When we moved into our house last year I wanted to get a new rug.  1. because the living room rug I had before was too small for our new space and 2. Because I love any reason to redecorating our space! So I  searched and searched and searched some more for a rug that was within my budget and that would be durable for our busy life.

After all of this searching and a lot of sticker shock I decided to take a risk and get an indoor/outdoor rug from Joss & Main.  When I initially purchased this rug I was very nervous.  I was afraid the rug would look cheap or out of place but I also knew that purchasing a traditional (and very expensive) wool rug would be a waste of money.  At the time we had two large dogs and a baby on the way, and I just didn’t think a wool rug could handle all that abuse in such a high traffic area.  In the end all that worrying was all for nothing!  I love my indoor/outdoor rug and because I love it so much I have comprised a list of the 6 Reasons You Should Buy an Indoor/Outdoor Rug, especially if you have pets or kids.

With a one year old baby and two big dogs our house gets dirty fast but this rug can be cleaned even faster!  With our last two houses we have had the distinct joy of mud.  This house we are waiting for new sod in the back yard and our last house was reclaimed swamp land that wasn’t as reclaimed as I would have liked.  So whenever it rains there is plenty of mud to go around on dog feet, something that would ruin a traditional wool rug in a heart beat.  With my indoor/outdoor rug all the mud and the dirt just vacuums right up.  And if my rug needs a little deeper cleaning, I take it outside a hose it off.  Since it was designed to get wet it dries in a quick two hours and is ready to come back inside and be beautiful.   For spot cleaning in between hosing sessions I use the natural DIY cleaning recipe I shared in A Green Cleaner Home: Including Natural DIY Home Cleaning Recipes. It is an amazing cleaner that is simple to make and easy to use.

Before and after cleaning using my DIY Spot and Upholstery Cleaning Recipe. Sorry I don’t have a better after picture.  I forgot to take one and we are currently in the middle of a week long rain storm, yay mud. Spring and sod can not get here fast enough.

The biggest part of being durable for me is being easy to clean but my indoor/out door rug has held up extremely well in all areas. In the past two years have scrubbed this rug many times with scrub brushes and the like without any fraying or signs of wear.  And since it doesn’t have a traditional rug pile there is no way to wear a path in it.  So I don’t have to worry about rotating it.  Plus it has a built in UV protectant so I don’t have to worry about the sun shining on it!  Talk about low maintenance!

After owning a indoor/outdoor rug for my living room I couldn’t even imagine switching back to a wool rug.  This rug is life proof, which is really important to me.  I want my house to look beautiful but I know that we also live here.  There are so many other things to do and worrying about my rug is not one of them.  This rug has been through it all; blueberry beer spills, dog vomit, baby poop, and I’m sure plenty of other unmentionables and it still looks great.  I really couldn’t ask for more.

This is the best part of all!  You would think that a rug that is large, stain resistant, pet/baby/and life proof would cost a fortune right?  WRONG!  I bought this rug from Joss & Main for $115 including shipping. I didn’t have any extra special discounts or anything else, that was just their base price and Its an 8 x 11 rug!  That is crazy cheap!

Whether you like subtle patters or something a little more wild and crazy outdoor rugs come in all colors, sizes, and patterns.  It really is a winning combination.  Plus Joss & Main has the best selection of sizes I have seen.  Normally I would have never purchased something like this online.  I would have been to nervous that the color would be wrong or a million other little things.  But I am so glad I took a chance.  I really couldn’t be happier.

Out of all of the rugs I own, expensive and cheap this rug is the only one that actually stays put on the floor.  All my other rugs in the house with or without a rug pad always seem to be walking around the room.  This one doesn’t.  It’s another great way to save some extra money.

Also for any of you who have seen the “life hack” of using silicone on the back of your rug as an anti slip measure.  I don’t recommend it.  I don’t know if I bought the wrong silicone or if it was just the type of crappy tile we had in our last house.  But I spent hours scraping silicone off the floor when we moved out.  The rugs didn’t move but it wasn’t worth it. And yes, I let it dry outside for 48 hours before I placed the rugs on our floor.

If it seems like I am ragging on expensive wool rugs a lot, I am doing it out of experience.  I purchased an expensive wool rug for our bedroom, a relatively low traffic area at the same time as I purchased this rug and it has not held up the same.  The initial shedding process lasted about a year so every time we walked barefoot on the rug our feet looked like something out of a sasquatch movie. And for some reason the dogs, one in particular, loves this rug.  Including when he isn’t feeling well.  My wool rug is extremely difficult and expensive to clean and the cleaning process has caused it to fade in some areas.  On top of this it holds on to smells, making it necessary to attempt to clean it on a regular basis.  All in all I don’t think I will ever purchase a wool rug again.  Not only did it cost three times as much as our indoor/outdoor rug, it hasn’t held up well.

Are there any rugs in your home that you love or hate? Would you buy them again if you had the opportunity?  I’d love to hear your opinion below or you can always email me at cat@pocketofposies.com

Have a great week!

All opinions are my own.  Joss & Main in no way sponsored this post.Do you love the idea of a low maintenance rug?  Me too!  I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite indoor/outdoor rugs just for you!

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