Nursery Area Rugs: The Best Rugs for Baby

Creating the best environment for a new baby is a big to-do for new and expectant parents. Given that your wee one will spend most of their first few months in the nursery, it’s no wonder that so much care and enthusiasm goes into making this room perfect from top to bottom. 

This post focuses on what goes on the bottom—not your baby’s bottom. No, the topic here is the nursery floor and what you put on it. 

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re looking for an area rug for your little girl or boy’s nursery. Of course, you want the best rug for them, and something stylish that matches the decor. You also want to give them safety, security, and comfort. 

But… how do you do that? What does “the best” mean when it comes to nursery rugs? 

We put a lot of thought into that question, and what the most pressing needs of new parents would be when it came to their nursery. We settled on this list of the three most essential characteristics needed for a quality nursery rug: 

• Stain resistance, since you’re at a far higher risk of staining in a child’s room than you would be anywhere else in your home
• Softness, because the floor is going to be used for playing, laying, sitting, rolling, crawling, and more as baby grows
• Style, because you’ll be spending a lot of late nights in any nursery and you want that space to feel welcoming, comfortable, and true to your personal style

There are three rug materials that easily have all three of these design characteristics. By choosing your next nursery rug from one of these, you’ll be well on your way to a fully realized space that’s ready for and supportive of your growing family.

For Crawling: 100% Wool Rugs

If you’re looking for something warm and cozy for your bundle of joy, it’s hard to go wrong with a wool rug. It’s soft underfoot and under-tummy. This means that your baby will be able to stretch, roll, scoot, and crawl without scratches or discomfort. Wool rugs are durable and naturally resistant to dust mites and fire. Plus, there are designs and colors galore, ensuring that you can find a nursery area rug for a boy or girl’s room.

They’re water-repellent, luxurious, and provide cloud-like levels of comfort. Plus, there's a reason people have wool rugs as family heirlooms - wool rugs can last. Because of this, they come at a higher price point than other rug fibers, natural or otherwise, on this list. That said: they're more than worth it if you have a flexible budget.

Wool is also naturally resistant to some stains, particularly oil and dirt. However, it can take a bit of work to remove dark-colored spills like grape juice—a favorite beverage of the toddler set. So, depending on the color of the rug, and the temperament of your child, you may want to consider a more stain-resistant option.

For Spills: Indoor / Outdoor Sisal Rugs

Surprise! Babies are eating, drooling, and all kinds of other mess-making machines. Even if your progeny is a perfect angel, there will be incidents that require swift and decisive cleanup efforts. 

Indoor / Outdoor Sisal Rugs are designed to stand up to the leaks, liquids, and other leftovers associated with the care of small humans. In fact, polypropylene rugs and spots are easily cleaned with water, extra durable, and low-maintenance—not to mention, beautiful.

These rugs are rated to be used both indoors or outdoors, so you can be confident that they’d stand up to anything your new baby could throw at them. That said, they do sacrifice some softness (compared to wool) for this added hardiness.

But here’s the rub: If you are placing the rug over a hardwood surface you will need a rug pad to help anchor it in place.  We suggest the Indoor Rug Pad for best grip when combined with an Indoor/Outdoor Sisal Rug.  So, if you’re looking for a baby nursery rug that doubles as a playmat, you may want to consider adding a custom fit rug pad to accompany your new rug.

For Sprawls, Crawls, and All: Playa Polysilk Rugs

If you're looking for softness and durability, a Playa Polysilk Rug is an excellent choice. Polysilk is hand-loomed in a unique weave, that gives it a silky softness underfoot. It’s soft on heads, shoulders, knees, and toes. So your babe will be comfortable when sprawling on their tummy, rolling over onto their back, crawling on knees, or pushing up into a standing position. 

But, along with this softness, you also get unmatched stain-resistance, ease of cleaning, and durability. So when your toddler throws a tantrum, their toys, or their juice (not that your little darling would do that), your rug can continue to look as beautiful as the day you brought home your baby. 

Find the Right Welcome Mat for Your New Addition

At Sisal Rugs Direct, we make it easy for you to find just the right baby area rug for your nursery. We offer a wide variety of patterns and colors in wool, indoor / outdoor sisal, and polysilk blends. Plus, we offer dozens of edging options in cotton, linen, leather, and faux leather so you can match the border color of the rug with your decor. We can even use your provided material for the edging so the rug coordinates perfectly with the rest of your nursery. 

To make sure you love the color and texture of your rug from Sisal Rugs Direct, we invite you to order carpet samples so you can see the color and texture for yourself. The best part? The first six samples are free. Or, if you’re in need of some professional inspiration, fill out your style profile and our in-house designer can help you try before you buy!