Rug for living room w/ little kids

Hi there!

We really love the rugs from Hook and Loom. 

We have several of the loom-hooked natural wool rugs. They were purchased when my twins were babies, and have held up beautifully for nine years.

I don't know if you have started looking at the Persian rug stores, but their rugs are very beautiful but also very very expensive. If you are looking for something not too precious, they might not offer what you want. We recently went to look at rugs and knew we wanted 100% wool (better against stains than a blend) and we wanted to touch the rugs, so we needed a local store, and it was not easy finding one. The Persian rugs were way out of our price range, and the big box rugs had very few wool options and some did not have good quality. After extensive research, we found a moderately pricey 100% wool rug from Crate and Barrel, and a more expensive (but much less than Persian) from Room and Board, and are very happy with both. If you really want a beautiful Persian rug, they are gorgeous and an investment, and I would stick to the Ruggables until your kids are older before springing for one. But if you are in need of a rug right now, I recommend 100% wool. We have kids and cats, and the wool rugs have held up much better than the previous synthetic one that we had.

Prior to having kids, we invested in patterned wool rugs in darker, more saturated colors. Wool is stain resistant and the patterns/colors hide anything which might saturate or penetrate past natural stain resistance.  To remove anything which might smell bad, I sprinkle baking soda, allow it to sit, and then vacuum OR apply baking soda, a little bit of vinegar and then blot with a towel.  Twenty two years later (and after being professionally cleaned last summer) the carpets still look beautiful and were great investments.

Adding to my note about cleaning and care: we bought one of our wool carpets from Rejuvenation Hardware (there’s a brick and mortar on 4th Street in Berkeley), one from Pottery Barn, and another one from Crate and Barrel. As another person commented, the quality is good and the prices are lower than at the carpet stores along Solano Ave.

We are really happy with the rugs we got from https://hookandloom.com/, located on the east coast.  We got a wool one for the living room, which has really stood up to years of traffic.  We also have their very durable cotton runners for the kitchen and hallway, that we can just throw in the washer and dryer. Recently, we got this rug https://www.nuloom.com/collections/jute-sisal/products/mgnm05a , which is stunning in our front entry and far more comfy barefoot than I expected.

There's a woman who sells antique Persian rugs out of her garage in the Elmwood neighborhood -- her rugs are beautiful and extremely reasonable. It is an adventure to find the one you want (they are rolled up and sometimes hard to find in the pile); plan on being there for at least an hour. She posts on craigslist and I think on Facebook marketplace. Here's an example -- https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/fuo/d/berkeley-103-34-washed-persian-runner/7834196729.html

We have bought 4 rugs from her and they look great even after kids/cats/dogs. Wool lasts a long time, looks great, no microplastics. I love our rugs. Highly recommended.  

Not sure about Persian, but you can find very affordable 100% wool rugs both at Home Goods in Moraga (and elsewhere) and at World Market. I’ve had a white (!) one in my living room with three young boys for several years. We don’t eat there (or drink anything colorful) but, as others commented, wool responds well to baking soda as well the occasional steam cleaning (I bought a Bissel machine on sale from Target for less than $100. It does stress the fibers, so I do it only 1-2 times a year). Thinking I’d get the Bukhara rug of my dreams when we’re empty nesters.

Have you tried the Rug Depot in Emeryville?  You can see and touch the rugs and there is a wide selection of price, size and style.  You could also try IKEA.