HIGH PILE RUGS & TODDLERS

Decorating a house can be challenging at times when there are small children involved. We have been very lucky in the past as we have not had any major accidents but something funny (although, not funny at the time) happened a few weeks ago that I thought I’d share with you.

Currently we have an Ikea Gaser high pile rug in our living room (you can see pictures in my older post the-masculine-living-room-before-after) and I have been quite happy with it. It goes very well with our living room colour scheme and is very soft and fluffy. However, I find this rug very heavy and a nightmare to keep clean (too heavy to lift) plus it is somewhat small. We had an unfortunate incident few weeks ago as our daughter, who is a toddler, loves lying on the rug and drinking her milk on it while watching TV. She somehow managed to pour almost a whole bottle of full fat milk (120 ml) on it without us noticing for quite sometime. The rug is high pile so it absorbed everything and it wasn’t visible but we started noticing the smell after few days. And, let me tell you, it wasn’t a pleasant smell!

The first thing we did was try to clean the spillage by using cold water (apparently it stops the milk stain setting in permanently) and then we tried to sponge clean it with warm water and dishwasher detergent. We even used a dry shampoo on it but the smell seemed to linger. I was reluctant to get it professional cleaned as the rug is from Ikea and costs only 80 pounds. If anything this would be a great time to replace it with a less heavy rug, right? So, without wasting any time, I ordered a new rug from Ikea while my husband was still trying to save the old one (of course he didn’t think we needed a new rug..)

The new one I ordered was the Ikea Morum Rug which is a flat woven rug and even though I hadn’t seen it in person I thought, based on the pictures online, it would be perfect. Sadly, when the rug arrived I was having doubts about it. The size was good but I missed the softness and the texture of my old rug. Also, the colour was more beige than I thought it would be. You can see it here on my Instagram page.

I ended up returning the rug in the end. I was never fully happy with my current rug and I didn’t want to purchase another one that I wasn’t sure about. I used Ikea’s pick up service so I didn’t have to go and take it to the store myself.  You won’t be refunded for the delivery though but this seemed like a stress free option at the time.

By the way, we ordered this bean bag from Great Little Trading Co. for our daughter a while ago and she does seem to enjoy it (although she is starting to prefer our sofa now). I love the funky design of this bean bag but I cannot believe it’s spot clean only! Time will tell whether it will remain white but otherwise I have been very happy  with it. Also, my experience with the company and their customer service was very good so I will definitely use them again.

In the end, we managed to get the smell out of the rug (it spent many days airing in our garden and conservatory) and thanks to our ‘milk bottle incident’ I now have a better idea what I want from our next rug. And, I will not settle for anything less than PERFECT (even if it means that it might get ruined again).

Here’s my wishlist:

• Low or medium pile (still provides some texture but is not as heavy as high pile)
• The material has a nice sheen but should not be too shiny (overly shiny often indicates poorer quality)
• Grey or taupe colour
• Luxurious looking with some fine strands of silky viscose
• Good value. Let’s face it, it is not a good idea to invest in an antique rug that could get ruined again.

I would like the rug to add instant texture to our room as the rest of our living room is quite masculine with all the chrome and stainless steel detailing. I would also like it to be a statement piece as it will be placed in front of the fireplace which is the focal point of the room. Practicality is also one of my biggest concerns as it is important that I can hoover the rug in order to keep it clean.

I found some great rugs in John Lewis and Heals but I need to go and view them myself this time. I am also not ruling out Ikea, although for the time being, I haven’t found any suitable ones on their website.

Another thing to bear in mind is that if we didn’t have a small child in the house of course my criteria for a new rug would be very different but at the moment I have to consider this when decorating. Comfort is equally important to me as the aesthetics. Living room is such a cosy place that every single member in the family needs to be able to enjoy it and not worry ‘too’ much about making a mess. I read a great article on Apartment Therapy few days ago called Do you buy furniture with kids in mind? It’s worth a read and my answer is yes and no. It is interesting to see how people have many different views on this. I would love to hear yours!

Happy Midweek!