Cream Rugs

Where a cream rug works best

A cream rug brings light to a space without the chill of bright white. On dark boards or slate it lifts the room, and on a pale floor it adds a gentle layer of warmth. Cream also sits comfortably beside grey upholstery, oak, walnut and brass, so it is easy to place among the furniture you already own.

Most of the cream rugs we stock are suited to the living room, where a rug anchors the sofa and chairs and defines the seating area. Some suit a bedroom, giving bare feet a warm landing in the morning. A few are made for a child's room.

Colour and pattern in a cream rug

We stock rugs that set cream beside grey, beige, blue, green, pink or brown. That extra colour lets you pick up a shade from your cushions, curtains or walls, while the cream keeps the room feeling light. Cooler partners such as grey and blue suit a crisp, modern room, and warmer ones such as beige and brown make a space feel cosier.

Pattern decides how forgiving a rug will be. A busy design breaks up the surface and helps hide everyday marks, which matters near a door or under a coffee table. We stock abstract and geometric patterns. Some of our designs are floral, for a softer, more decorative look. A few are plain, which keeps the attention on your furniture, though marks show sooner on an unbroken surface.

Modern, traditional and vintage cream rugs

Most of the cream rugs in our range are modern in style. A modern design suits clean-lined furniture and a pared-back room, and the cream keeps the look light rather than cold. We also stock traditional and vintage designs, which sit happily with antique wood, period fireplaces and older houses, and soften a room that feels too sharp or bare.

Some of our designs lean towards a Scandinavian look. A few take their cue from Moroccan style. Whichever you choose, cream stops a pattern from feeling heavy, which helps in a small or dim room.

Choosing the pile of a cream rug

Pile height decides how a rug feels underfoot and how much work it takes to keep clean. We stock low-pile and flatweave cream rugs. A short or flat surface is the practical choice for a busy room: doors and chair legs pass over it more easily, it vacuums quickly and grit has fewer places to settle, which matters on a pale colour.

Some have a deep, shaggy pile. A few have a high pile. If you choose a deeper pile, put it where you relax rather than where you walk, such as beside the bed or in front of the sofa, because it holds on to crumbs and dust and needs vacuuming more often.

Wool, polyester and polypropylene cream rugs

Most of our cream rugs are made with polyester, a man-made fibre that feels soft and holds colour well, which suits detailed patterns. We also stock polypropylene, a firm, practical fibre often chosen for rooms that see a lot of traffic, and wool, a natural fibre with a dense, resilient feel underfoot.

A few are acrylic, another man-made fibre with a soft, wool-like feel. Fibre affects how a rug copes with spills and wear as well as how it feels, so read the material details before you choose.

Sizing a cream rug for your room

Almost all of the cream rugs we stock are rectangular. A rectangle is the easiest shape to fit around a sofa, a bed or a dining table. In a living room, choose a size that lets at least the front legs of the sofa and chairs rest on the rug, and leave a band of bare floor around the edges so the room still feels open. Under a dining table, the rug should be large enough for the chairs to stay on it when pulled out.

A few are round, which suits a reading corner or the space beneath a small table. For a hallway, we stock runners: choose a width that leaves a strip of floor showing on either side, and stop short of the ends of the hall. Before you order, we suggest marking the outline on the floor with masking tape to check how it sits.

Looking after a cream rug

Vacuum a cream rug often, using a low setting on a deeper pile, so grit does not work its way into the fibres. Blot spills straight away with a clean white cloth and cold water, working from the edge inwards, and never rub, as that spreads the mark. Turn the rug now and then so it wears evenly, and put a doormat at the nearest entrance.

Check the care details before you buy, since a washable rug and a spot-clean-only rug need very different handling. If a rug is not listed as anti-slip, lay a non-slip underlay beneath it, especially on wood, laminate or tiles, so it stays put and lies flat.