If you’ve been curious about whether or not these washable rugs will be a good fit for your home, today’s post might be helpful. Here are five things to know before you buy a Ruggable.
One of the things that I get asked about most often is the various Ruggable rugs that we have throughout our home. These rugs are quite affordable compared to some of the fancier, higher-end rugs, but they’re still an investment and you want to be sure that they’re going to be worth the money and the time that you spend picking out just the right design. I see these rugs in a lot of homes and sometimes they look amazing and other times, not so much. I thought it might be helpful to go through some of the things I’ve learned about these rugs from my personal experience with having them in my home, as well as some of the things that I wish people had known before they bought them, based on what I’ve seen in other homes. So here are five things you should know before you buy a Ruggable.
See also: 10 Best Washable Rugs for 2023
Full Disclosure Before You Buy a Ruggable
First of all, you should know that I was sent my first Ruggable for a sponsored post, so I didn’t purchase it myself. After that first one though, I was sold. I’ve bought a few more since and have even bought new covers for them when I was ready for a new look. At this point in my life, with pets and muddy kids coming in and out of the house all day long, I don’t see myself buying any other type of rug. So you can rest assured before we go any further that I’m ultimately in favour of these rugs, with a few stipulations, which I’ll get to in a moment.
Buy the More Saturated Colors for High Traffic Areas
If, like in our home, most places where you’re likely to put a rug are considered high traffic areas, you really just need to know to stay away from the rugs with a large amount of solid white areas on them. I’ve had a blue rug in the mudroom, as well as a black one with a cream-coloured border, and both of them looked good and hid the dirt even when they were actually pretty muddy. I’ve seen some white Ruggables that looked quite sad, quite quickly though, so steer clear of those.
If you’re hoping for a lighter rug, go for something in a light-to-mid natural tone with a lot of movement in the pattern. They have quite a few options to choose from that fit this description, like the one we have in our living room, and they do an amazing job of hiding dirt.
All this might seem obvious to you, but a lot of people think that if it’s washable, they don’t really need to worry about it. This isn’t magic though. If you buy a white rug, it’s still a white rug that’s being trampled constantly, so keep that mind.
You Don’t Actually Need to Wash Them That Often
You might picture yourself pulling up your new Ruggable and tossing it in the washing machine weekly, but you really won’t need to. Ruggables respond incredibly well to vacuuming and spot cleaning and not much really sticks to them. Like with anything, over-washing can lead to your Ruggable looking a bit worn out before it’s time. If you’re on well water, you can also end up with a dingy looking rug from the minerals in the water if you overdo it. You’ll probably actually only really want to wash your rug every few months. Between washings, vacuuming will work very well.
They Protect Your Floors From Spills and Excess Water
This is the one benefit that I didn’t realize before I got my first Ruggable and I think it’s one of the best things about them. The rug pad that sits directly on your floor underneath the cover is actually waterproof. That means that your floor is protected from anything that is spilled on the rug as well as any excess water. If you have kids that are prone to spilling a cup of juice and you’ve had to both try to get the stain out of the rug and protect the floor underneath from being damaged at the same time, you know the panic that this situation can bring on. It’s so nice to know that all you need to worry about is cleaning just the top layer of the rug and usually a bit of a spot clean is all it takes. No need to peel back the whole rug, get the fans out, and try to make sure the wood floor underneath is fully dry before putting your rug back down.
If you have flooring near your door that you’d like to protect, the Ruggable will also keep any excess water from wet boots or melting snow off your floor. This makes them the perfect door mat, which I don’t think people realize right away because they’re just so pretty. 🙂
Pictured Above: Ruggable | Coffee Table | Block Print Pillow | Velvet Curtains | Bookshelf Lights | Baskets in Cabinet | Marble Links | Marble Coffee Table Tray | Marble-Topped Side Table
Switching Out the Covers is Quite Affordable and Changes Your Whole Room
This is the funnest part: If you start to think you might like to change the look of your room, you don’t have to buy a whole new rug, you can just buy a new cover. Not that I think you need to be changing your whole room over and over again, or that you should even want to, but if you start to feel yourself craving a change, this makes it so much easier. I’ve switched out both my living room and my mudroom rug covers in the last year and it was so refreshing to know that I didn’t have to panic when I started to feel like my style was changing a bit and I was ready for some more muted colors.
Pictured Above: Ruggable | Similar Demi-Lune Table | Market Basket | Black Scarf | Cubby Baskets | Water Hyacinth Tray | Glass Jars
A Few Current Favorite Rug Designs
I’m still super excited about how much I love my living room rug, as well as the design we have for our mudroom runner. Both of these designs are just so great because they can blend in seamlessly with so many different decor styles and colors. They both have just a little bit of color to them and beautiful patterns, but overall they’re quite neutral. Safe bets without being boring. 🙂
I’m currently starting to think about making a few changes in our dining room and switching out our old rug in there for a new Ruggable. Here are a handful of styles that have been catching my eye as I’ve been planning for that. The dining room in our house is just through an archway next to the living room, so I’m looking for something that will work well with what we have in that room, but be a little bit different to keep things interesting.
Verena Dark Wood Rug | This is the 8×10 version of my mudroom runner. I was worried at first that it might be a little bold for me, but the colouring on it is so soft and subtle, plus it basically shows no dirt, even when it’s caked in mud. It’s magic.
Adeline Ivory Opal Rug | This one has the same color name as my living room rug (“Ivory Opal”), but the colors are just a bit more saturated, so the pattern has a bit more contrast. Definitely a strong contender for my new dining room rug!
Odette Ivory Pearl Rug | Probably my number one favorite right now. I love the simpler pattern on this one and the soft colors.
Kamran Hazel Rug | My living room rug but in a different color way. Great if you have a lot of white or light-coloured finishes in your space and need a bit of a darker tone to ground everything.
Sarrah Hazel Rug | Oh gosh, friends. Just had to share this one with you. We were shooting a home the other day and the homeowner had great style. She had quite a few Ruggables throughout her home and I’m pretty sure that this was the one she had for runners in her hallways. They were stunning! Another great “goes with everything” option that I can say is absolutely beautiful in person.
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.