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10 Under $300: Giant, Affordable Rugs to Cover Hideous Floors

Tess Wilson
Tess Wilson
After many happy years living in tiny apartments in big cities, Tess has found herself in a little house on the prairie. For real.
published Sep 3, 2013
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Rentals often come with more than their fair share of terrible flooring, but gross linoleum in the bedrooms is a new personal low. Determined not to sleep in a room with floors unfit for a kitchen but also determined not to break the bank, I’ve been pricing out huge rugs to cover that mess..

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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

The two bedrooms in question are 15’x9′ each, and by our (local, approximate) estimates, it would cost up to $1,400 to replace them with laminate or hardwood flooring — and that’s if we do the work ourselves. Installing hardwood floors in a rental is probably insane — unless you plan on living there for a good long while, and I certainly wouldn’t judge you! — and while laminate would be less expensive, we’re holding onto the higher price so we’d be prepared for unforeseen expenses. That $1,400 estimate also makes the prices of the following rugs a lot more attractive…

In our relatively small bedrooms, a queen size bed in each would leave approximately 9’x9′ of floor to be covered with a rug, but I’ve included rugs in a range of sizes, all under $300.

  1. Urban Outfitters Magical Thinking Chevron, 8’x10′, $199: Urban Outfitters has an impressive selection of 8’x10 rugs, including this one that’s not too chevron, but I would recommend holding out for sales. I scored an awesome 5’x7′ denim rag rug there for $10 last year.
  2. Target’s Maple Fretwork, 7’x10′, $149: That’s a lot of rug for the price!
  3. Target’s Blu Dot Real Wood, 7’x10′, $349: Okay, this one goes over budget, but it cracked me up. Why mess with hardwood floors when you can have a “wood” carpet? There’s also a 5’x7′ for $199.
  4. Target’s Hand Woven Wool Tie Dye, 7’x10′, $179: I weirdly kind of love this one– it’s like low-key ikat. Target has tons of big rugs for under $300, but I would definitely need to see them in person before choosing one.
  5. IKEA’s Lappljung Ruta, 6’7″x9’10”, $99: This one is my favorite so far, and though I’ve never paid that much for a rug (or any other home good), it’s not bad at all for the size.
  6. IKEA’s Morum, 6’7″x9’10”, $139: I haven’t seen this one in person, but it appears to be similar to laying down a piece of carpeting, without all the stapling hassle. Not very exciting, maybe, but it gets the job done.
  7. IKEA’s Egeby, 6’7″x9’10”, $149: This sisal rug is very much our style, and actually exactly what I envisioned when I started brainstorming ways to hide the floors. Has anyone out there lived with sisal rugs?
  8. Crate & Barrel’s Flint Sisal, 6’x9′, $299: Is it possible that this one is twice as nice/durable/valuable as the IKEA version? (The 6’x9′ sisal rug at Pottery Barn is $656!) There’s also an 8’x10′ that’s $399…
  9. Crate & Barrel’s Andhra Slate, 8’x10′, $279: This jute version is on sale! Crate & Barrel has a lot of large rug options, but many approach the price of replacing the floors altogether. Of course we’d get to keep the rugs when we moved, but sadly, we don’t have a $1,200 rug budget.
  10. Pottery Barn’s Parker Indoor/Outdoor, 8’x10′, $249: The “outdoor rugs” sections have been some of the first places I’ve been checking for affordable rugs, and this might be my favorite find.

(Images: as linked above)

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