Why use a kids area rug?
An area rug can be used to distract from an ugly carpet or to pad a hard surfaced floor in the kids rooms. But area rugs can also be used just for decorative purposes. Some are actually play areas, like the ones you've probably seen that look like a little town with streets and buildings.
Patterned rugs can set the theme in your children's bedroom if you have a non theme specific room decor. If you have a favorite rug already, you can use it to pick your paint and bedding colors for the rest of the decor.
How to choose childrens rugs.
- Short napped or short pile rugs are best. They're easier to keep clean and make for a nicer play surface and tend to be more durable. Go for a pile that is about 1/3 to 1/2 inch maximum.
- Be sure to get a rug that is kind to little ones knees and elbows.
- Synthetic fibers are usually more stain resistant and easy to clean. Always refer to cleaning instructions that came with your rug.
- Check out your local carpet remnant store. You can usually find a good price for a piece of carpet and still afford to have the edges bound. This also allows you to get a custom size.
- Either buy simple kids area rugs that can work with several room theme changes, or buy theme rugs to build the kids room decor on.
Where to find kids rugs.
Children's area rugs are a hot item, and can now be found at most department and discount stores. If you're looking for cheap area rugs locally, places like Wal-Mart, Target & Kmart are good places to look. Also check your local carpet outlets.
Kids will be kids. You can purchase a cheap rug with full intention of using it and losing it. When it's trashed you just throw it away. But not all discount area rugs will be trash. I purchased one from Target, and have had it over a year. And it's gotten a lot of traffic, wear and tear. And I have to admit I don't vacuum it as much as I should
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It's amazing how much stuff area rugs catch off your shoes. Have you taken yours outside and shook it out lately? You'll be surprised how much your vacuum missed.
You can find a lot of discount area rugs through online stores. My favorites are shown here. Whoever you decide to buy from, be sure you're buying from a reputable merchant.
- Your Kids Direct
has a pretty good selection of kids area rugs, along with a bunch of other decor items for the kid's rooms.
- Rugs USA & Kid Carpet both have a totally huge selection to choose from. Kid Carpet lets you design your own rug using your favorite clip art, typing in a saying you want on your rug, or even your children's photos! How cool is that? RugsUSA has a wide selection of kid room theme kids rugs and educational rugs not to mention area rugs for the rest of the house. Check them often for their great sale prices.
- RoomForKids Fun Accessories - who is Sears online site for kids room decor has a pretty good selection too.
- And of course check out the eBay ad above for some great discount area rugs.
- If you get much beyond the scope of the above sites, you'll start seeing places offering the same kids area rugs over and over. It's a bit annoying, but such is life.
How to care for kids area rugs.
- First and foremost, vacuum. Regularly and often. Dirt and grit is the main enemy of rugs and carpets.
- Blot spills ASAP, and treat stains when they happen and you'll enjoy your kids area rugs much longer.
- If you do need to clean the rug, dry methods are preferred over wet. Kid Carpet recommends you use Capture, which is a line of cleaning products for your rugs, that removes pet stains and odors too.
- If you have a rug that you've had for years, or plan to have for years, it would be beneficial to have it professionally cleaned once in a while.
Rug Pads
Most sources says use rug pads.
I'm totally on the fence about rug pads. So you're on your own there!
Supposedly it's bad to put a jute backed rug on top of your carpet, or your hard floor covering for that matter. So they tell you to use a pad.
I've tried different rug pads and haven't been happy with the results.
As you walk across the area rug and pad over carpet, it scoots. So you end up having to line them back up constantly. What a pain.
I had an area rug over my plush carpet for 7 or 8 years. I can't see where it ruined my carpet. Granted I did pull it up regularly and vacuum under there. But I saw no effect on the carpet pile.
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