Short version: we bought a bedroom rug.
Here’s the longer version: our new bedroom is huge compared with our last place, and it needed a large rug to anchor the space and tie together statement pieces like Ed the Bed and our oversized, New Year’s Eve–ball-esque pendant light from Ikea. The small 4 x 6′ rug at the foot of the bed plus two faux sheepskins beside the bed no longer felt right for a room that measures about 16 x 16′ (closer to 16 x 21′ if you include the sink nook). In our old bedroom—an 11 x 12′ box with a tiny closet and no attached bathroom—we had a 6 x 9′ jute rug, which felt perfectly sized there but wouldn’t cut it here.
To figure out the right rug size, we taped out an 8 x 10 area on the floor with painter’s tape. It’s a simple and reliable way to visualize scale before buying. The taped area confirmed that an 8 x 10 rug would work well for our layout (we plan to place it horizontally under the bed—more on that in the next post).
Once size was settled, we narrowed the material options. We prefer natural-fiber rugs because they tend not to off-gas, they’re durable, and are generally easy to maintain. Two clear contenders emerged: a large white shaggy wool (like a giant faux sheepskin) or a softer braided jute rug. After considering care, durability, and how the rug would pair with the rest of the room, we leaned toward jute.
We already had several jute rugs in our previous home: one sits under a couch in our current sunroom, and two smaller ones used to live in the old kitchen and third bedroom. Jute is resilient, hides dirt well, and is simple to clean—shake it out or vacuum it as needed. With a dog and a baby in the house, those are practical benefits. Jute also comes in a range of warm tones that work nicely with wide plank floors, and it’s significantly less expensive than hand-tufted wool.
We worried that a big white wool rug would be beautiful underfoot but high maintenance. White rugs that can’t go in the washing machine make us nervous about stains, and since our bed is white, a non-white rug seemed like it would help the bed stand out.
We also decided we didn’t want a bold patterned rug because other elements in the room are already quite lively: a graphic four-poster bed, a dandelion-like pendant, green-yellow curtain panels, and a lively duvet. The rug needed to play supporting role—subtle texture and tone rather than competing for attention.
After a fair bit of searching we found three affordable 8 x 10 jute-style rugs. Finding an 8 x 10 under $350 was a win for us. Option one was an inexpensive jute-style rug on Overstock for $224 with $2.95 shipping:
The second option was a West Elm rug on sale for $229 plus $25 shipping in a “flax” tone:
And the third was a Pottery Barn rug on clearance for $199 plus $25 shipping:
We were most taken with the Pottery Barn rug’s subtle tone-on-tone diamond pattern. It felt more refined than a plain braided jute and the price was the lowest, although shipping narrowed the difference between options. Initially we planned to save on shipping by picking it up in the local PB store, but while the clearance price showed online, the in-store price was $249 (still on sale, but not as deep a discount). Ordering online at the $199 clearance price meant paying for delivery, and the site’s return policy for online clearance items was more restrictive than store purchases.
Then I hit the delivery timeline on the website and saw a three-month lead time for some colors—a surprisingly long wait. That, plus the inability to return online clearance items easily, made store pickup more appealing despite the slightly higher price. The store confirmed they had two in stock, so for the convenience of immediate pickup, no shipping fee, and a normal return policy, we decided the extra $25 was worth it.
We borrowed a larger car, drove to Pottery Barn, and bought the rug for $249. It felt like a solid value for a substantial 8 x 10 rug with that understated diamond pattern that makes it feel a bit special compared with the standard jute options. Back home, we unrolled it and loved how soft it felt underfoot—noticeably more comfortable than the rug we’d had in our old bedroom. It complements our warm wood floors and lets the bed and other bold elements remain the visual stars of the room.
For now the rug is half unrolled on the floor and already transforming the space. We’ll share photos of the final placement and how we lay it under the bed in an upcoming post.