Natural Fiber Rugs

I have been very happy with our natural fiber rugs. They offer neutrality and durability, and offer a stylish look to a room. We've purchased seagrass, jute, washed jute, and braided jute versions in the past several years. 

They have all been good purchases but after living with them for a while, we definitely have a preference for some over others. 

Our old living room had a washed jute rug with a very thick wool rug pad underneath. We purchased this rug instead of seagrass because it is much more comfortable to sit on. 

We found that the washed jute stained very easily- just plain water in fact. For this reason alone, I probably won't purchase a washed jute rug again.

One of our sweet peas decided it would be fun to spit their cherry smoothie out onto the carpet, throughout the room. Surprisingly, the red stain came up fairly well, but the water used to clean it left a dark spot. Also, water spills from sippy cups or from watering the Christmas tree left dark spots. 

The plain jute rug in our old bedroom was similar in that regard. It was very susceptible to stains, even simple water spills. 

Photo courtesy of Country Living magazine. 

Seagrass on the other hand, which we had in our old dining room, has been indestructible. 

Things that have been spilled or mashed into our seagrass rug are: 

tomato sauce

blueberries, blackberries, raspberries

avocado

banana

cherry smoothies

sweet potato 

All of these cleaned up stain-free. 

Our only complaint with our lovely seagrass rug was that it left dent marks on the fir floors, which is a soft wood. If we had used a rug pad underneath that could have been prevented I'm sure. Also, the texture of the seagrass is coarse, so this type of rug may not be the best choice in all settings. 

Photo courtesy of Country Living magazine. 

The only form of jute that has been as indestructible as the seagrass has been the braided jute, as seen here in our old kitchen. It has received various food and cooking spills, and has always cleaned up really well - with no water marks. It's been relocated to our new kitchen here.   

We just purchased this sisal rug for our new dining room last week. We found it on clearance at our local Home Goods store. I like the fact that it is so light, as this is the darker of the two front rooms in the house. We'll see how it works for us over time.

This photo also shows tremendous progress in our effort to settle into our new home. It may not look like much, so I've attached a glimpse of what the room looked like just a week or so ago.