Typically, when I think of natural jute rugs, I think of them as being great neutral bases for a room, especially in a space that sees a lot of foot-traffic. But, there’s a whole category of natural jute rugs that feature more interesting designs and colours, which is what really attracted me to Annie Selke’s jute collection. When designing my dining room, I knew that finding the right rug was going to be tricky, as it’s a big open concept room that features multiple vintage rugs in one view, and I wanted a rug that could hold it’s own and look cohesive, but not compete with the other rugs. The rug also needed to be large at 9×12 in size and hold up to a lot of foot traffic, not to mention that it had to be low pile, in order to avoid dining chairs from catching on it. As always, my list of needs were long!
*This post is sponsored by Annie Selke. All content, ideas, and words are my own. The rug was provided by Annie Selke, in exchange for sharing the experience with their product. Thank you for supporting the brands that allow us to create unique content while featuring products we actually use & enjoy!
But, I discovered so many good options at Annie Selke that it was hard to choose! We ended up going with the Kuba rug in the natural and black colourway, because I adore how the rug brings an organic texture and graphic pattern to the room, and adds a collected layer to the space. The black contrast is just what the room needed and ties really well to our glossy black range at the opposing end of the kitchen. I believe that every room needs a little bit of black, and this rug delivers on that!
I also adore that chunky fringe on the Kuba rug and how it brings an added layer of texture and interest to this oversized rug!
And, when you’re choosing a rug, please make sure to go for the right size. In a dining room, you want to make sure that all the chairs are firmly on the rug, even when you go to pull them out from the table, as you don’t want to introduce any tripping hazards. A generously sized rug can really elevate a space, more than nearly any other individual component. I’m always shocked by how one rug can turn a grouping of furniture into a room.
Some of the other natural jute rugs I considered from Annie Selke include the Harwich, the Auricula, and the Kali. Honestly, all are so good and I hope to use them in future projects.
Also, don’t forget to add a substantial rug pad, so that your rug stays in place and to add some cushiness underfoot. Personally, I have purchased this rug pad half a dozen times because it makes any rug feel great underfoot and it keeps our rugs in place.
One other durable type of rug to also consider that can transform your living room is a suede rug, as in my friend Kyla’s living room.
hello Erin,i have also and open space,it will be interesting to see your others rugs to see how to choose rugs so they don’t compete with others
Thanks,
Celine from Montreal
As always Erin — interesting and informative! I always thought I liked jute rugs but needed more into – and this it!
Hi Erin, could you please tell me what color paint you used in your dining room? Thank you!
Sure! It’s farrow and ball Cromarty!
Hello! Your home is beautiful! I’ve been spying all your blogs. What got me here was a simple search, “Rubio Monocoat black on red oak,” and I found your post about how you came to the decision to use Rubio, etc. I am going to use Rubio black on my red oak floors. I love it! I love your floors! However, I did notice it seems that your bedroom floor is darker than the kitchen space. Could it be that more natural light is coming into that space? What are your thoughts? I like them both ways, just something I noticed. I don’t have a lot of windows, so just curious what to expect. Thank you so much! Again, just a lovely home your have created!
You have a good eye! So there was a miscommunication with our flooring refinishers when they did our downstairs and they didn’t waterpop the floors before applying the stain, so it’s lighter downstairs. We actually have come to prefer the non-waterpopped finish and wish we had done it upstairs too (easier for upkeep, shows more of the natural wood grain), so if we had to do it again, would skip waterpopping for a more even application 🙂 Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for the explanation. I like them both, a lot….but deep down…..I LOVE the lighter color! I was not going to water pop, because it’s just me doing this, and I’ve read plenty it has to be done uniformly or you’ll get patchy spots. So, I didn’t want to go down that road. This makes me happier than I can even express! Again, thank you!!
Hi! Love this room! Any chance you can share the fabric on the chairs? Thank you!!
Sure, it’s David Hicks La Fiorentina
Hi Erin, I saw your updated dining room on IG with Ballard Designs’ Parks dining chairs. Your dining room is so pretty – then and now! I’m especially smitten with your gorgeous table. Would you please share your source? Thank you!
Hi Kate – my dining table is vintage, but if you search for a burled wood round birdcage pedestal dining table you might get lucky and find one (I see them come up on Facebook marketplace from time to time). Hope that helps!