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Layered Rugs - a Hot, New Decorating Trend

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America's top interior designers have hit upon a new technique that is greatly expanding their decorating options with area rugs - layers. That's right - why settle for one rug on the floor when you can add one or two on top of it to make a totally new three-dimensional design?

Nicole Gibbons of So Haute in New York City calls this new look "a hot design trend." She recommends placing multiple rugs on hardwood floors so that there is at least 12-18 inches of space on all sides. That way the contrast between the rugs is most evident. You want to stay away from placing two rugs on top of each other that are too close in their overall dimensions.

Some designers recommend looking for rugs that fall into the same pattern and color family so as to not create too "busy" of a layout on the floor. The same holds true for fabric. Most people find it more pleasing to put wool on wool rather than mixing in cotton or silk. However, don't be afraid to experiment with using polypropylene and wool. They often match well enough not to create a problem.

Kristen Hutchins, a professional designer based in Los Angeles, sees a floor as a blank canvas on which to build a nice layer of art. Wh recommends starting with a large, neutral rug as the bottom layer and buiding up from there. You can add one patterned rug, or multiples to define seating or activity areas. The only limitation is your imagination!

If you are a bit bolder and more adventurous in your decorating, you might try an animal-skin print or a natural fabric such as jute or seagrass. It's amazing what a black-and-white zebra pattern rug can do to enliven a room, especially when placed over a darker contrasting color. Give it a try!

Some people are afraid of layering because it means they are going to need to buy two or three rugs instead of just one. However, the fact of the matter is you end up buying smaller rugs than you would if you were covering the floor with only one. It's pretty easy to do a cost comparison when starting with a room with nothing but a hardwood floor. Sketch out the areas, figure out how many rugs you will need and in what sizes. The go to Rugs Direct and have a ball figuring out what goes with what, and what will look fantastic on TOP of something else.

There are some very practical benefits to layering area rugs, especially over wall-to-wall carpeting. In a kid's room, the extra layer will add a protective cushion to the inevitable falls. It also protects the carpeting from spills and stains. It is certainly more economical to have a rug cleaned than to call in the carpet specialists or rent a steam cleaner from the local hardware store.

As you experiment with layering your rugs, don't fall into the trap of always aligning the edges parallel or perpendicular to one another. There's nothing that says you can't lay one rug on top of another at an angle. Also don't be afraid to lay two small rugs side-by-side on top of a larger one. This effect can sometimes be very striking in that you are creating a design that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world.

So the next time you find yourself looking at a large, blank floor in your home, consider layering two or three rugs in the space to make it uniquely your own. Your options truly are limitless, and the potential unlimited. Visit Rugs Direct and start exploring.

 

Educational Rugs for Kids

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Teachers have long know that children learn best by repetition of an idea or concept, combined with a visual presentation of it. That's why you see so many posters and charts in classrooms. But there's no need to neglect the floor as a potential canvas to reinforce learning. With the wide variety of educational rugs available today, the options are almost limitless. But why stop at only using educational rugs at school? There's no reason learning can't be reinforced at home as well. In fact, some people think it might even be more impactful and long-lasting.

Rugs Direct has close to 100 different styles of rugs that are ideal for a child's bedroom, playroom of the family den. They not only provide a great deal of color and style to the room, but also will help your child master important educational concepts.

For example:

This rug, from the Funtime Collection by Kids Play, is call "Multiplication." It's a colorful chart that can be used to help your child master his or her multiplication tables, and also to understand how division works. It comes in two sizes: 5'3" x 7' 6" and 8' x 11', so it is certainly large enough for the child to lie down on top of it and interact with the various numbers and squares. It's 100% nylon for durability.

Here's another great example:

This rug is called Phonics Fun and comes from the Educational Collection of Joy Carpets. It's a great way to introduce a child to the alphabet, the sounds of letters and words beginning with those letters, and numbers from 0 to 9. It comes in three sizes: 3' 10" x 5' 4", 5'4" x 7'8" and 7'8" x 10'9". It is treated with Stainmaster and FX Carpet Shield, which means most all food and beverage stains don't have a chance of ruining it.

How about a rug to teach world geography?

Again from the Kids Play Funtime Collection, this rug, called The World Around Us, shows a representation of the world with all the continents and oceans highlight in different colors. It shows the equator and lines of latitude and longitude as well. Two sizes, both in 100% nylon, are available and it comes with a one-year warranty from the manufacturer.

There are also rugs that show the states of the United States, dinosaurs, clocks and musical scales. Just about any early-learning concept can be enhanced with an educational rug from Rugs Direct. Take a look for yourself and see to which concepts you would like to expose your child. Who knows, you might just learn something - and have a big of fun - yourself!

Click here to visit Rugs Direct, the nation's leading source for area rugs.

Purple People Pleasers

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According to many top interior designers, 2011 is the "Year of Purple" in home decor. There are actually some psychological studies that attempt to explain why this has become such a powerful and highly popular decorating color among homeowners.

Deep purple combined with lighter shades evokes feelings of kindness, wisdom and even love. Lighter shades, similar to the colors found in many flowers, make people feel tender and compassionate. Or so they say! According to classic Feng Shui home-decorating principles, purple inspires the imagination and can lead to financial success and wealth. No wonder it's become such a popular motif these days.

Of course there are many experts who feel this is one of the worst choices a home decorator can make. Even if you don't want to stick with beige and burgundy, don't use PURPLE! The one thing everone can agree on is that nobody is ambivalent when it comes to decorating with purple. Love it or hate it, you will have an immediate, strong response.

At first thought, you might believe decorating with purple will limit your choices. Nothing could be further from the truth. The trick is to balance the purple with a palette of complementary colors to create an appealing master scheme.

As it turns out, a lot of colors look absolutely great with purple, whether a deep and dark shade, or more of a pastel. Many shades of blue seem to soften the effect of purple furnishings or paint. But, as you can see from this suggested scheme, some warmer shades work extremely well too.

Again, there are all sorts of studies on the psychological impact of colors that predict the emotional response people will have to various color combinations. But sometimes all you can do is experiment and hope for the best. Start slowly. Add some purple accents or stripes first. There's no need to go out and buy a purple couch, paint the walls and ceilings plum and hang pictures of ripe grapes on the wall. At least not yet!

Of course one of the best - and easiest - ways to add a bit of purple to a room to gague its effect is with an area rug. You can find almost 200 different styles on the Rugs Direct website in a variety of styles, sizes and fabrics. Many use purple as an accent color and will add just a dash of color to an otherwise traditional scheme. Then again, you can buy a solid purple shag rug that will make you taste grape soda every time you walk into the room! You have many, many options.

So be bold! Give purple a try. Even if it doesn't immediately bring you love, serenity and wealth, it will certainly make your room unique.

Click here to explore the wide range of purple rugs available at the nation's leading source for area rugs, Rugs Direct.

How Shopping for Area Rugs Has Changed

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Fifty or sixty years ago people shopped for rugs much differently than they do today. There was a greater emphasis on the origin of the rug and even its historical background. People would speak of their "Persian rug," or that their rugs were "imported from India." To someone knowledgeable about the design of area rugs, this had great meaning. Rugs made in China, for example, had a very different look from ones made in the Middle East. And since most everything at the time was hand-made and truly custom, people took great pride in identifying the nationality of their area rugs.

Rugs also were, by comparison, much more expensive than they are today. As a percentage of family income, a rug could easily be an extreme investment to a typical homeowner. It not only had to be of such high quality that it would last many, many years, but any redecorating of the room had to focus on the rug as the centerpiece. It was the one design element that was NOT going to be replaced! It was not uncommon for a rug to be passed down generation to generation, as it was frequently the prized possession of the family.

Area rugs were also not considered a "commodity" as they often are viewed today. You couldn't go into a department store or even a furniture store and expect to find a good selection of high-quality rugs. (Big box retailers did not yet exist!) Instead, most all rugs were purchased from dedicated rug merchants, or imported through the use of a broker. Frequently rugs were purchased sight-unseen, but quality and origin were more important than color or style. The times truly were different.

As consumer expectations evolved and rugs became a much more universal addition to the home, technology stepped in to fill the void. New fabrics were invented and machines were designed that could weave a rug in a fraction of the time it takes an artisan to hand-knot a masterpiece. To a less discrimination customer, these new synthetic, machine-made rugs looked every bit as good as the much-more-expensive imports. And that was the key - the cost. Instead of investing the equivalent of three-months' salary in a floor covering, a homeowner could now buy one for a few hundred dollars.

Today rugs are available just about everywhere. There have never been so many different styles, colors, sizes, patterns and fibers available. At Rugs Direct you can find some 70,000 different rugs, many at prices a 1950's family would think far too good to be true! It's easy - and affordable - to decorate every room in one's home today with area rugs, and many people now change the rugs with the season. Why not?

For more tips on decorating with area rugs, check these resources on the Rugs Direct website.

• Traditional Rugs
• Contemporary Rugs
• Braided Rugs
• Outdoor Rugs
• Southwestern Rugs

Rug Buyers Love Videos

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Buying a highly "visual" product like an area rug can be difficult over the Internet. The many colors and color variations in a rug can be hard to represent in a photograph, especially at the image resolutions normally used on websites. On top of that, much of the appeal of a rug has to do with the touch and feel of the fibers - something that is simply impossible to convey on a computer screen - yet!

So to better give customers a sense of the variety availabe in many area-rug collections, and to help them visualize the rug in an actual living space, Rugs Direct recently introduced high-definition video presentations of selected rugs on its website. These have proven to be a tremendously popular success!

The first video presentation was for one of the most popular collections of all time from Sphinx. Called "Generations" this collection features some 26 different styles in a wide range of patterns and colors. Prices start at around $49 for a small throw rug and go up to $849 for a large room-size rug. Homeowners love this collection, but its range of options can be overwhelming. Now, in one 90-second video, shoppers can view and visually compare most of the different styles Generations has to offer. They can not only see the individual rugs, but also get a better idea of the rug's applications by viewing a number of room scenes. It is proving to help people imagine the rug in their own living or dining room, thereby bridging the gap between an online image and the real thing.

Following the success of the Sphinx video, Rugs Direct quickly produced similar presentations for a number of other popular collections. Now available are videos for:

• Surya Aros
• Surya Caesar
• Surya Cosmopolitan
• Kaleen Home & Porch
• Jaipur Blue
• Jaipur J2
• Jaipur Poeme
• Momeni New Wave

The videos are hosted on YouTube and are a part of the new Rugs Direct Channel that can be found there. Plans are to greatly expanded the library of videos over the next few months, so that customers can better envision the huge range of decorating options available to them when using area rugs.

On the main Rugs Direct website there is now a page that features all of the rugs for which videos are presently available. It can be reached by clicking here.

One-of-a-Kind Rugs Define Unique

Samples of the hundreds one-of-a-kind area rugs now available at Rugs Direct

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One of the reasons area rugs are so popular today is the tremendous variety of styles, colors, sizes, shapes and materials available. In addition, redecorating a room with a new area rug is far easier and more economical than painting, re-wallpapering, buying new furniture or even replacing the window treatments.

But some people want to go even further in their quest to put their own personal stamp on their homes. It is for these people that the world of "one-of-a-kind" area rugs exists!

For economic reasons - and a few practical ones as well - most large retailers can't offer their customers a product of which only one exists in the entire world. A big-box retailer or chain functions in the realm of mass merchandising. They buy vast quantities of items, which are then mass produced, and sell them at the lowest margin possible. Profits are only possible when selling in volume. This is as true for area rugs at these stores as it is for toothpaste, nails, canned corn and kitty litter. But shouldn't an item like an area rug that is used to personalize a living space and coordinate home-design elements exist in a slightly different, more "artistic" retail world?

Randy Kremer, the president of online retailer, Rugs Direct, thinks so. "Rugs ARE art," he says. "Everyone wants to place the best-quality, most beautiful rug she can find on her living room floor. It's only natural, just as it's natural to want to be unique. Because of the wide variety in personal tastes, and the huge number of rug collections available, it's highly unlikely you are going to see the rug you purchase on someone else's floor. But it DOES happen," he cautions.

The solution, of course, is to buy a "one-of-a-kind" rug. This means exactly what it says - a hand-made rug, designed and woven by an artist who is applying a particular design and color scheme to this one rug - and ONLY this rug! The true definition of unique!

But super expensive, right? Like millions and millions - OK, like tens of thousands of dollars?

"Sure, you can spend a lot of money on a top-quality, one-of-a-kind rug," says David Craig, CEO of Rugs Direct. "Some of these rugs take years to make and will last several lifetimes. In many ways they represent more of an investment than a practical design solution - especially if you have kids or pets! But a one-of-a-kind rug isn't automatically priced beyond most people's budgets. In fact, if you visit our online store, you'll see there are many, many machine-made rugs that cost more than some of our new one-of-a-kinds. There are many factors that influence the cost of a beautiful rug. Exclusivity doesn't always translate to expensive," says Craig.

 One-of-a-kind rugs are almost all made of 100% wool. This is the traditional material that has been used for thousands of years to create the best-quality, most durable rugs, and it remains the fiber greatly preferred by modern craftsmen. Once in a while you'll see a little silk woven in for contrast or to add a sheen, but this usually represents no more than about 3-5% of the rug's fiber content.

A wide variety of knots and techniques for tying them are used, often based upon the country in which the rug is being woven. These highly perfected skills have been handed down generation after generation, along with much of the equipment that is still in use today.

Iran, Pakistan, China, India and Afghanistan are where most of the modern rug-makers work, often employing a great many family members and neighbors when producing a large rug or long runner. As would be expected, the majority of the rugs they create would be classified as "traditional" or perhaps "Oriental," although to some true rug aficionados the latter term has a somewhat different meaning. Colors tend to be in the red-burgundy-beige families, with brighter colors used for emphasis rather than as an overall motif.

However, when it comes to medallions, patterns and borders, the sky's the limit. Some have fringe, some do not. And in some cases, even symmetry is optional. Remember, this is the work of a skilled artist who is attempting to express himself using a very specialized type of canvas and medium. What he sees in his mind is what translates to the loom, and often it is only the weaver himself who has a vision of the finished project.

On a bit of a technical note, one of the difficulties that online retailers have in selling any sort of one-of-a-kind product, is that once the item is sold, it has to quickly be taken offline so later customers won't be disappointed. In a traditional store, this is relatively easy. Either the product physically leaves the premises, or you can put a big "SOLD" sign on it. You will see some websites that do a version of this by putting text over the sold item, but this is generally not considered to be a good merchandising practice. Why show people what they CAN'T buy? The good news is, Rugs Direct has come up with a way to accomplish this through some rather sophisticated computer programming. Once one of the company's one-of-a-kind rugs is sold, it is immediately removed from the online display and the gap is filled with other product that remains available for sale.

"The last thing we ever want to do is disappoint a customer," says Kremer. "Especially when he or she is taking the time and effort to carefully select a one-of-a-kind rug from us," he concludes.

To explore the new one-of-a-kind rugs now available at Rugs Direct, click here.

Beginner's Guide to Decorating with Area Rugs

 

Back to Basics: A Beginner's Guide to Decorating with Area Rugs

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There is no easier way to re-decorate any room in your home than by placing (or replacing) the area rug on the floor. It's a quick, simple and relatively inexpensive way to make a desired change. Certainly much easier than painting, wallpapering or hanging new window treatments - and incredibly less expensive than buying new furniture, light fixtures or artwork.

If you're lucky enough to have wood floors in the room you want to energize, all the better. Area rugs and wood floors were made for each other. But even if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, a new area rug can overcome a lot of deficiencies in the way the carpet affects the ambiance of the room.

Don't limit yourself to placing one large area rug in the center of the room. While this is a great way to warm up a large area, it can also make the room seem somewhat ordinary. Instead, consider creating focal points - places within the room that draw attention. A rug with some boldly contrasting colors to the room's main scheme can work wonders. Smaller rugs placed strategically near or underneath furniture can break the room's space into more inviting units. And remember - as easy as it is to pull up and replace area rugs - consider seasonal changes to the room to make it unique and inviting all year round.

OK. You've decided you want to decorate with area rugs. Of course your best source for ideas is going to be a website like Rugs Direct. But what should you consider as you start shopping?

First, determine the main purpose of the rug. Are you going to take our recommendation and use it to define a focal point in the room? Does the room need to be brightened? Softened? Warmed up? Or is the main goal to protect your valuable hardwood floors?

Is one rug going to do what you want to do, or should you consider several smaller ones? If there a place for a long runner? How would a round or octagonal rug look in this room?

Is this room particularly noisy? Are you hoping the rug will cut down on the sound of footsteps or other annoying echos in the room?

How much sunlight does the room get? You need to consider the material - or fibers - used to create the rug. Although wool is by far the most popular fabric for area rugs, a synthetic such as polypropylene (olifin) or acrylic can be more durable, more resistant to stains and easier to clean.

How much traffic does the room get? Again, wool is popular because it is durable and soft. But it is not a good idea to get it wet. There are many other more suitable fabrics for that situation, so you need to consider whether muddy, wet feet are going to come into contact with your rug.

Lastly, don't cheap-out and think you can get away with not putting a rug pad underneath your rug. This is critical on hardwood floors, but important for rug-on-carpet applications as well. Apart from the safety issue of not wanting your rug to slide underfoot, a pad will make the rug lie flat, extend its life tremendously and make it much easier to regularly vacuum.

Most importantly, with all the thousands and thousands of rug styles, colors, shapes and materials available, don't get overwhelmed! Decorating with an area rug can - and should - be fun. Look at photos in magazines and imagine what would translate well to your space. Then visit an online store with enhanced search capabilities to help you quickly narrow down the possibilities to the ones that appeal to you. Again, we recommend the Rugs Directory at Rugs Direct.

Good luck!

Area Rug Maintenance is Easy

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No, you don't need a belt full of tools to properly maintain and care for your area rugs. In fact, keeping an area rug looking new is actually pretty easy. With a little bit of attention it can last a long, long time and withstand a great deal of use.

The single most important tool you'll need doesn't fit very well on a belt - your vacuum cleaner. Most of the dirt, sand, dust and debris that ends up on your area rug can be removed easily with a simple vacuuming. (Liquid spills are another matter completely and we've covered them in a separate article. Click here if you would like to read it.)

New rugs often have a certain amount of "fuzz" that frequently appears on top of the rug. This is normal and is not an indication that there is something wrong with your rug. It is simply loose fibers that are created during the weaving process that work their way to the surface over time. If they bother you, simply vacuum more frequently. In some cases it may take several months for all of the "fuzz" to disappear. Many people get frustrated and feel they have received a defective product when the "fuzz" continually reappears. Please don't be one of them!

After all the fuzzies are gone, a thorough vacuuming once ever two weeks is probably sufficient. If you can flip the rug over and vacuum the back as well, that is ideal. Ground-in dirt will actually be closer to the bottom than the top and it is easier for the vacuum to suck it out from there than the surface.

One important note of caution: if your rug has fringe, DO NOT run the vacuum over it. This should be obvious, but based upon how many ruined fringed rugs we see, it apparently is not. Nothing will damage the fringe on a rug more than spinning it around your vacuum's beater bar. Not only will you have to immediately stop the vacuum and carefully unwind the fibers, but there's a good chance you will literally tear them off the rug. Not good. Not easy to fix. Just don't do it.

For braided rugs and flatweaves, avoid using the vacuum's beater bar entirely. Use the hard-floor attachment instead. Rugs constructed in these ways are too easy to snag and pull with a spinning beater bar and suction alone will usually do a great job of pulling out all the dirt.

A few tips that will extend the life of your rug:

• At least once a year, rotate your rug 180 degrees. This will ensure the rug gets even exposure to light and wear and will therefore maintain a consistent look over time. Any fading will be spread evenly and no pile will be worn down more than any other.
• For braided and flatwoven rugs, also flip them in addition to rotating. They are made to be reversible, so reverse them to even out the wear. This will literally double the life of the rug.
• If you ever encounter a pull or loose thread on your rug, go to the drawer, get a pair of scissors and carefully trim the offending fiber close to the surface of the rug. DO NOT PULL! Remember, a rug is a very intricately woven product. Pulling out a tread can do more damage than you can imagine to the entire structure of the rug.
• Many people opt not to put a quality pad underneath their rug. We hear lots of excuses why, but none of them are valid. A rug pad does much more than simply keep the rug from slipping on a wooden floor, although this is an extremely important safety concern. It also cushions and protects the rug - and keeps it looking new much, much longer. Instead of crushing the rug into the floor with each step you take on it, the pad absorbs the weight - not the rug's fibers. Kind of makes sense, huh? So please put a pad under your rug - especially if it's going to be placed on a hardwood floor.

See how easy it is to care for your fine-quality area rugs? You don't need a lot of tools - just a good vacuum cleaner and a pair of scissors - nor do you need to invest a lot of time to keep your investment in rugs paying you back with many years of comfort and enjoyment.

If you would like to shop for area rugs at the nation's leading source, Rugs Direct, please click here.

Spills Are Inevitable - Stains Are Not

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It happens to everyone. You finally find the perfect area rug for your home (at Rugs Direct, of course); you carefully position it on the floor in just the right place; your rearrange the furniture so everyone can get a good look at your new treasure - and sure enough, someone spills something really nasty right in the middle of it. Don't panic. If you know what to do, it's possible - even probable - that you'll be able to prevent a permanent stain. But you must resist that temptation to grab a towel and start scrubbing the spot. Nothing could be worse for your beautiful rug.

Here are the proper "first-response" actions you should take to treat the most common household spills that have the greatest potential for damage.

One note of caution: These instructions are primarily intended for use on typical wool rugs. For any synthetic fiber, a Resolve® or Woolite® carpet spot remover spray will work on most stains. Follow product directions closely. Do not use either of these cleaners on a natural fiber rug, including wool, cotton and sisal.

Blood

1. Add cold water and blot.
2. First solution: Mix one teaspoon of Dawn® dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of warm water.
3. Blot stain.
4. Last solution: Mix 2 tablespoons white vinegar with above cleaning solution.
5. Blot.

Please notice nowhere were you told to "rub" the stain. Blot - and continue blotting until it comes out. Do not rub. I repeat - DO NOT RUB!

Ink

1. Mix one teaspoon of Dawn® dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of warm water.
2. Blot stain.
3. If stain does not disappear, blot with isopropyl alcohol.

There are commercial ink-removers on the market that can do an excellent job, but be sure to test an area of the rug first. They sometimes also remove color from the rug as well.

Drinks - wine, coffee, soda, juice, etc.

1. Add cold water and blot.
2. Mix one teaspoon of Dawn® dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of warm water.
3. Blot stain.
4. If stain does not disappear, mix one teaspoon of white vinegar with Dawn mixture and try again.

Nail Polish

1. Blot with a cloth containing either hairspray or isopropyl alcohol.
2. If stain does not disappear, mix water and nail polish remover on cloth and blot.

Make sure you test the nail polish remover/water mixture on a small corner of the rug. Of course the best recommendation here is don't have an open bottle of nail polish anywhere near your new rug - but I guess that's pretty obvious.

Food - ketchup, mustard, chocolate, sauces, etc.

1. Mix one teaspoon of Dawn® dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of warm water.
2. Blot stain.

Again, do not rub! That is only going to work the stain deeper into the rug and you will most likely never get it to be completely invisible.

Pet Stains

Rugs and animals typically do not mix. But when your cat or dog ultimately decides your area rug looks an awful lot like a public toilet, here's what you should do.

1. Soak up as much as possible, applying pressure with many, many paper towels.
2. Mix one teaspoon of Dawn® dishwashing liquid. one teaspoon of white vinegar and one cup of warm water.
3. Blot stain.
4. Blot stain.
5. Blot stain.
6. Repeat.

There are commercial pet odor eliminators that you should consider using once you are finally able to remove the stain. The main reason is that if Fido can still smell any trace of his handiwork with his incredibly sensitive nose, that will simply signal to him that it's OK to do it again. (I suspect he secretly enjoys watching you down on your hands and knees cleaning up after him, but that's another topic for a future blog.) More rugs are ruined by pets than any other single source, so do your best to prevent the problem from ever happening in the first place.

Of course if all else fails there's a good chance most of these stains can be removed professionally, but there are no guarantees. The longer a stain is allowed to set, the harder it is to remove it. That's why quick action while the spill is still wet is critical.

Team Rugs for All Football Fans

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To many people autumn means much more than cooler weather, shorter days and the kids going back to school. No, it means one thing and one thing only - FOOTBALL!

The college and pro seasons are under way, and there is not better way to show which team you root for than by displaying a rug with the logo of your favorite team on it. Fortunately there is a great resource available to you where you are sure to find it - Rugs Direct.

In the NFL collection from Milliken there are 96 different rugs available. Each team comes in three different designs - a repeat logo, a centered logo on a football field and a large, centered logo.

These rugs are made in the USA of 100% nylon and feature Stainmaster protection for those inevitable, uh, "spills" that happen during the exciting moments in the 4th quarter. They come in multiple sizes, from a basic door-mat all the way up to one that will fill the entire rec room.

If college football is more to your liking, Rugs Direct has over 350 rugs available, featuring the logos of almost any school that participates in the sport. Again, multiple designs and numerous sizes are available, so you're sure to find a great way to display your school spirit for many years to come.

Good luck this season. We hope your team does well!