I'm with you, I like them and want to try one, but I have no experience with them. I like the look of the jute boucle that West Elm has. There have been some threads about jute/natural fiber rugs, and they seem to get mixed reviews. Some people find them hard to keep clean and uncomfortable on the feet, while others find them no problem to clean and quite comfortable.

If those who are happy with their jute rugs can tell us what brands/styles you have, that would be very helpful! I remember budge1 mentioned the Feizy Seminole as being a good comfortable-on-the-feet jute rug that she looked at.

I used to have a truly great looking large black and natural jute rug in the kitchen - like big check tile. The only thing about it I didn't like is that it functioned as a giant doormat - anybody who walked across it in shoes got their shoes nicely cleaned and the dirt collected underneath it incredibly, astonishingly, fast, until I started rolling it up and sweeping under it as a daily chore, which was a real drag, and I finally gave it to the disabled vets shop.

that's my only experience. I don't mean to discourage anybody. Now that I'm in a no-shoes household, I'd be willing to try it again.

They're hard to clean. Very very hard to clean. I have a carpet cleaning business, & I wouldn't touch a jute rug. And like betty said, they act like a doormat, no matter where you put them (good description!)

And they don't feel very good to the touch, but that's a personal thing, really.

I'm trying to think of something good to say about them....oh yes! They're environmentally friendly! Well, except that you'll probably be tossing it into the landfill before too terribly long.

Sorry, not a fan.

OKay, what about seagrass rugs? Pottery Barn has a 9x12 on sale for $299 that is bound with a dark brown stripe and has rubberized backing. It gives the rug a sturdier feel. But, I don't think it is as attractive as jute, and looks kinda boring. I don't know what to do!

I've heard that all those natural open weave rugs have the problems betty and moonkat have mentioned, but that you can get nice woven rugs that have the same look, but of course are more expensive.

I like your name, LOL!

I love the look of jute rugs, but I will never own another one! We had two runners for both sides of our bed. They weren't very comfortable to walk on in bare/socked feet. I could never get them completely clean. The cat hair was crazy. I vacuumed and vacuumed and never got it all. I finally used a tape roller and got most of it and then got rid of them!

In my experience, they are in the category of things that look GREAT in the decorating mags but are not very practical. In addition to being very hard to clean, tiny pieces crumble off under them with wear, so when you move them to clean, you have a mess under them.

Have you looked at the polypro rugs that are designed for indoor/outdoor use? I had one made for a kitchen that looked like a woven natural, but was very stain-resistant. Take a look at Shaw Southerland, for example. You can get any size you want and have it bound on the edges.

There are also plenty of ready-made I/O carpets on the market these days. A quick search turned up the Couristan Recife series. I'll give you a link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Not as nice a pattern, but a place to start...

Don't do it... jute and seagrass are a nightmare. I've had both, a few times - I eventually learned. And it's true, they can't be cleaned. They're beautiful, so it just makes it doubly sad.

I have not tried the plastic alternatives, but they could probably be hosed down easier, I'd imagine.

We have a jute, sisal or seagrass rug in the sunroom. I can never remember which one it is. I have to say, we really like it. My only complaint is that it is not that comfortable to stand on bare foot for any length of time. Ours is several years old and we have had no problems with it. It is only the two of us and one small *pup* but she basically ignores rugs. LOL

Our sunroom gets a good bit of use and as we have a patio off that room, we are frequently in and out. So far, our rug doesn't look dirty. We vacuum often but to the best of my knowledge, nothings ever been spilled or dripped on it, so no stains. I honestly don't know how it hold up to something like that. I can say that it's had wet feet across it, but you'd never know it.

I do think that much of the dirt filters down through the rug and you do need to take it up occasionally (which can be a bit of a bother since ours covers much of the floor in the room) and vacuum/mop underneath. It's worked great for us in the location we have it in and still looks new.

tina

I had a sisal at our last house. It looked great, but was not comfortable to the feet and there's no way to clean it. We had just a few water stains on ours, but it drove me crazy to see them and not be able to do anything about it. What I ended up doing was putting a smaller oriental design rug on top of it, which covered the stained part and the sisal served as outer border. Sounds strange, but it actually looked good (plus I could just not bring myself to throwing it out.) Katrina took care of getting rid of it for us later. ha.

There are some nice-looking indoor outdoor rugs, and JC Penney has some nice washable ones, but unless you know you can clean it, I would steer away from the sisal or jute.

I can't seem to see the rug with the link you provided.

I have the opposite opinion as most state above. We've had jute rugs for many years and love them. I find how comfortable they are on your feet depends on the weave. We have 3 or 4 that are 4x6 and one large 9x12 under the dining table. This is our second large one for the dining room . The first lasted about 6 or 7 years. I'm hoping to get the same or more out of this new one. Jute fibres are shorter than sisal or seagrass and do tend to shed a bit, but I've never had one that shed excessively.

I bought a second hand round braided jute rug and it sheds like nothing else. Never again!