I know the rugs that you speak of. I've seen them at TJMax and Homegoods. They are really soft and very pretty with the sheen. I fell for them too. Then I snapped out of it.

Have you ever had shag before? Do you know how much stuff you can lose in shag? Bobby pins. Kid's little toys. Buttons. Stuff. Do you know how hard it is to get doggy hair out of shag? Are you prepared for how much static electricity a polyester rug will generate?

The websites that sell them say "For decorative use only" and that tells me they are not made for foot traffic but to anchor a coffee table to decor. I looked at the backs of them at Homegoods and I think the flat, thin, shiny pile will pull right out with stress from use.

I was smitten by those rugs but had to walk away.

"We have 2 cats and two young kids....Am I crazy to get a white rug?"

Yes.

I was ready to say if it's washable, go for it, then I read DD's comments and I stopped. I've never seen the rug of which you speak. For me, if I can keep it clean, I buy it, no matter what the color. So I guess that's my big deal, if it's easily cleaned, then get it and enjoy it. If you get it, post a photo so I can see it.

Are your cats long hairs? If so, be forewarned that their hair gets matted up in some of the shag rugs and has to be cut out. Don't ask me how I know that. :-)

Saw the rugs at Home Depot. Sigh. If only they were multi-coloured. Of course, that wouldn't help the losing pins etc in it....

Saw one shag rug elsewhere that looked like a mountain sheep on a bad hair day - could lose a kid in it, let alone a button! ahahaha!

The rug would be in the family room, under the ottoman/coffee table....

Yes, you're crazy. But we like that in a person! Just don't let it influence you to choose that rug. Can you buy a little bitty one and toss it over a chair?

I had an entire house carpeted in off-white carpeting. It was my first house, and my MIL, who suggested the color, swore that it wouldn't be any harder to keep clean than any other color. It was a great "design statement," looked fabulous when it was clean, but my MIL was wrong about the upkeep. (I think she had it in for me, in retrospect.) My experience with light carpeting was, once you've cleaned the rug, cleaning residue remains and the rug tends to get dirtier faster.

"under the ottoman/coffee table" -- will there be foot traffic on the perimeter? Do you put drinks & food on the coffee table? Are your kids old enough to be careful with the rug?

It probably looks terrific, but I wouldn't use it in the family room.

I certainly don't want to make more work for myself - I've already ordered insanely dark hardwood (think: dust), but in my defense, have bought hand scrapped, low luster (will withstand abuse and foot prints)! If the floor wasn't so dark, I'd be willing to try the darker version of the carpet.

Maybe I'll get a small one that I roll up whenever the kids are around - hahaha! Or for that -oh-so-soft feeling, might be easier to buy a pair of fussy slippers.

I've had no luck with dense, cut pile type area rugs - seem to show lint. And my current one (a sisal type) is nice, but stuff gets ground into the grooves (no, my kids are too young to be trusted around a carpet. Heck, I can't be trusted around it!)

Hmmm.....no rug would be an option except that one daughter uses the ottoman as a toy and pushes it around the room (worried about scratching the floors excessively).

Chloe, why don't you put the rug next to your side of the bed? Then your feetsies will feel the softness when you get up each morning! :)

Sure, go ahead and buy it.

Then mount it on the wall where you can touch it anytime you want, and no one will ever spill anything on it.

Remember, if you saw it at Home Goods, that means it didn't sell elsewhere. There was a reason.

I use to have a long haired shag rug in my bedroom, oh gosh, thirty some years ago now. I loved it and I say buy it. Just be careful and don't wear your street shoes on it.
I don't think your crazy, go for it. Unless of course you have lots of kids and pets then that is an entirely different story.

.....Jane

Note: The long haired rug reaked of glamour, I must say.

Oh you did say you had two kids and pets, sorry, duh. That changes my opinion. I say forget the rug unless you can find another color.

So I've dragged a cream coloured shag out of my bedroom and thrown it into the family room to see how we do with a) light coloured carpets and b) a short shag rug.

I really, really love the look of it, and both the ottoman and various toys aren't as easily pushed around the room (the shag offers much resistance!). But I've encountered a couple of problems (aside from the rug being ridiculously small for the area): 1, my light vacuum hates the rug. As in really hates it, and poops out. 2, cookie crumbs (especially those special bits coated in baby spit) trapped in the rug feel like rocks under foot, and are hard to find (can feel'em, can't see them!).

Sigh.