This Is the Only Rug for Your Dining Room

No pile, no problem.
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While the sensation of stepping on a flat-weave rug might not be as satisfying as sinking your toes into a high-pile shag, the former style comes with a long list of pros. Kilims, dhurries, and other flat-weave varieties are reversible (there’s no backing), super-simple to clean, and can easily slide under furniture. Not to mention, they’re quite durable, making them ideal companions for high-traffic, spill-prone spaces. Living rooms come to mind, of course, but our favorite place to put them? Under dining room tables

If dining room rugs make you think about hidden crumbs and not-so-hidden red wine stains, we feel you. But a flat weave is not just any rug. For one, you’ll be able to vacuum lingering morsels without the worry of snagging loose threads, plus they can quickly be spot-cleaned. Then there’s the not-so-obvious advantage of being able to gracefully scoot your chair in. (Flat weaves are pile-less, so you won’t have to worry about tripping up on anything.) If that isn’t enough to convince you this low-maintenance rug belongs in your dining room, one of the 11 eye-catching flat-weave designs, below, will surely spark your interest. 

This week, Beni Rugs launched its first-ever flat-weave collection, which includes eight styles in the rich terracottas and burnt oranges of Moroccan desert towns. Get ’em while the loom is hot.

Every year, the Swedish retailer drops a limited-edition collection of goods by up-and-coming designers, and 2019’s Art Event was all about cool rugs. Seulgi Lee’s abstract dhurrie rug is meant to evoke the French expression “happy as a fish in water.”

Now this is a good reason to gather round. Handmade in Oaxaca, Mexico—home base for Rrres Studio—this abstract rug was produced in close collaboration with local artisans in indigenous communities. 

This mix-and-match striped floor covering is aptly titled 44 Flavours. While you’ll need to avoid going over its fringed edges with a vacuum, you can feel good that Portugal-based designer and GUR founder Célia Esteves incorporates recycled materials from textile factories into every rug she makes. 

Neutrals don’t have to be boring. The broken lines of this black-and-white block-printed rug spice up the classic color combo. 

Cold Picnic has a knack for churning out viral rugs, and we’re big fans of this gem from the fall 2018 collection. 

This rug, with its subtle circular motif, won’t steal the spotlight (we’ll leave that to the dining table), but it will definitely elevate the objects that surround it. 

Three cheers for vibrant vegetable dye. Oyyo’s Ennis rugs are made with 100 percent organic cotton and unbleached linen yarn, which gets its color from plants sourced locally in Maharashtra, India.  

Open-concept spaces can pose a real challenge if you’re striving for a sense of separateness. This navy number has a major presence, so it can act as a makeshift divider between your various living areas. 

Because they take less time and fewer materials to make compared to most other rug styles, flat weaves are relatively affordable. This 4-by-6 Amazon find rings in at under $60. 

While New York–based company Tantuvi’s HQ is Stateside, the studio works with ikat weavers in South India to reinterpret traditional patterns for its contemporary collections. This lime-tinged design is made of hemp, but it’s just as easy to care for as any other flat weave. 

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