This is timely for me also. I've been thinking of getting one of these type rugs myself. I've never had any of these so I'm curious to know which is more comfortable to walk on/keep clean.

Sisal is most prickley, seagrass least but more fragile.....and all are awfully good at absorbing doggie drippings and droppings and being hard to clean, unless you plan on taking them outside and using a hose.

Why did I think one of your dogs was big? LOL

I'm not sure which material we have in our sunroom. I wouldn't call it prickley, but there are some that are softer. You might want to investigate which one of the fibers is softest. Ours covers most of the floor out there with a few feet bordering that is uncovered. It is extremely durable. Because of the way it is woven I would think it might be hard to clean. I do have a small dog, but she is house-broken. The most that's been dripped on the rug is water - oh and one of those reed fragrance thingies broke and dripped. I did have to clean the spot several times before it was gone - it looked darker.

I'm not really a rug person. I love my wood floors and the sunroom is the only room we have a rug in that covers a large area. I've never tried (or thought of) using a water hose on mine. It does have the fabric bound edges. I do think they'd be extremely hard to wear out.

tina

Do a search on the cote de texas blog. She did a piece on everything you need to know about these rugs and the differences between.

Twenty years ago I had a maize rug from Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. I loved it; it was inexpensive; it had a nice diamond pattern woven in, a fairly broad maize weft with a cotton warp. It was a little scratchy but cushion-y underfoot.

It shed dust underneath but that was okay. Since it was under the kitchen table it was eventually damaged by scraping chairs and food spills and had to be tossed.

Now I want two for my summer rugs in the bedroom and no one makes or sells maize rugs as far as I can see. Sea grass is much greener. This was a nice bright creamy off-white.

The other rugs always seem to have latex backings and I'm allergic.

Thank you everyone! Your input has been wildly helpful and I'll check out the cote blog too.

This is a jute rug I have been considering - no latex backing, yay.

Here is a link that might be useful: diamond pattern jute rug, reversible

I was also going to suggest the Cote de Texas blog. That's where I got my info when I was researching the same thing. My memory is that seagrass is easy to keep clean, but it is uncomfortable to walk on barefoot. It does get a little better with use, but never soft. Sisal, which is much softer, stains easy.

Here is the post for you.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cote de Texas sisal vs seagrass

I just got 2 jute rugs and they are soft on our barefeet.

I think a lot of the softness might depend on the weave. I've had 4 or five of these rugs and they all feel different even if they are made of the same material.

whatever mine is, it is not green at all, nor yellow. No latex backing. I thought most of the seagrass/jute/sisal were not backed - in fact are reversible? I think mine must either be sisal or jute.

Sisal is rough so I've never bought it. Seagrass is also hard but smooth and not prickly. I've used it in the dining room and it's very durable. Everything just wipes off or vacuums up. Braided jute is the softest. it does shed with high traffic and it does stain, but wears pretty well. I have 2 jute rugs in the kitchen. They were very inexpensive so if I need to replace them in a few years- no big deal.