A good rug for a lot of on-your-knees train-track making?
April 3, 2013 7:23 AM Subscribe
Is a cotton dhurrie rug a good choice for a kid's room? How about a wool one?
I'm looking for a rug for my kids' room. Price is a major consideration. I'm thinking about a cotton dhurrie rug (like this one) or a wool dhurrie rug like this one.
My major concern is that a cotton rug, while feeling nice and soft to play on, will bunch like a blanket on the floor. I'm planning to get a thick rug pad, like 3/8 of an inch thick, but will that be sufficient? What about velcroing the edges to the floor? We're a clumsy family and I don't want anyone tripping over the edges of curled-up rugs. There will be a lot of squirmy, leap-y toddler play on this rug.
Any advice on this subject? I don't want to order a rug online and then have to ship it back. I'm in Brooklyn if that matters.
I'm looking for a rug for my kids' room. Price is a major consideration. I'm thinking about a cotton dhurrie rug (like this one) or a wool dhurrie rug like this one.
My major concern is that a cotton rug, while feeling nice and soft to play on, will bunch like a blanket on the floor. I'm planning to get a thick rug pad, like 3/8 of an inch thick, but will that be sufficient? What about velcroing the edges to the floor? We're a clumsy family and I don't want anyone tripping over the edges of curled-up rugs. There will be a lot of squirmy, leap-y toddler play on this rug.
Any advice on this subject? I don't want to order a rug online and then have to ship it back. I'm in Brooklyn if that matters.
If there's going to be a lot of train-track-making or Lego-construction on it, you probably do not want a thick rug and/or pad: it's harder to build stuff on thickly-padded carpet, because your towers of building blocks and whatnot will be unstable and fall over more. :(
A thinner rug with a rubberized backing --- so it doesn't skid around the floor --- would be best. I like the yoga mat suggestion!
posted by easily confused at 7:47 AM on April 3, 2013
A thinner rug with a rubberized backing --- so it doesn't skid around the floor --- would be best. I like the yoga mat suggestion!
posted by easily confused at 7:47 AM on April 3, 2013
I've been tempted on more than one occasion to go this route: Pre-school classroom rug.
These rugs are super cheap for their size, and I bet they are pretty durable.
posted by etc. at 7:57 AM on April 3, 2013
These rugs are super cheap for their size, and I bet they are pretty durable.
posted by etc. at 7:57 AM on April 3, 2013
My major concern is that a cotton rug, while feeling nice and soft to play on, will bunch like a blanket on the floor.
You're missing a huge opportunity here. My brother and I used to actively seek out the floppy cotton rugs in the house because they bunched up nicely to create mountains and cliffs and valleys to drive our hotwheels around on.
It's nice and all to be concerned that they'll trip over the rug, but kids trip over all kinds of things. Consider that whatever you get may end up being a toy as well as a decoration. (That wool one you linked to has pre-built "tracks", so that's awesome.)
posted by phunniemee at 8:09 AM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
You're missing a huge opportunity here. My brother and I used to actively seek out the floppy cotton rugs in the house because they bunched up nicely to create mountains and cliffs and valleys to drive our hotwheels around on.
It's nice and all to be concerned that they'll trip over the rug, but kids trip over all kinds of things. Consider that whatever you get may end up being a toy as well as a decoration. (That wool one you linked to has pre-built "tracks", so that's awesome.)
posted by phunniemee at 8:09 AM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
Train tracks work poorly on carpet. The little wooden connectors don't always lay flat so they snag/derail the trains. Those foam mats that connect like puzzles are great for this. Amazon sells some nicer ones to more "match" the room. A few tips:
- if you get one with lots of cutouts like letters or shapes consider running tape across the back (I like strong adhesive masking tape so it can be removed unlike packing or duct tape)
- no mater what type you buy let them air out (off gas) for a few weeks away from the kids. There has been a bit of research indicating that they may off gas some harmful to children material when new but mats a few months old have shown no trace of these chemicals. Many new rugs also out gas (as do a ton of things) so I still think they are worth buying.
posted by saradarlin at 9:59 AM on April 3, 2013
- if you get one with lots of cutouts like letters or shapes consider running tape across the back (I like strong adhesive masking tape so it can be removed unlike packing or duct tape)
- no mater what type you buy let them air out (off gas) for a few weeks away from the kids. There has been a bit of research indicating that they may off gas some harmful to children material when new but mats a few months old have shown no trace of these chemicals. Many new rugs also out gas (as do a ton of things) so I still think they are worth buying.
posted by saradarlin at 9:59 AM on April 3, 2013
Not quite an answer to your question...but growing up I always preferred our hard wood floors to the carpeted ones of our friends.
Trains, Lego, cars (hot wheels, remote control, etc), action figures and their props, etc, all played better on a wooden floor.
At friends houses little bits of carpet get stuck in car wheels causing them to bind or lock up, the little Lego pieces can get lot in carpet (of course you find them later with bare feet!), you can roll Hot Wheels and other cars/vehicles on a bare floor and cannot on carpet. etc.
I remember making a combo city (world?) with a railroad, slot cars, Hot Wheels, Army men, Lego, model planes, and Star Wars. I could not have done it with carpet.
My two cents.
posted by Leenie at 10:55 AM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
Trains, Lego, cars (hot wheels, remote control, etc), action figures and their props, etc, all played better on a wooden floor.
At friends houses little bits of carpet get stuck in car wheels causing them to bind or lock up, the little Lego pieces can get lot in carpet (of course you find them later with bare feet!), you can roll Hot Wheels and other cars/vehicles on a bare floor and cannot on carpet. etc.
I remember making a combo city (world?) with a railroad, slot cars, Hot Wheels, Army men, Lego, model planes, and Star Wars. I could not have done it with carpet.
My two cents.
posted by Leenie at 10:55 AM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice so far! We have to have rugs due to downstairs neighbors. And the tripping concern is for adults--parents and grandparents. thanks!
posted by Ollie at 11:43 AM on April 3, 2013
posted by Ollie at 11:43 AM on April 3, 2013
We used squares from flor for our kid's room, which may suit your purposes. The squares are relatively inflexible, so you wouldn't need to worry about tripping or bunching; you tape them together on the underside to whatever shape or size you need.
And when they spill grape juice or mash play-doh into the carpet you can just pull out the affected square(s) and replace them piecemeal.
posted by ook at 12:52 PM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
And when they spill grape juice or mash play-doh into the carpet you can just pull out the affected square(s) and replace them piecemeal.
posted by ook at 12:52 PM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
Nthing "yoga mats" --- what previous posters mean is foam tiles. They will do the job vis a vis downstairs neighbors, and are made for kids to play and fall down on. Someone linked skiphop brand above, but I'd recommend Softtiles. You can design your own "rug". We did this and I'm really happy with the result.
posted by kestrel251 at 7:19 PM on April 3, 2013
posted by kestrel251 at 7:19 PM on April 3, 2013
I've found that with a bit of use, a light coloured dhurrie will get dingy and pilly. We have some W2W wool carpeting that got wet and it smelled like stinky sheep for days. For a kids room, I'd lean towards a low pile synthetic with some kind of funky pattern.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:14 PM on April 3, 2013
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:14 PM on April 3, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
You might however simply consider a large yoga mat type thing at this point, and wait until your kids are older and less prone to embracing the floor at speed. They make them to look like cool rugs now.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:46 AM on April 3, 2013