Cotton & Woven Cotton Rugs
Complete your look with one of our power loomed and woven cotton rugs
Cotton rugs are a wonderful choice for anyone looking to invest in a soft, adaptable and natural option that’s both easy on the eyes and the environment. Thanks to its easy dyeability, natural strength and sustainability, cotton has been favoured as a rug material for many years and can be used to create a wide variety of patterns and weaves.
Our extensive range features washable cotton rugs in countless sizes and styles, including traditional, transitional, and contemporary designs. Cosy, comfy, and extremely easy to clean – these premium quality, versatile pieces will stand the test of time to keep your interior décor looking fresh for years to come.
Shop now and explore our diverse collection of woven cotton rugs available in a multitude of colours and patterns.
Woven cotton rugs to suit all home decor and interior design themes
Cotton rugs come in a wide range of unique colours and patterns — thanks to the qualities of natural cotton! Our collection of woven cotton floor rugs features Morrocan patterns, block colours, geometric styles, tassel borders and stylish "worn" looks to add a vintage texture to your decor.
Whatever your interior design vision you’ll find woven cotton rugs to suit your home.
Complement your decor theme with a beautiful new cotton rug
Our cotton rugs can be used to enhance a wide range of popular interior design themes. Here are some tips for updating your home with a beautiful natural cotton rug.
Eclectic
The eclectic home decor style is all about creating harmony out of chaos, bringing together mismatched pieces to create a sense of harmony — picture a university professor’s study in the 1950s or a charming country cottage.
It’s all about leather and wood furniture paired with bold patterns and classic colours.
Homes with a warm and eclectic atmosphere might love our Victoria Vintage Cotton Rug, boasting a traditional pattern and a gorgeous mix of deep blues, maroons, and natural hues. Paired with vintage furniture, mismatched picture frames and pops of colour, a vintage-style rug like the Victoria can create a beautifully cosy living room or entertaining area.
Modern
Our modern and contemporary cotton rugs are designed with fashion-forward homes in mind, with bold designs, on-trend colours and unique patterns, perfect for adding a touch of individuality to your space.
For homes with a more artistic vibe, you might like our Marteen Modern Monet Rug, featuring the messy painting style of impressionist artists from the 1800s. Available in red, blue, yellow, and natural tan, these cotton floor rugs look perfect matched with wicker or bamboo furniture.
Hamptons or Beach House
The Hamptons design style is all about light, airiness and space with mostly neutral tones and touches of blue for a subtle nautical touch. Hamptons can be summed up as a luxe beachside holiday home with a focus on entertaining and relaxation. Natural finishes and materials like leather, wood, jute and cotton are ideal for complementing this interior decor style.
The Tami Blue Striped Tassel Rug in blue looks fabulous paired with an off-white lounge suite, rustic wooden sideboards and a smattering of well-placed house plants.
Boho
The ever-popular boho look embodies everything that’s relaxed, breezy and earthy. Picture macrame hangings, rooms overflowing with house plants, warm earth-toned soft furnishings and touches of cane and wooden furniture.
Cotton rugs fit beautifully with the boho decor theme — we recommend subtle geometric patterned cotton rugs like the Ryan Contemporary Rug in Beige.
Traditional
A traditional home decor theme will keep your home feeling stylish and fresh for years to come. Think clean lines, deep block colours and subtle touches of vintage patterns.
The Victoria Vintage Cotton Rug looks fabulous paired with neutral furniture with pops of colour from the traditional rug pattern picked out in other soft furnishings like cushions and lampshades. Traditional home design is all about matching and complementary colours, timeless design and understated elegance.
Scandi
The Scandi interior design aesthetic is exemplified by light colours, minimalism, sleek modern design, natural finishes and neutral tones. Think clean white walls and furniture with monochrome soft furnishings and wooden furniture. We love the look of the Ryan Contemporary Rug in Grey paired with grey, cool white and wooden furniture.
Which is better, a cotton rug or a wool rug?
In short, both cotton and wool rugs are made of beautifully soft natural fibres but wool rugs are typically more expensive and luxurious than cotton rugs while cotton rugs are easier to maintain and clean. Wool and cotton rugs are both made from natural fibres and both make excellent additions to your home. There are a few key differences between the two materials.
Practicality
Cotton is a lot more lightweight than wool, making maintenance and portability of cotton rugs easier than wool rugs. It’s good practice to periodically shake out your rug outside in addition to regular vacuuming and this becomes difficult with a heavier rug. If you’re moving house frequently or changing up your home decor a wool rug can also be more cumbersome to move than a lightweight cotton rug.
Cleaning
Cotton rugs are also a lot easier to clean and maintain than wool rugs due to their lightweight construction and are often machine washable. However, the natural lanolin which occurs in wool fibres helps to prevent stains and debris from penetrating the fibres of the wool rug and with regular vacuuming, a wool rug can stay like new for many years. Wool rugs are very difficult to clean in the case of heavy staining, say from red wine spills, and can require expensive professional cleaning.
Softness and feel
Wool and cotton rugs both feel very soft underfoot, however, wool rugs tend to have a tighter and denser pile which creates a more luxuriant feel. Thick wool rugs give you an initial soft feeling on your foot coupled with a sinking sensation as your foot drops down into the pile. A cotton rug is still soft but without this feeling.
Aesthetics
Because of their tighter weaves, wool rugs are generally better suited to highly detailed pattern work. If you want a rug with an intricate pattern and fine detail, we recommend exploring our wool rug collection.
Durability
Wool rugs are generally more durable and hard wearing than cotton rugs and can withstand heavy traffic. However, cotton rugs will last for many years with the right care and maintenance.
Price
As raw wool is more expensive than cotton, wool rugs are automatically more expensive. On top of that, because wool is better suited for intricate design work and is generally more durable than cotton, rug makers tend to use wool to create high-end designer and heirloom rugs which further increases their price.
Conclusion
Wool rugs are a more formal, decorative design piece while cotton rugs are best suited to busy homes where usability and easy maintenance are important.
Are all cotton rugs washable?
Generally speaking, all cotton rugs can be washed on a gentle cold water cycle in a washing machine. It’s important to use gentle washing liquid or powder and to line-dry the cotton rug rather than tumble drying it. Be careful not to overload your washing machine with an over-large cotton rug.
How to clean a cotton rug
Regular cleaning — you should vacuum your cotton rug at least once a week or more if it’s in a high traffic area. Vacuuming removes dust, dirt, pet hair and other materials which can work their way into the rug and cause wear and tear as well as looking unclean.
Occasional spills — if you spill something on your cotton rug, try to soak up the stain first. Use a clean white cloth to dab at the spill, checking that the stain is coming away from the rug onto the cloth. Keep dabbing, making sure not to rub the stain into the rug, until no more of the spilled material is coming away on the cloth. Cover the stain with a mild detergent or sprinkle it with baking soda and use a brush to remove the stain. Depending on what was spilled on the rug, it’s a good idea to check specific cleaning requirements as oily stains, mud, wine and other common spills may require different cleaning methods.
Deep cleaning — check the care instructions for your cotton rug to see if it can be machine washed. If it is compatible with machine washing, add your cotton rug to your washing machine, taking care not to overload it, and use a mild detergent and a gentle cold wash cycle to clean your rug. Line dry your rug, do not tumble dry it. If your cotton rug is too large to fit in your washing machine, you can hand clean using the spot clean method or hire a professional rug cleaner to do it for you. It’s best to deep clean this sort of rug every 3-6 months.
Are cotton rugs durable?
Yes, cotton rugs are quite durable and soft and in most cases are also machine washable. Cotton rugs are an affordable alternative to wool rugs and are an environmentally conscious choice with no synthetic fibres. Cotton rugs feel delightfully soft underfoot, creating a cosy and comfortable environment for your home.
Are cotton rugs good for allergies?
Flat weave and power loomed cotton rugs have relatively low piles which means they harbour fewer allergens than shag piles or high weave rugs. Plus, cotton rugs are machine washable which can help inhibit mould growth and other allergens. If you’re looking for a good rug for allergies, we also recommend our synthetic rugs.
What sizes do your woven cotton rugs come in?
Each of our beautiful cotton rugs comes in a range of sizes for styling in a variety of rooms and settings.
170x120cm (Small Rugs) — Our small cotton rugs look great styled under small pieces of furniture such as side tables or as features in entry ways or as bedside rugs.
230x160cm (Medium Rugs) — Medium cotton rugs are ideal for bedrooms, living rooms, home offices and for placing under small to medium sized pieces of furniture such as coffee tables.
290x200cm (Living Room Rugs) — our large living room rugs are designed to fill those larger areas in your home, creating a sense of cohesion and cosiness. For use in dining rooms, our 290x200xm rugs will typically accommodate a 6-8 seat dining setting.
330x240cm (Dining Room Rugs) — If you want to add a cotton rug to your dining room we recommend our 300x240cm sized rugs which will generally fit an 8-10 seat dining setting.
400x300cm (Large Rugs) — our extra large rugs are ideal for grand rooms such as large entertaining areas, master bedrooms and open plan homes.
Runners — Our cotton rugs are also available in runner options for placing in hallways and transitional areas. We recommend leaving about a 5-10cm gap on either side of your runner so that your runner rug doesn’t become curled up against the walls.
How do I choose the right sized cotton rug for my home?
All of our cotton rugs have their dimensions listed on our website for your convenience. We recommend carefully measuring your room and furniture to assess the correct size rug for your area. Here are a few tips to help you select the correct sized cotton rug:
Under coffee table rugs — when placing a rug under a coffee table, all four legs should comfortably fit on the rug with a comfortable border of at least 15cm around all edges. Bear in mind that the rug’s pattern may be obscured by the table when choosing your cotton rug.
Dining room rugs — when selecting a cotton rug for your dining room, make sure it is large enough to accommodate your dining setting. The rug should be large enough to fit all the chairs in a drawn out position comfortably. As a general guide, 290x200cm cotton rugs will fit a 6-8 seat dining setting while a 330x240cm cotton rug will fit an 8-10 seat dining setting.
Living room rugs — If you’re using your living room rug to create a unified space, it's best to choose a rug that comfortably fits all your living room furniture with enough space for a border around the edge. Alternatively, living room rugs can be used to connect lounges and create a communal area.
Bedroom rugs — When placing a large rug underneath your bed, ensure the rug is placed with an even amount of rug showing on either side of the bed, assuming the bed isn’t against the wall. Consider the amount of rug that will be on show either side of the bed and choose your pattern accordingly. Another option for bedrooms is to place small cotton rugs next to the bed.
Woven cotton rugs: flatweave versus power loomed
At Rug.com.au, we stock beautiful natural cotton rugs in two weaves: flatweave and power loomed. Both have their unique advantages and both make excellent additions to your home. Here are the main differences between the two cotton rug weaves:
Flat weave — as the name suggests, flat weave cotton rugs have a flat and smooth finish creating parallel fibres running both the length and width of the rug. A flatweave cotton rug is well suited to living rooms, bedrooms, entertaining areas and dining rooms where there is high traffic.
Power loomed — power loomed rugs are created by machinery which means that not only are they more affordable than hand loomed and other types of rugs, they’re also available in a wide range of intricate patterns and designs. Both flat weave and power loomed cotton rugs offer an attractive, durable piece of floor art for your home that will stand the test of time.
Shop our range of washable cotton rugs online now
At Rug.com.au, we source the finest cotton rugs from around the world to provide you with the biggest and best range of rugs for your home.
We believe that beautiful pieces of floor art should be accessible to all, and we’re continually updating our range to bring you the most up to date and sought after rug designs. Our woven cotton rugs are ideal for those who like a touch of natural luxury without the hefty price tag.
If you've been looking for an attractive, durable, easily washable cotton rug, you've found your answer. Buy online - we offer flexible payment methods like Zippay and Afterpay, plus free shipping on orders over $300 (terms and conditions apply). It's never been more simple to shop home decor online.
