The Best Area Rugs: Living, Dining, Bedroom, Kids & Pets

Getting the right area rug for your home needs to be carefully considered, compare the types of rug versus your needs. There are a few things that need to be considered before or when selecting your perfect area rug for your needs.

Picking the best brand area rug ultimately comes down to these features: durability, function, the material used, and the feel on your feet. Budget, style, placement, and how easy to clean the rug are also key. Different area rugs have different properties that determine if they are good for kids, pets, or high traffic areas.

Top 8 Area Rugs for Your Space

We reviewed carpets for several months and came up with the best brands for the kitchen, dining room, entryway, living room, and bedroom. Below is a table to summarize the brands with their features and ratings.

1. Unique Loom Solo Solid Shag Modern Plush Taffy Rug

• Perfect for all high traffic areas, its made from durable material.
• Waterproof, mildew, and mold resistance, which makes it suitable for kitchen and other water prone areas.
• Stain and shed resistant, that makes it Kids and pets friendly.

Unique Loom Solo Solid Shag rug is best for high traffic areas. Its made of highly durable fibers like polypropylene, acrylic, cotton, and wool with jute backing. The rug is carefully crafted with unique loom capable to create a unique-lush, and soft feel that fits your space needs.

The rug is best for all areas like the bedroom, living room, or the dining room. Its a good quality area rug with a great look, easy to regularly clean, and occasionally use of the carpet steam cleaner. It’s affordable compared with Safavieh madison collection MAD611A bohemian.

This rug is a good choice for your space, kids, and pets. It has great quality, beautifully crafted, and doesn’t shed off. It’s available in many sizes ranging from 2 by 3′ to 12 by 15′ with different color shades and patterns.

2.Gorilla Grip Faux-Chinchilla Rug

• It offers extreme support and feels comfortable. It has a soothing effect on achy muscles and tired feet.
• Extremely durable and strong with a 10-year warranty.
• Easy to clean, you can use a machine to wash and dry.
• Soft ultra-plush fabric adds warmth and softness to your space.

Gorilla grip original faux chinchilla provides one of the softest rugs that add warmth to any floor. It comes with a variety of color shades and sizes that help fit your needs, style, and design of your space.

Its made strong with extremely durable backing that can give you peace of mind to use in high traffic areas without worrying about its durability, no wonder it comes with 10 years warranty.

If your floor feels uncomfortable, look no further, this rug will have good support and comfort on your feet. The middle layer is made of foam to provide an extra cushion as well as soothe your tired and aching muscles on feet.

You don’t have to worry so much about cleaning it. This rug can be washed and dried using a machine. Vacuum cleaner and mild detergent can also be used. The rug has tiny durable grip dots on the underside to help prevent sliding on your floor.

TIP: Its the best area rug for dining, living, and bedroom.

3. Ashler Faux Fur Beige Area Rug

• It has an unparalleled super soft feel on your feet since its made from sheep fur.
• Its made of high quality Mongolian faux fur that adds warmth and comfort to your floor.
• Small portable size for easy use as decor as well as both floor and seat rug.

Ashler faux fur rug comes with a classic style and comfortable feel on your feet. It’s well suited for the living room. At times the small sizes may be used on the coach to add warmth and inspire luxury.

For travelers who like enjoying the comfort, the small size can be packed in your bag.

TIP: It is one of the best area rugs for bedroom and living room decor.

4. nuLOOM Moroccan Blythe Area Rug

• Made from a polypropylene material that is resilient against wear and tear.
• It has a versatile and stylish look that is kid and pet friendly.
• It has sleek with a look and feels of functional design.
• It has 8-unique color shades that fit your house style and design.

The rug has a designer look that is Moroccan inspired. It’s versatile and stylish with a stunning array of colors. The rug is resilient and well designed to handle everyday wear and tear. If you are a pet enthusiast like me, this is the best for kids and pets.

The rug is best for the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallways, and even other high traffic areas. The carpet is easy to clean and maintain with just regular vacuuming and use of mild cleaners for spot treatment.

NuLOOM rug is sleek and convenient for an entryway, underneath furniture and will not obstruct your door. It comes with 8 unique color palettes to choose from and a perfect shade that matches your house interior design, style, and color. High-quality synthetic materials are well manufactured and selected to ensure the rug is resistant to common spills and stains, thus making it kid & pet friendly. The rug is best for areas with pets and kids either in the dining room, nursery, and living spaces.

5. Safavieh Hudson Shag Collection SGH280A Area Rug.

• Made from a polypropylene material-durable and long-lasting hence the rug is also durable.
• It is a non-shedding rug with jute backing and enhanced polypropylene for resilience.
• Contemporary shag style perfect for any room
• It’s designer-Moroccan inspired with a geometric look and over 20 different fashionable color shades.
• Super soft feel underfoot due to its synthetic fiber material.

Safevieh Hudson shag is made of polypropylene material with an extra thickness of about 2 inches for exceptional comfort. The fiber is soft, durable, long-lasting, and provides a non-shedding rug for your space. The rug blends well with transitional, casual, modern, and contemporary house decor styles. Its also available in premium version Safavieh California Premium Shag Collection SG151-1212. and in bigger in size(8’*10′).

It adds an unmatched Moroccan inspired geometric pattern unique design in your room. The rug is perfected for your living, dining, nursery, foyer, bedroom, or even home office use. Safavieh SGH280A is power-loomed constructed with jute and latex backing for longevity. The rug is available in a variety of eye-catching geometric designs that have been a sturdy construction made in Turkey.  

6. Unique Loom Sofia Traditional Area Rug

• Made in versatile designs: square, rectangle, round, and runner sizes
• Perfect for high traffic area in your house, like the living room, bedroom, and dining room, kids, and pet friendly.
• Affordable and elegantly designed to fit almost all budgets.
• Made from a variety of long-lasting fibers; cotton wool and acrylic
• Easy to clean, stain-resistant, and doesn’t shed off.

The rug is well crafted to perfectly fit high traffic areas in your home. It is ideal for the living room, bedroom, dining room, as well as kid and pet friendly. The rug is made of long-lasting material; polypropylene with a cotton backing to make it non-shed off.

Worry not about cleaning, regular vacuuming will work with the use of carpet cleaners or shampooers for deep cleaning. The rug comes in different sizes to choose from depending on your space.

7. Safavieh Madison MAD611B Bohemian Chic Vintage Area Rug.

• Its made of enhanced polypropylene fiber that makes it nonshedding rug.
• Unmatched craftsmanship that makes a unique style with bohemian chic mosaic design with a classic elegant look.

The rug is made with an elegant-mosaic design that leaves unmatched style and design. The rug features fashionable mosaics of floral medallions in lovely gradient hues without overpowering your room. It’s versatile to handle traffic in the living room, playroom, foyer, dining room as well as the bedroom.

The rug is best for every home user whether with kids and pets. Its made sleek for seamless placement under the furniture and entryways. Its made from enhanced non-shedding polypropylene making it comfortable and extremely durable rug.

The rug is quite affordable compared with its counterpart Safavieh Monaco Collection MNC243F Bohemian Chic Medallion rug. Due to its low shedding, this rug can handle the high-traffic area around any space and looks pretty beautiful in the living room, bedroom, home office, dining room, foyer, and nursery.

8. Unique Loom Solo Solid Shag – Modern Plush Eggplant Purple Area Rug

• Water, mold, mildew, and stain-resistant.
• Perfect for high traffic areas.
• Thick rug(1.5 inches).

The rug is specifically made to withstand water, mold, and mildew in your space. Its also made to be stain resistant with a variety of colors including eggplant purple.

The rug is perfect for all high traffic areas in your home. It’s also kid and pet friendly, you don’t have to worry so much about young family members spilling liquid as well as pet messes. It allows or gives you a few minutes to address the spillage on your floor.

Types of Rugs (Natural & Synthetic Area Rugs)

Rugs are made of different fibers which can be grouped into Natural and Synthetic fibers. Below are types of rug materials, pros, and cons to help you make the appropriate choice.

A. Natural Fiber Rugs: Natural fibers make long-lasting rugs that are friendly to kids and pets since they don’t release harmful gases over time. They are more durable than their synthetic opponents.

Natural fiber makes one of the top finest rugs brands with the finest quality material. These materials include; cotton wool and silk, etc.

Cotton Rugs

Cotton rugs are usually braided or flat weaved and are softer compared to sisal or jute rugs. They are gently washable and durable. They are less expensive than other natural fibers like wool. However, they make a good choice for a family on a budget.

If you are looking for a pocket-friendly rug for your kitchen, bedroom, stairways, get a cotton rug. Cotton carpets are the budget-friendly option to costly natural alternatives; wool and silk. Cotton rugs are best for use in casual areas. However, cotton made rugs don’t repel stains, tend to fade quickly and less durable, can’t last for decades.

Wool Rugs

Mostly, wool rugs are traditionally hand-woven, hand-knotted, hand-loomed, or hand-tufted. Wool rugs are extremely durable and often pass down from generation to generation. They are well designed and due to its robustness, it is ideal for high traffic areas; living room, entryway, or even bedroom.

The unique feature of wool carpets is its soft feel on your feet. Wool is an extremely versatile fiber that allows easy dying for endless beautiful color options that last longer. They are easy to clean any spills, thus suitable for kids playing areas. It is perfect for active families’ schedules and the kids running around the home. In case you are looking for a carpet for a school or homecare, this is your great choice.

However, there is one feature that is not so impressive; it creates a thicker rug prone to shedding and piling. Therefore it requires professional cleaning when necessary. To maintain the wool rug, vacuum regularly without the beater turned on to manage the normal shedding that often occurs. In the case of liquid spill or pet messes, wipe immediately with a clean absorbent cloth.

Avoid scrubbing excessively or using cleaning detergents to keep your wool rug intact. Avoid placing the wool rug in direct sunlight. Shag rugs shed off their entire life, consider cutting off the loose tuft to keep rug looking fresh and great. Once a while, consider professional cleaning to restore your rug original appearance.

Silk and Viscose Rugs

Silk rugs provide a luxurious shine that remains incomparable to other fibers whether 100% pure silk or a silk blend. Silk rugs and its blend, are attractive, thin, fine, and soft to touch. They always bring a soft feel on your feet. They are the best and incredibly beautiful rugs for use in low traffic spaces.

Rayon and Viscose are synthetic alternatives to pure silk. They are sometimes used to blend pure silk to make less durable rugs. Silk rugs are incredibly delicate to use in high traffic area and they can be difficult to clean.

Jute, Bamboo and Sisal Rugs

Jute, bamboo, and sisal rug materials are naturally occurring materials that add costal feel to any space. They provide a great layering underneath material for top decorative rugs. However, they are used as an economical option for large spaces or rooms that need texture.

In conclusion, natural fiber rug is hand-woven or loomed. To extend their life, they are backed up with latex for stability and cushioning. To care and maintain natural fiber rugs in your dining room, bedroom, hallway, or even in the kitchen, you need to vacuum clean regularly.

Accidental spills need to be addressed with an absorbent clean dry cloth. You may opt for professional drying extraction for pristine cleaning. Use dry extraction powder for precise spots cleaning, and completely removing stain marks on your natural rugs.

Natural fiber rugs are extremely absorbent and usually shrink and expand with temperature and humidity change. Take precautions or even avoid installing natural fiber rugs in humid areas. Always avoid keeping the rug in direct sunlight and periodically rotate natural fiber rugs to reduce abrasions.

B. Synthetic Fiber Rugs: Synthetic rugs are made from non-natural materials. These fiber materials include nylon, polypropylene, and polyester.

Nylon Rugs

Nylon is a synthetic fiber that is normally used to produce rugs that resist dirt and crumbs. They can also transform into a limitless amount of color options. Nylon rugs are extremely strong and durable that they can comfortably withstand heavy traffic.

It has a silky look that creates a nice sheen on the areas installed. Nylon rugs are easy to clean. However, they can easily fade since they are acid dyed. They are also not long-lasting like the natural fiber rugs.

Polyester/ Microfiber Rugs

Polyester rugs are durable synthetic made rugs. These rugs are solution-dyed and thus resistant to fading, bleaching, and other normal tear and wear. Polyester rugs are inexpensive options and very popular among producers.

Some disadvantages include: Polyester rugs are not oil resistant and they are difficult to dye thus rugs are available in more limited patterns and colors.

Polypropylene Rugs

This is the most popular synthetic rug material. The polypropylene rugs are stain-resistant and hold color well. These rugs have soft feels like wool and they are an affordable option for someone who can’t afford natural wool rugs. These rugs are suitable for hallways, dining, bedroom, or even kitchen. Polypropylene rugs are also referred to as Olefin rugs.

One disadvantage of the Olefin fiber rug is non-resilient. When installed in high traffic areas, it tends to show soiling and abrasiveness with time. Also, furniture marks may be difficult to fix

Care and Maintenance of Synthetic Fiber Rugs

In conclusion, synthetic floor rugs covering are made of Olefin, Acrylic, polyester, nylon, or even a blend of these fibers. This intricate makeup of these indoor rugs calls for regular care and maintenance.

Regular vacuuming, instant cleaning of any spills with an absorbent clean cloth will do marvelous for these rugs and leave them looking great. For spot cleaning or to remove marks, shampoo and detergents are the best choices for these synthetic fiber rugs.

Synthetic rugs are good for both indoor and outdoor use. To extend their durability, consider placing it over rug mat to prevent wear and tears. Consider periodic professional deep cleaning to make your synthetic rugs looking as good as a new one.

How to Choose Area Rug [+ Buyers Guide}

As a rule, always buy the largest size and best quality rug you can afford. A good quality rug tends to withstand normal wear and tears, spills, misuse, high traffic over a long period of time.

Budget

Always buy the best rug you can afford, even if it calls for postponing till you save enough cash. But ensure you get top quality for your house, comfortable for your kids and pets. Natural fibers materials make one of the best rugs. Invest in a high-quality rug that wears well and looks great for a longer period.

Wool rugs cost a lot higher than sisal, jute, and grass rugs. However, they are hard to clean and not so durable like wool. Interior decor experts advise one to consider the cost of furniture in the room as a simple guideline on the budget for rugs in your living room.

Size and the Room

Different rugs suit in different areas. Hallways and kitchen tend to have more footfalls than bedrooms and living rooms. Darker shades and patterned rugs make a good choice for these areas since they are less likely to show footprints before cleaning.

Different spaces have different sizes appropriate for them. The interior decor experts suggest that you get two feet shorter from the wall for the smallest spaces.

• For the hallways Lohnes suggests you get a 3ft shorter rug, to leave enough space for the door swing open without any obstructions. He advises that the hallway should remain clear at-least 6ft, like 3ft on both sides.
• The dining hall rugs should extend for at least 18 inches beyond the table edges.
• For large rooms, pick a rug that will accommodate the room’s configuration and at least a third of the front part of the furniture be on top of the rug. However, for boardrooms pick a rug that can cover the entire floor.

Also, you may decide to use two or more rugs in the same space. This can blend into the desired design or pattern.

Here is a video of how to choose the best area rug

How to Choose Area Rugs

Tips

• Avoid floating rug: avoid small rugs in the middle of the room that doesn’t touch the furniture. Ensure you get rugs that are bigger enough to touch or go under the furniture.
• Avoid guessing the size: Measure the size of the room accurately to avoid buying a smaller or even bigger rug. The larger the rug the more dominating the pattern or color will be in the space installed.
• Always put a rug pad underneath the runners to prevent the floor and rug from tearing

Design/color/style/ patterns

Room rugs are a better way to add different styles and color shades to a room. The patterned rug may add an individual touch of personality to your space.

Material or Fiber

You have different materials to choose from for your space. Different materials have different cleaning methods, therefore, they require time for maintenance.

The materials include Cotton, Wool, Jute, Viscose, Polypropylene, Acrylic, Sisal.

Here are 6 common mistakes to avoid

6 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Area Rugs