch-thick Mohawk Home Dual Surface Felted Rug Pad had the best combination of cushioning and nonslip grip. We also like the Durahold Plus Non Slip Rug Pad for a bit more grip, and the Rug Pad USA Super Lock Natural for more versatile placement. Our full guide to rug pads has more information on choosing a rug pad, and how we tested them.

After researching 23 rug pads and testing 15, we found that the Mohawk Home Dual Surface Rug Pad offers the best combination of cushion and grip.

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If you want your rugs to function well and look great for as long as possible, make sure that you’re getting the right type of rug for each space. You’ll need sturdier rugs for a high-traffic entryway or kitchen, but you may want something plusher for a bedroom. Here’s a breakdown of the best types of rugs for each room.

Kitchen: Having a rug to stand on while you chop veggies or wash dishes can be more pleasant for your feet than cold tile. Plus, the rug can add unexpected color and texture to the floor. A kitchen rug should be easy to clean (or so cheap that you can toss it after a nasty spill) and nice to stand on for long periods of time. That means flatweave or low-pile, and made out of materials that you can wipe down (nylon or polypropylene) or even throw in the wash (cotton). Indoor/outdoor rugs are generally a good choice, since they can take some abuse. Small rugs or runners work well in this room—place a runner along the floor next to a counter. If you do a lot of standing in your kitchen and don’t care so much about having a brightly colored rug, you can also buy a standing mat. We use this one in the Wirecutter test kitchen, and we recommend it in our guide to standing desk mats.

Dining room: A rug will make the dining space feel grounded and keep chairs from scraping the floor. If you have small kids (or are just spill-prone), invest in a dining-area rug that’s easy to clean. Your dining room rug should be a flatweave or low-pile rug so that you can move chairs around easily. Pick something with a small pattern to help mask little stains.

Bedroom: If you’re going to spend more money on a rug, make it the one that goes here. A bedroom rug should make the space feel comfortable and feel great underfoot. It will get less wear and tear from high traffic than rugs in other rooms of your house. Buy smaller rugs to go around your bed so that you don’t spend money on square feet of rug that you’ll never see underneath your bed.

Living room: A rug in your living room can help define a space to hang out in. Living room rugs can be a little rougher than rugs for the bedroom, as you’re not likely to spend as much time here with bare feet. (If you have a no-shoes policy at your house, however, you can get away with spending more money on something soft, as it will be subjected to less dirt and therefore last longer.) Flatweaves, low-pile rugs, and higher-pile rugs can work in living rooms. If you can’t afford to cover the space between all of your furniture, consider multiple rugs arranged to unite specific areas where conversation happens.

Kids room: A colorful rug is a quick way to make a child’s room feel fun and magical—you can get away with colors and prints that would look too zany in any other room of the house. Consider a plush high-pile rug next to the bed or a reading chair to create a soft surface to curl up on, and a low-pile or flatweave next to a play area.

Before you start looking for a rug, figure out what size you need—that will help narrow down your options right off the bat. Mark the boundaries of where you’d like to put the rug with masking tape and measure the distance between them.

Where should those edges be? Ideally, a rug should go under all of the furniture in a room, with a few feet to spare if it’s not against a wall, said Jessica Probus, author of Home Decor Cheat Sheets: Need-to-Know Stuff for Stylish Living. This arrangement makes the room look more unified and grounded. But if you can’t afford to cover that much space, Probus’s general advice is to buy a rug that’s big enough to fit partially under every piece of furniture. (If you buy an accent rug, make sure it’s wide enough to fit under the front legs of at least one piece of furniture.)

If you’re short on money, you can get away with smaller area rugs. In the bedroom, having a rug “wherever your feet are going to go is ideal,” Probus said. Plus, it can feel like a waste of money to have a rug that covers the area under the bed. Her solution is to put smaller rugs on either side of the bed (if the space is tight, a runner works well).

In a dining room, a rug should be big enough for all the chairs to fit on it when they are pulled out, with at least a little room to spare so the legs don’t catch on the edge. Measure the length of one of your chairs—that’s the minimum distance from your table that your rug should extend. About 2 feet is a good minimum, though Probus said that ideally it should be more like 4 feet. If you’re buying a cotton rug, keep in mind that it might shrink in the wash: Buy it slightly bigger than it needs to be.

However, a rug shouldn’t be too big: Jessica Romm Perez and Shani Silver write in Domino: Your Guide to a Stylish Home that a large rug should still be at least a foot away from the wall—ideally 2 feet. Otherwise, the room will look a little sloppy.

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In our research and testing, we’ve found there are trade-offs to rugs made of natural and synthetic fibers. Some are easier to clean and some may look better for longer, while others are much more affordable. Here’s a breakdown of the materials you’ll most often find in budget area rugs.

If you are seeking an inexpensive rug that you can buy online, cotton is the main natural material that you’ll be looking at, because it is affordable and can work in a variety of rooms. Though we’ve seen rugs made of other plant-based fibers in offices and living rooms in photos and showrooms, we’ve found that such rugs generally don’t work as well in those rooms because they aren’t as soft underfoot. If you are considering a natural-fiber rug for one of those rooms, try to feel it in person before you buy, if at all possible. If you buy one, rug cleaner and blogger Lisa Wagner suggests treating it with a fiber protector.

Cotton: Typically used for flatweaves, cotton is a nice material for rugs because it is soft underfoot and can go in the wash. (Beware of shrinkage, though, when you are choosing a size.)

Sisal: This natural fiber is made from the leaves of the agave plant. It’s coarse and durable, but it can stain more easily than other natural fibers.

Seagrass: Like sisal, seagrass is durable. Unlike sisal, it doesn’t hold on to stains easily—or dye, which means that it comes only in its natural light green or khaki color.

Jute: This material is made from the jute plant, primarily grown in Asia. Like other natural fibers, it’s a popular choice for under dining tables and in hallways because it is durable, lightweight, and can be easily cleaned, but it doesn’t provide a lot of cushion.

Wool: High-end wool comes from sheep in New Zealand or the Himalayas, and is strong enough to last for years and years with occasional professional rug cleaning. Be careful, though, about buying an inexpensive wool rug that’s gone through a lot of chemical processing, Lisa Wagner told us, as it can “shed horribly.” As a general rule of thumb, Wagner said, you should stay away from tufted wool rugs, often made in India. “These will be rugs that have material covering up the back because they are glued together,” she explained, and in addition to that shortcut, they are often composed of lower-quality wool. One of our picks, the Hay Raw Rug, is made of tufted wool, and while it does shed, we think it’s an acceptable amount, but we note it’s better suited for low traffic areas.

Viscose/rayon (also called bamboo silk, banana silk, or man-made silk): These materials are made from waste fibers from cotton and wood pulp. They can look pretty when brand-new, but Wagner suggested that we stay away from them: “They are likely to shed, wear, yellow, and permanently stain with very light use.” Wagner told us that a customer of hers ordered a few swatches of viscose rugs to see how they would hold up around her pets. She spilled red wine on them, too. “The designer told her these viscose samples were ideal for her family room,” Wagner said. But “she is discovering that NONE are holding up.” We decided to skip testing these materials ourselves.

Synthetic fibers can be fairly stain resistant but will become more easily physically damaged by wear and tear than their natural counterparts. Wagner compared them to plastic Tupperware: Though they can be discolored, in general “you can pour in strong-staining items and it does not discolor the plastic permanently,” she said. But just as Tupperware can be scratched and look cloudy, synthetic rugs can get smushed and trap dirt. That means you’ll need to replace them every few years or so. As with wall-to-wall carpeting, you can steam-clean them to keep them looking nice in the meantime.

Nylon: Wagner told us she recommended this kind of fiber for inexpensive rugs. It’s easy to clean, and it will hold up relatively well to wear and tear compared with other options, though it will cost a little more.

Polypropylene: Not as durable as nylon, according to Wagner, but cheaper. “Most commercial office carpet is olefin, and so this is why in the areas with roller office chairs and in the entry you see shadowing and it wears down,” she said. It’s worth your money if you are okay with tossing a rug after a couple of years, though.

Polyester: Similar to polypropylene, this material is fairly stain resistant but in higher-pile rugs it smushes easily. We found that it can sometimes lend rugs a slick or silky feel.

Although we looked at many more rugs online, the following are the other area rugs we tried in our tests.

Crate and Kids Indoor Outdoor Rug: We previously recommended this rug for its soft feel and bold but simple design. However, after a year of use we found that it collected dirt quickly, and the polyester fiber developed scratchy fuzz.

Crate and Kids Square Indoor/Outdoor Rug (now discontinued): We liked the look of this rug’s grid design online. In person, the weave seemed loose, and the polyester yarns were thick and rough; our cat’s claws easily pulled them.

Crate and Kids Barcode Grey Rug (now discontinued) was a previous flatweave cotton rug pick in the guide, but it is no longer available. If we see it surface again, we’ll update the guide.

Society6 Area Rug: With hundreds of designs ranging from floral prints to octopuses and cats to choose from, we were excited to try one of Society6’s area rugs. However, the rug we ordered felt more like a dish towel than a rug—so much so that we didn’t even include it in our testing.

Dash & Albert Marled Woven Cotton Rug: This rug was much rougher underfoot than the competition. We tried it out at a party, where it got an unsalvageable level of dirty (the competitors we brought along survived with more minimal wear and tear).

Safavieh Montauk (geometric multi-diamond pattern): Different from our striped pick, the fine-grain grid pattern on this rug looked warped and misaligned in person. (Note that some retailers sometimes refer to other Safavieh rugs as “Montauk”; here we are referring to the one with the geomteric diamond pattern.)

NuLoom Marrakech Trellis Navy Rug: We liked the look of the navy color, as well as the simple design, when we saw this rug online. But in person, testers disliked that the white pattern was raised. It looked a little strange and made the rug feel bumpy underfoot.

Mainstays Sheridan Ogee Area Rug: Testers reported that this rug had a plasticky, tacky feel underfoot and generally reminded them of airport carpet.

Mainstays Dylan Nylon Area Rug: This rug was thinner than it looked online and reminded us more of a bath mat than something we’d put in our living rooms.

For a dependable, versatile, and affordable cleaner, we prefer a bagless upright, but we have recommendations for other types of vacuums as well.

Safavieh Adirondack Collection: The knockoff Persian print on this rug looked faint and faded in person. Plus, the pile felt thin.

Hook & Loom Loom-Hooked Eco Cotton Rugs: These rugs are especially comfy to walk on and come in 35 patterns. Our testers unanimously loved them. However, at nearly $700 for an 8-by-11-foot rug, they were too expensive for inclusion in this guide. And when we had a cat roll around on one, his claws snagged on several of the loops.

Safavieh Hudson Shag Collection: This rug is thicker and fluffier than our favorite shag, the Safavieh Milan Shag. But that makes it even better at hiding dirt. Our testers preferred the way the Milan Shag felt underfoot anyway.

Flor Tiles: These pieces are the gold standard among rug tiles. They are sturdy and easy to swap out if you stain one—making them a great choice for a dining room rug. However, because they start at $10 per square foot, they were out of our price range for this guide. We think the Lowe’s Pebble Path Carpet Tiles are similar to the industrial Flor options, and they’re only a fifth of the price.

Ruggable Polar White Shag Rug: While this shag rug looked promising, underfoot it felt thin and insignificant, like running our toes through a slippery sheepskin rug suffering from a thinning hairline.

HAY’s Raw Rug was a previous wool rug pick, but it’s been discontinued. If you can find it, we still think it’s a great plush rug that offers lots of cushioning, even without a pad.

Safavieh's Ramona Rug used to be a pick but it's been discontinued.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Christine Ryan.

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Alison Fonseca, Our Essential Guide to Natural-Fiber Rugs, One Kings Lane

Jessica Probus and Alice Mongkongllite, Home Decor Cheat Sheets: Need-to-Know Stuff for Stylish Living, June 21, 2016

Jessica Romm Perez and Shani Silver, Domino: Your Guide to a Stylish Home, November 15, 2016

Jessica Probus, author of Home Decor Cheat Sheets: Need-to-Know Stuff for Stylish Living, phone interview, October 17, 2016

Lisa Wagner, professional rug cleaner, email interview, July 21, 2016

Elana Frankel, design consultant and former VP of creative at One Kings Lane, phone interview, September 22, 2016

Rebecca Atwood, author of Living with Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print at Home, email interview, October 25, 2016

Shannon Palus

Shannon Palus is a former Wirecutter senior staff writer. She tested countless health and wellness products from 2016 to 2018.

Gregory Han

Gregory Han is a design, travel, and lifestyle writer, and the co-author of Creative Spaces: People, Homes, and Studios to Inspire. His work can be found at Design Milk, Dwell, Domino, Apartment Therapy, and Airbnb.

Daniela Gorny

My coverage areas include furniture, lighting, bedding, rugs, and decor. I’m fascinated by design in every aspect of daily life, from the chairs people sit in to the public spaces in cities.

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