Two rugs can look identical in a photograph and behave completely differently on the floor. The difference is nearly always the fibre. Here is how the four we sell most actually compare, without the sales talk.
Wool
Wool is the benchmark. It is naturally springy, so the pile recovers from furniture and footfall; it is warm underfoot; it takes dye beautifully; and it is naturally flame-resistant. A good wool rug will outlast everything else on this page. Our Kashqai range is woven from 100% pure new wool in Belgium, and the hand-tufted designer collections from Calvin Klein and DKNY are wool too.
The drawbacks: wool costs more, it sheds a little in its first few months, and it does not love getting wet — a spill needs blotting promptly. Choose wool for a sitting room or bedroom you will use for years. See the full wool rugs collection.
Polypropylene
Polypropylene is the hard-wearing, practical choice. It is stain resistant, colourfast in sunlight, and most spills — red wine, mud, pet accidents — clean off with water and a cloth. It is what we recommend for hallways, dining rooms and family rooms. Most of our Belgian-woven traditional designs, including Galleria and Da Vinci, are heatset polypropylene, which is why they can be sold at the price they are and still look like the wool originals they are drawn from.
The trade-off is feel: it is less soft and less resilient than wool, so in a spot you walk barefoot every day it is worth comparing the two. See polypropylene rugs.
Polyester
Polyester is soft, often lustrous, and takes colour very well — most of our shimmering and space-dyed modern designs are polyester, as are the deep-pile Plush range and the Liberty Washable collection, which is polyester precisely so it can go in a domestic machine. It resists fading and most household stains wipe off. It is less springy than wool, so it will show tracking sooner in a busy hallway. A good bedroom and living room fibre for a family house. See polyester rugs, and recycled rugs for the same fibre spun from recycled bottles.
Viscose
Viscose has the sheen and drape of silk at a fraction of the price, and it is what gives a rug that shift of colour as you walk past. It is beautiful in a calm bedroom. It also marks if it gets wet and does not like heavy traffic, so it is not a kitchen or hallway rug. See viscose rugs.
Natural fibres
Jute is the most natural floor covering we sell — undyed, hard-wearing, full of texture, and the classic base for layering a smaller rug on top. It sheds a little at first and should stay indoors. Cotton flatweaves are light, soft and easy to shake out, and suit a bedroom or guest room.
Quick decision guide
- Hallway, dining room, kids, dogs: polypropylene, or a washable rug
- Sitting room you want to last: wool
- Bedroom: polyester, viscose or wool
- Natural, layered look: jute with a cotton or wool rug on top
- Underfloor heating: ask us — lower pile weights suit it best
Get the complete guide
This is one chapter. The full Preston Rugs Buying Guide covers sizes for every room, choosing between wool, polypropylene, polyester and viscose, colour and pattern, care, washable rugs and hallway runners — all in one place, written by the showroom team. It's free: join our email list using the sign-up box at the bottom of this page and we'll send it straight to you.
Prefer to talk it through? Call us on 0345 163 2015 or visit the showroom at 144–146 Brownedge Road, Lostock Hall, Monday to Saturday 10am–5pm. Every rug on prestonrugs.com comes with free UK mainland delivery.