News

Designer Rugs: What You're Actually Paying For

A designer or heritage-brand rug carries a premium over an unbranded equivalent. Here is what that premium genuinely buys, what it does not, and when it is worth paying.

Fringes, Borders and Backings: How to Read a Rug's Construction

A rug will tell you how it was made if you know where to look. Fringes, selvedges and the reverse side each give the game away — and none of them settles the question of quality.

Kilims and Flatweaves: The Most Versatile Rug You Can Buy

No pile, woven rather than knotted, reversible and light enough to move on your own. Here is what a flatweave actually is, where it earns its keep, and the honest limits of one.

Shaggy Rugs: A Practical Guide to Living With Deep Pile

A shaggy rug is wonderful in the right room and a quiet mistake in the wrong one. Here is where deep pile belongs, where it does not, and what living with one really involves.

Small Spaces: Choosing a Rug for Flats and Box Rooms

The instinct in a small room is to buy a small rug. It is the wrong instinct — an undersized rug fragments the floor and makes the space read as smaller still. Here is what to do instead.

Rugs for Rented Homes: How to Transform a Space You Don't Own

When you cannot paint, drill or change the flooring, a rug is the single biggest change you can make to a rented home — and the only one you take with you when you leave.

Conservatory and Garden Room Rugs: Sunlight, Damp and Temperature

A conservatory puts a rug through fierce sunlight, condensation and wide temperature swings — conditions no other room in the house comes close to. Here is what survives it, and what quietly falls ...

Nursery and Children's Room Rugs: A Practical Guide

A nursery rug has to be safe, genuinely cleanable and comfortable enough for hours of floor play — and it should still look right when the child is eight. Here is how to choose one that manages all...

Home Office Rugs: Comfort, Acoustics and Chair Wheels

The home office is the room most people furnished in a hurry and never finished. A rug quietens it, warms it and defines it — provided you get the pile, the size and the chair right.

Kitchen Rugs: What Actually Works

The kitchen is the hardest room in the house for a rug — grease, spills, standing water and constant traffic. Here is what survives it, what fails quickly, and where to put it.