Best type of rug for under kitchen table?

12 years ago

What material is best for a rug that is under the kitchen table? We have 2 young kids, a black lab and a large cat. I'm looking for something that wont stain as much, and does ok with food and spills. Not sure I want a persion wool kind of rug because that doesnt seem very kitcheny to me - maybe a kilim kind of rug instead?

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lizzie_nh

12 years ago

A Persian style rug in the right colors on a wood floor, can be very kitchen-y! But you're right, I can imagine a kilim rug in the kitchen and it would look warm and homey, too. I'm also partial to hand-hooked or braided rugs in kitchens, but that depends on the rest of your decor, and hand-hooked rugs, especially, do not hold up to pets.

Here's what we have under our kitchen table, and it is the BEST kitchen rug, from a durability standpoint, although not necessarily from a design standpoint. It's basically wall-to-wall carpeting that is bound at the edges, forming a rug. (If you look under it, it looks like the underside of carpeting.) It's like a carpet remnant rug (leftover small-ish piece of carpeting bound into an area rug.) It's not exactly commercial-grade, but it is very low-pile. It's somewhat soft underfoot and will show vacuum marks, but is not as deep pile as typical wall-to-wall carpeting. It's a synthetic - stain resistant, like most new wall-to-wall carpeting. We have a solid color, but I believe you can buy the same type of rug in prints.

We have two cats who, quite frankly, frequently vomit and cough up hairballs. And they like to do it on this rug, because it's in their hang-out area, inside the patio door which opens into the kitchen. They also scratch rugs like crazy. I can't tell you how many times I have cleaned up a mess, gotten out the Resolve carpet cleaner, and washed this rug. It looks like-new and it's 8 years old. The only other kind of rug these cats haven't snagged terribly is a bound tightly-woven sisal rug - those are great, but they don't stand up to messes.

Again, because the rug is a solid color and tightly bound at all the edges, it's not very "design-y." The color goes in our kitchen but doesn't add a new design element to the room. But either way, with kids and pets and the possibility of food and spills, I'd go with a synthetic - maybe even an indoor/outdoor rug (which come in a million different styles.)

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Comments (11)

kristinekr
12 years ago
I would not want a rug in my kitchen with my kids, dog, and 2 cats. It seems as though I am constantly scraping food, hair, and sometimes vommit from the tile. A rug would be a mess!

That said, we do have an oriental looking rug under our dining room table. It was inexpensive, bought at home goods and made of propolene. The kids often play on it and the cats are there all the time. Because its a dark brown with a busy patern, it hides a lot and has cleaned up well where there have been spills and pet accidents. But we don't eat there every day or there would be way more messes.
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I have three kids so am very familiar with the issues with placing a rug under the kitchen table. We also had remodeled our kitchen and added new hardwood floors so understand your concerns there as well. I was a hold out for a long time, but finally put one there last year. I did not purchase a rug, however, but moved one there that I already owned that I had in the family room when I purchased a different rug for that room. The rug that went under the kitchen table is a very inexpensive synthetic rug that cost me around $60. So far, it has held up well and when it gets too stained or latex backing starts to emit a smell (as can happen with inexpensive rugs), I will replace it. As it's a fairly dark rug with a busy pattern it does not show the dirt. Added pluses are that the chairs do not scratch my hardwood floors. Even with the little felt pads on the legs, sometimes they would come off or the start picking up all the mess and dust on the floor--though I still keep felt pads on the legs since the chairs are moved sometimes when guests visit. Shee, is correct about the sizing of the rug--conservative measurements would be to allow about 3' extra around all sides beyond the table size. In my case that was not possible due to space limitations and I've gotten by with a lot less. Previous to this I had my kitchen table on wall-to-wall carpeting and it would get so stained, dirty (and I feared smelly as well). When I first changed to hardwood, having an easy to clean floor was very important; not sure whether my kids are older (youngest is now 9) or that this is an dark, patterned area rug, but there is no comparision between the two. I still would never, never, want a kitchen table on wall-to-wall carpeting. My kids are still not THAT neat! Here is my kitchen table rug: Here is picture without the rug: I've even started using a cloth tablecloth as well. It gets dirty, but I wash regularly and keep a vinyl tablecloth below so if the kids want to do something messy, we just pull off the cloth one and use the vinyl.
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rosesstink
12 years ago
How about an indoor/outdoor rug? They won't stain and can be brought outside for hose cleaning. Check out Plow and Hearth - they have many designs.
pps7
12 years ago
None-LOL!

I have a seagrass rug under our table. It cleans up very well. I'm thinking of replacing it with an outdoor rug.
cheerpeople
12 years ago
the style is functional at our house on this topic.
I have a cold kitchen floor and the same in the dining room which is part of the kitchen. We have castor chairs at the table and to roll up to the table, I put an office carpet in gray with the rubber backing which is easy to rollup on off without budging the rug. This is a busy house with 3 sloppy kids and it has seen plenty of abuse and shows nothing.
In my cold kitchen I got a $10 indoor- outdoor carpet in gray from menards when they go on sale, and put it down with dbl stick tape. It covers all but about a foot around the edges. This room has a lot of traffic. The tape was a must.

The whole family appreciates it even the cats, and the only thing it shows is when my dtr dumped an entire lemon merienge pie upside down on it- and if I'd get my rug shampooer over to this house I'd have that gone. If not $10 and I have a new one!
Sidney4
12 years ago
I also have indoor outdoor carpet under my kitchen table and think it is great. There's a good selection at Home Decorators.com. and the prices are reasonable.
User
12 years ago
The best rug for underneath the kitchen table is a faux one painted on the wood floor.
work_in_progress_08
12 years ago
I am with kswl if you feel you need something under the table. Having been a mom to a small child and a large yellow labrador, I know that the lab will get to any mess before you can get to the papertowels in your kitchen. lol

Seriously, I would reconsider using a rug, unless it is purely decorative and is painted on the floor.
stolzie
12 years ago
I would suggest one of the high traffic designs from Flor -- not very exepensive, look good in the kitchen, and hold up well. Another idea would be an indoor-outdoor rug from Mad Mats; they are actually recycled plastic, but don't look it. Those don't stain at all, and could be just hosed if outside if you needed to. Only downside is they are not terribly soft, but that is probably not a big concern under your kitchen table. Good luck!!
busybee3
12 years ago
we have a synthetic (polypropylene?)in our dining room---it is VERY dense and VERY, VERY, VERY stain resistant. it is a multi colored print, so fur, etc doesn't look very apparent...it's a very nice quality, and it looks nice. if i were getting another rug under our kitchen table, i would get same type!!

we had a rug under the kitchen table for years, and that's my preference, but we keep our dogs (one in particular) in the kitchen most of the time and eventually our one dog started to think it was ok to pee on the rug every now and then---couldn't tolerate that, so the rug went!!
allison0704
12 years ago
I have Soumak rugs in our home. They are great for spills and pets. The painter knocked over his drink (no, not sure why he had it on the floor) and was shocked at how it beaded on top and wiped right up.

Here is a link that might be useful: soumak rugs

Best type of rug for under kitchen table?

lizzie_nh

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kristinekr

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