The Best Washable Rugs for a Bedroom

A bedroom rug has one job: be there when your feet land. Everything after that is decoration, and it changes what you should buy.

Two layouts

The full layout puts one large rug under the bed, extending 50 to 60 cm past each side and past the foot — 200 × 300 cm under a double, placed from about two-thirds of the way up so it is not wasted under the headboard.

The other layout is two runners, one either side, at 80 × 150 cm each. It costs less, covers exactly the floor you actually stand on, and is far less rug to carry to the washing machine.

Colour and pattern

This is the room to use a softer palette. Bedrooms take the least traffic and the least mess, so the practical arguments for mid-tones and busy pattern weaken. Cream, sage, blush and lilac all work here in a way they would not in a hall.

The allergy angle

A bedroom is where dust and mite allergen matter most, because of how many hours you spend there. Washing at 30°C removes the great majority of mite allergen rather than redistributing it, which vacuuming alone does not.

The specification, in one place

• Pile: chenille polyester, low pile, cut (no loops to catch a claw).
• Backing: woven cotton with a non-slip finish — no latex, glue or rubber.
• Wash: 30°C gentle cycle, no bleach, no softener. Dry flat or hung.
• Sizes: ten — eight rectangles from 60 × 100 cm to 200 × 300 cm, plus 160 cm and 200 cm rounds.
• Price: £50–£185, delivery to the UK and Europe included.

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