Hey everyone! I’m Katie, and I live On the Banks of Squaw Creek (which isn’t too far from Beth and Nick!) Although my style is a little different than theirs, we have a lot in common. I love DIY and furniture makeovers, and I also live in an old Iowa farmhouse.
Our farmhouse has beautiful original hardwood floors. And we want to keep them that way. But two little boys, a dog and a farmer can be pretty tough on real wood, and we noticed that the floor was becoming dull and scratched.
So, we put down a rug. For a couple of years, we made do with a cheap beige rug that we had used in our first house. But the rug was too small, and it was slowly becoming FILTHY.
We knew we needed a new solution, but big rugs are expensive. And we didn’t want to ruin another, more expensive rug.
Finally one day, I found an indoor/outdoor rug on clearance for $78. After a split second’s deliberation, I bought it.
We’ve had it for about a year and a half now, and it has been great. We have spilled food, milk, playdough, and moon dough (the most terrible toy ever invented) on this rug, and it’s been a breeze to clean up. I vacuum it periodically and once last summer I took it outside and hosed it off.
If you’re looking for a dining room rug, here are a few things I learned the hard way.
1. Size Matters
Your rug should be big enough that you can pull out the dining room chairs and all four legs should stay on the rug.

Thanks, Candace! The indoor/outdoor has been the best compromise between saving my floors and saving my sanity!
Katie, I’ve been thinking about putting an area rug under my table for a while. But with 5 kids (6 and under) I was worried of just wasting my money. Never thought about getting an indoor/outdoor rug. Thanks for your tips=) Absolutely love your house by the way!
Never thought about checking Lowes.com for rugs. I would love to be able to hose off my rug!
It’s so handy! And some of those graphic patterns would be perfect for you, too!
If you are decided on getting a rug, a couple more things to consider:
You can get carpet edging and make one out of carpet remnants from a carpet store. That can be cheaper than a pre-made one (my grandfather was in carpet while mom was growing up.)
If you want to be very creative you can put together scraps in patterns and sew or tape them together. You can also sculpt it if it is thick enough (not recommended for dining tables w/toddlers–thick carpet=BAD)
You can put carpet tiles together into rugs.
And if you just want to buy, if you have a Tuesday Morning near you I would look at their indoor/outdoor collections too…
These are great tips! Thanks Amber! I love Tuesday Morning… I wish there was one closer to us. 🙁
Yes! My first (pre-kids) dining room rug was from Tuesday Morning!
Great post, thanks for visiting my favorite blog. I’m still going without a rug for a 2yr and 3yr old. he he he
Hehe, I don’t blame you!!
What a great idea!
Thank you so much for letting me guest post, Beth! I think you need one of the blue-ish rugs under your new yellow table!
I’m so glad you wanted to guestpost! You brought up some very good points about rugs in the dining room. And you almost read my mind about the blue! 🙂
Worlds collide. I went to high school with Katie, and college with Nick and Beth!
No way, that’s crazy Matt!!
I saw that you were mutual friends! But who ISN’T Matt (and Nancy) friends with? 🙂