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Ask Maxwell: Best Rug for My Kitchen?

Maxwell Ryan
Maxwell RyanCEO
Maxwell left teaching in 2001 to start Apartment Therapy as a design business helping people to make their homes more beautiful, organized AND healthy. The website started up in 2004 with the help of his brother, Oliver. Since then he has grown ApartmentTherapy.com, added TheKitchn.com, our home cooking site, and has authored four books on design. He now lives with his daughter in a lovely apartment in Brooklyn.
published Jan 3, 2022
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Credit: Maxwell Ryan
My Dash & Albert rug in the country kitchen, which is made out of recycled Polypropylene and PET. It's been great. I wash it once a year in the summer with a hose in the back yard. :)

I’m in the market for a new rug for the kitchen, but I need something that’s durable and will stand up to lots of kid-spills and foot traffic. Do you have any rug-shopping tips?

Alice

Dear Alice,

I’ve got the perfect solution for you and you couldn’t have done this so well when I started Apartment Therapy back in 2004. Since then the design and manufacture of indoor/outdoor rugs has absolutely taken off and I find they are the best solutions for high traffic areas like the kitchen — especially with food mess added in.

The pic above is from my kitchen in the country and the pic below is from my kitchen in my apartment in Brooklyn. Both are great and have lasted for years.

Credit: Maxwell Ryan
My kitchen rug here is from Brita Sweden. It's thin, but soft and warm under foot and super easy to clean by wiping with a sponge for small messes. I mop it and get beneath for bigger messes.



Here is a list of great resources for indoor/outdoor rugs which are made out of a variety of materials from plastic to vinyl to polypropylene:

1. Brita Sweden: These folks make beautiful, thin vinyl rugs in lovely modern patterns and color. They are not cheap, however, but they do stand out in the field and are super durable.

2. Dash & Albert by Annie Selke: This wonderful, large selection of rugs made out of recycled Polypropylene and PET is a great, earth friendly source.

3. West Elm: Always stylish, The Elm also has a nice selection of affordable indoor/outdoor rugs made of recycled plastic.

Best, M

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Maxwell Ryan is a father and was an elementary school teacher in NYC before founding Apartment Therapy. He’d love to answer your question: askmaxwell@cubbyathome.com. This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids.

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