Pet Friendly Rugs

You guys all know how much we love our dogs and kids, for that matter, and I thought it would be fun to talk about pet friendly rugs.

This post should really be called “Pet and Kid Friendly Rugs” but I thought that sounded like a mouthful. My family is pretty hard on things so if they work in our home then they definitely will work in yours.

If you’re new around here, we have two dogs – Poppy a flat coat / lab mix (she’s 12), Max a terrier mix (he’s 6) and our sons John and Conor (16 and 13). I know first hand about spills, dirt, dog hair, and all the other unpleasantness that can happen with sick kids and dogs.

I thought I’d round up my favorite floor coverings and also share some that have spectacularly failed for us!

Family Friendly Floor Coverings

My Favorites include:

• Vintage Orientals
• Wool Rugs
• Indoor / Outdoor Rugs
• Animal Hides
• Floor Cloths

Vintage Oriental Rugs

By far the MOST durable with kids and dogs for floor coverings is our oriental rugs. Oriental rugs are made of wool and hand knotted. They are made to last for hundreds of years. You can see one my mom gave me from my childhood below.

We have two vintage oriental rugs in our home. The one you see above which is a bit smaller and the oversized one we found on Facebook Yard Sale for $200.

These rugs are so forgiving. Little toys could disappear when I wanted them to in the pattern when the boys were little. If a spill happens I simply mix water and a little dish soap and blot. I vacuum often with the Dyson and probably should have both professionally cleaned soon – it’s been awhile.

Tips for Vintage Orientals

• It’s a good idea to have these professionally cleaned before bringing them into your home.
• I checked with the rug cleaning company and they recommended vacuuming to care for the rugs
• Always use a good quality rug pad under your oriental rugs. I like this style. I also like using a 1/4 inch thick pad to make any rug feel plush and comfortable. DO NOT use the rubber ones as they melt and fuse to the hardwood floor (I had this happen in our last home).

Wool Rugs

These have been wonderful family rugs. I have a few runners up in our hallway.

The above runners came from Rugs USA. They have been wonderfully durable.

We also have a wool rug in our dining room:

This Modern Moroccan rug in our dining room is 100% wool and I found it on Overstock for an unbelievable price. We’ve had this rug for since May 2017 when we redid the space. See the dining room makeover – my hubby built the table.

I put a heavy rug pad under this rug and the ones in the upstairs hallway too.

Indoor Outdoor Rugs

I’m a huge fan of using indoor outdoor rugs INSIDE! Yup, you read that right, especially for playrooms or sunrooms.

This was the she shed decked out for summer.

I used a striped indoor outdoor rug from Home Depot. It was great for this “shed room”. It made the space feel warm and coastal.

We also used an outdoor rug in our sunroom when we first redid this space (I think I’ve never shared the below photo before).

We also used one in the boys playroom when they were very little.

Both of those were from Ikea. They have a really great selection at great prices.

Why I love Indoor Outdoor Rugs Inside

• They don’t fade because they are made durable for outdoor use.
• Often times, they are more affordable.
• Great and colorful selection.
• Usually come in all different styles from traditional to contemporary to modern.
• Pretty durable.

Animal Hides

I’m a huge fan of hide rugs. They come from cows and Ikea has some really affordable options. I realize this look isn’t for everyone but we had this hide rug in the office:

The fur is sooooo soft underfoot and our dogs love laying on it too.

See more of Luke’s old office. This used to Luke’s office but is now Conor’s bedroom. We moved this hide rug into our bedroom.

You can see more about our coastal bedroom reveal.

As you can see it works so well in both spaces.

Why I love hide rugs

• The neutral texture they add to the room
• low maintenance
• many places carry them affordably

Woven Pappelina Rugs

I shared more about these rugs here. They are woven in Sweden out of plastic. The nice thing is they are machine washable. I went for some in our kitchen that have what look like fish scales.

They are pretty durable and stood up well in the washing machine. I also like that they lay pretty flat.

Floor Cloths

We absolutely love our floor cloths that are by Spicher and Company. They are made out of durable vinyl. I have one in our front hallway that looks like inlaid tile.

This rug has really protected our floor from sand, salt, and general dirt coming in the front door. It is so easy to clean. I simply vacuum it with the Dyson Stick or our regular Dyson set on bare floor setting. It’s easy to wipe up any mud or spills.

We’ve had this floor cloth since November 2019 and it still is in pristine condition. You can see the hallway reveal .

We also have a floor cloth up in the bathroom to cover tile I don’t like the look of.

Troubleshooting

If you paint your floor white or use a driftwood stain DO NOT put a rug down. It will make a weird stain on your floor if you want to ever remove the rug. We now just have white floors in our sunroom and shed with no rugs.

Rugs that Didn’t work with Our Pets and Kids

I promised I’d share some of our fails.

Okay, flokati and shag rugs didn’t work for our family. I tried one in the playroom and one in their old bedroom. They were so soft and felt great underfoot but they were difficult to vacuum, toys got lost in there, and forget it if there was any type of dog mess (from sickness).

I LOVE the look of seagrass but we’ve had so many fails with these types of rugs. I have a runner that has a pull currently and the old rug that was in their bedroom had a urine stain from Poppy. I think she got scared with the fireworks.

Some issues with seagrass rugs –

• they can have a smell to them because of the natural material
• they can shed for a LONG time
• the natural material can make some dogs want to urinate on them

** These rugs may work for you but they just weren’t great for our family

Favorite Sources for Rugs

• Facebook Yard Sale or Antique Shops / Vintage Stores for Oriental Rugs
• Ikea
• Target
• Overstock
• Spicher and Company
• Rugs USA

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