enduring,

Thank you so much for the inputs.

I went to Costco yesterday and found a wonderful shower rug by Kirkland. The rug is 24 x 36 inches costs $11.39. It is reversible in a very similar wave pattern as one sold by Restoration Hardware, 21 x 34 inches cost $49.00. We have several of this same rug.

The Restoration Hardware ones are well made and last. The Kirkland rug is gorgeously made and is twice as thick as the one from Restoration Hardware. I am not sure if it would shed as many other bath rugs. Will have to wash it several times before buying more.

I will stop by at Target next.

I got my rugs and towels from frontgate . I love the round rugs in front of my sinks . They are sick and plush and absorb the water well . Their towels are sick and dry very well too . As my bathroom is white marble with a glass tile accent in sea foam and blue , I got a sea foam bath towel for me and a blue one for my DH with our initials engraved . My rugs are sea foam, , but my face towels are white . They wash really well in cold water and without adding softener .

Second on Target...the best sheets and the best towels I have ever bought came from a sale at Target.

Overstock, maybe, but read reviews. LLBean can have some awesome stuff, too, and they guarantee it. Really, truly guarantee it. For free monograming on anything from basic Ralph Lauren to higher end stuff, check out Horchow. You can almost always get free shipping. Most of our towels came from them. And I've gotten to the point I just buy white. White, white, white. Everything matches.

I'm really happy with the everyday towels from Penny's.

Target, Kohl's, Penny's, Sears, Bed Bath and Beyond, TJ Max, Marshalls, Macy's to name a few. Sometimes a specific color grabs your eye. Only you can decide the other options, size, quality, thickness, as it totally depends on who will be using the bathroom. I usually buy one each of several different colors to sample with my lighting, then return the ones that don't work.

I have bright red towels in a black and white guest bathroom. It doesn't get used much, so they are mostly for looks. They have to be washed alone to keep the color/fuzz from getting on other things in the dryer. Some of the beautifully decorated towels can't handle frequent washings.

-Babka

Many thanks to everyone for sharing your experience. I will check out the stores and online sites recommended.

I washed the bath rug from Costco. It did not shed and left no fiber in the washer tub. I dried the rug and an old rug from Restoration Hardware of similar size separately. The new rug left about same amount of lint in the dryer lint catcher as the old one. It is impressive given the Costco rug is brand new.

I went back to Costco purchased two more rugs. The savings is incredible since I paid way less when buying three from Costco than one from Restoration Hardware. Too bad Costco do not have other sizes and colors I am looking for.

I went through the All White phase before too. All the whites had "spa look" when new yet they all have the "locker room look" now. I may go back to All White if it is too hard to find the right color to match the bathrooms.

The challenging I have now is to find absorbent towels that is not very thick. I am tired of the fluffy, heavy towels that push the water around instead of drying. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you again.

Do you use fabric softener? Years ago when I tried fabric softener I noticed that my towels didn't absorb water very well.

You're not supposed to use fabric softener on towels.

The Christy bath sheets we use are very absorbent.

I just bought some microfiber hair towels at Bed Bath and Beyond that are incredibly absorbent. I'm going to get more (they're very thin) for the gym and to use as dish towels!

The washing instructions on my frontgate towels is to wash them on cold and never use fabric softener . They clean really well and stay fluffy and absorbent

We do not use fabric softener and dryer sheets. I cannot stand the scent and the feel on the fabric. We also do not use liquid detergent, we run vineger and water through wash cycle to clean the washer monthly.

I use microfiber towels to dry hair too. I collect vintage jewelry made of precious metal. I found microfiber towels are great for drying jewelry after being cleaned.

Many thanks to all of you for the responses.

Thanks for the information about the Costco rugs, I will have to check them out. What are they made of? Do you have a link to the rug from their website?

I bought jcp EVERYDAY Quick Dry Ripple Bath Towels and they are really nice. They are soft, not too heavy and dry quickly. I noticed they have some NEW towels on their website that also specifically say quick dry. Lots of colors available too.

Over the past 30 years or so, we have probably purchased twice as many towels and bath rugs from Sierra Trading Post as we have purchased from all other retailers combined. STP is a seconds and closeout retailer, so what is available changes literally daily. For sheets and towels, we purchase only Egyptian cotton, and never fabric blends.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bath rugs, too

herring and Karenseb, thank you for the responses, I will check out Penny and STP.

Enduring,

I could not find the item on Costco site, so I took photos of the rug on my back yard patio. The quality is not the best since I used iphone instead of a DSLR.

Front,
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Back:

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Label -1:

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Label 2:

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Thanks Azmom, that is exactly the type of rug I LOVE! I got a couple of square ones at Target last spring and they are such nice rugs. I haven't seen these at my Costco :( I will have to look again.

I love those - my friend got some recently that look like that but are Wamsutta (and probably not as price-friendly) - from BB&B.

Wamsutta is excellent product, and because it matters to me - it is made in the USA.

Just peeking into this thread -- hubby and I bought the memory foam bathroom mats for our remodeled bathrooms -- each bought one for in front of the vanity, and one for in front of the toilet.

We also like the terry bathmats for when we step out of the shower -- wish I could find those, but they are hard to find these days!

As for towels -- BB&B, Penney's, and even Target have some decent options.

Donna

Add TJ Maxx, Marshall's and Home Goods to the list. I carry one of my washcloths in my purse so that I have my color with me.

You think you know your colors... until you get home...

Carol in Jacksonville