I haven't noticed any odor...I just have a 3 foot x 9 foot for my kitchen...I haven't walked on it yet, but my mother has several from the past few years and they look great...
Tara

I love my PB dining room rug. It does not have any odor. Mine is not really walked on since it is under a table.

I recently purchased the Blaine rug from PB in 8x10 for the living room. I did not notice any odor at all. I've been living with it for only three weeks, but I've been very pleased with it so far. The cleaning instructions said to vacuum without the beater bar, so I've been using the "bare floor" option on my vacuum when cleaning the rug. I was so pleased with the Blaine that I ordered a second one for my entry. If it weren't overkill, I'd order a third for my dining room, but I think two of the same rug is enough. Good luck with your hunt for a rug.

We put a PB 8 X 10 rug under our dining table which is used daily. It looks and feels good. It sheds quite a bit: little balls of yarn form where there is foot/chair movement.

We got our rug at a great price: $250 because it was a discontinued style. In this case, the store price was cheaper than what was on their website or ebay. We didn't want to spend a lot of money because this is our main eating location and it's just a matter of time before major food spills.

I'm pleased with this purchase.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your opinions! I'm so glad that you have been pleased...it sounds like they make a great product.

southernheart - if you are still reading, I would just be careful ordering a wool tufted rug. As far as durability, I'm sure it would be fine. But I ordered a wool tufted rug a few years back from Ballard Designs and it stunk horribly (the latex under the cotton backing) for years and I finally had to stop using it. I was in Macy's not too long ago, and some of the tufted rugs there smelled also. But not all wool tufted rugs smell - I bought a runner from Home depot years ago that didn't smell. And it has held up really well - in our mud room no less.

If you do buy one from PB, make sure you smell the cotton backing closely - if you detect a burnt rubbery type smell - I would not keep it. Mine did not go away after time.

I seem to have bad luck with the burnt smell from the wool tufted rugs, regardless of price, brand or store. The smell never goes away and does get worse. Like Jenny, I have had to get rid of 3 rugs. I still have one in the kitchen and the smell is worse on some days. We put one rug up in the attic - I had used it in my office and put a chairmat on top of it and it is the last place to clean, so I thought I caused the the smell. The entire attic smelled so bad, we couldn't stay in it- the rug was rolled wool inside. I felt bad donating it to Salvation Army, but the rug was so pretty and in perfect condition except it smelled! My advice, look with your nose!

Thanks for the heads-up, you two! :) I definitely don't want something that smells less than wonderful (no matter how pretty). I will let my fairly sensitive nose lead the way on this one (which should amuse the salespeople...).

Thanks again~

southernheart - we have a brand new Pottery Barn that just opened in our Mall. I can't wait to go there - specifically to look at the rugs! Or Nose the rugs!

The one we've been looking at is in muted reds and blues, with a bit of camel. It is priced very low---I couldn't find it on the site (I think it may be a closeout). I had been wanting an antique rug for that room (dining room), but this one may fit the bill and is a great price.

I hope that you have fun rug hunting, too! :)

You can always ask PB who manufactures the rug you are interested in buying. We have the Brice Rug in our family room and it is made by Kaleen. The manufacturer's tag is actually on the rug. I have other rugs by Kaleen and have been reasonably pleased so I felt confident ordering it.

Thank you so much, belle...I didn't realize that, and I will check the manufacturer.

I don't know if all PB stores will offer this. We found our great priced rug locally, but, it was in a different color and size than what we needed. They found another PB store that had what we wanted and shipped it to our home for $50. It was well wrapped and came quickly.

Our rug fortunately doesn't have "the smell" that others have experienced. I'm thinking that if PB rug was orderred from catalog or another store and it smelled that you could return it to closest PB store.

I had to get rid of my PB wool rug because of odor. If you search the web, there are many postings about this issue. I don't know if PB has addressed this issue or not, but I would not buy another one of their rugs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Apartment Therapy - Rug Smells

Texanjana, Interesting link.......but it isn't just PB rugs. The hint to leave it in the hot sun - I also read somewhere- made my rug worse. It was on the driveway and I could smell it in the yard! You've convinced me not to consider the PB rugs - I needed this reminder!

I bought an 8x10 Jacob in October for my family room. It did have a distinct odor that dissipated after the first day. I had to use my steam iron on the back to remove some stubborn creases. My biggest issue currently is shedding. I didn't notice it as first because we weren't using the room as much as we are now. I have tumbleweeds! I hope that with time this issue will improve because it really is a pain.

I purchased the PB Henley rug in cranberry around 15 years ago and I just purchased another one for a different room. The original rug began to have "the odor" everyone talks about, when I called PB about it customer service was amazing. PB replaced the rug no questions ask. This rug has been in a high traffic area since I purchased it and it still looks great. The rug did shed a ton but I say thats a small price to pay for a rug that still looks great 15 years later. Like I said previously I have been so pleased with this rug I just purchased a new Henley rug for my dining room.

Junk, all junk. Nothing from pottery barn is worth a crap. It’s all overpriced garbage. We bought a 3k dollar dining room table that had to be sent back twice and was the biggest customer service debacle I’ve ever had. Now we have this rug and I got shipped to us with 2 4” cuts in it 300$ for a 30$ rug. Will never buy anything from this ripoff fad place again.

Does anyone know who makes this rug for PB?

Ironically we bought an easy care microplush shag rug from PB. It’s not at all easy care and nevermind any traffic it has not even stood up to our feet as we sat in our chairs. After just a few months it is already matted and discolored. I would NOT recommend the rug or company as their customer service is as bad as their product descriptions and care instructions. Try Ruggables! They truly are easy care and look great even after washing multiple times.

Big difference between all wool and microplush!

If you see a backing on the rug (as opposed to seeing the weave and pattern on the underside) then it has adhesive. The back of the rug is coated with adhesive and the backing is glued to it. That is what you smell. The latex adhesive deteriorates over time (avoid sunlight, this makes it worse). I read one comment about using an iron for creases - if the rug has an adhesive this will melt the adhesive and cause staining and smells. The first 3 days are worst for new rigs with an adhesive, but VOCs can off-gas for years. Recently, PB has started using a manufacturer that uses "synthetic latex" adhesive to combat this deterioration, and latex allergies. They claim it doesn't break down but I don't have long-term experience to know how it performs. It theoretically should have low VOCs and minimize smell issues. I'm curious if anyone has experience with their rigs made of recycled water bottles. They are more affordable and are surprisingly soft.

Pottery barn is pretty much running a scam. the photos on the website will show a good quality rug but when it shows up it’l be a cheap knockoff. the took me for almost a grand

I have a PB Barret rug that is 14 months old and is falling apart. i have a prfessional housekeeper who used Woolite carpet spray on a spot. when she rubbed it all the tufts came out and you can literally see the carpet backingI got. PB told me they will do nothing because they have a 12 month policy. the rug cost me $2,000 and ive spent over $35,000 at PB to furnish my retirement cottage. the rug looks terrible and i have to replace it.. Beware.

Nicollet