This time last year, my grandfather began the process of downsizing. This involved clearing out his entire house, many of which had not been touched for half a century. As the #1 grandson, I did everything I could to assist with the process. This came with perks, such as being able to claim certain family heirlooms. This was how I ended up with a giant turn-of-the-century steamer trunk in my living room as my coffee table. Turns out it is the perfect size, but it has one major drawback—the 100-year old paint chips and stains the carpet in my apartment. (Why my modern apartment is covered wall to wall with carpeting, I do not know.) In order to avoid permanent damage, I had to get a small throw rug to place underneath it.
This 3′ x 5′ Lahome Moroccan Area throw rug was exactly what I needed. The size is just right for my 22″ x 36″ chest/table. The pattern manages to be both modern and understated, and the grey fits in perfectly with my apartment’s color schemed. Like The Dude’s rug in The Big Lebowski, the rug really ties the room together.
I am writing about this rug here for two reasons. The first, of course, is that this is my job, telling you about the products that I can personally recommend. The second is to defend this rug’s honor from the disappointed reviewers whose negative comments resulted in a relatively low 4.2-star rating.
Check out the customer reviews, and you will see a recurring theme from the disappointed customers. This rug is just too soft for them. You can see several quotes parroting a variation of the line “this is a blanket, not a rug.”
That is obviously the silliest complaint ever, especially when you are buying something that literally has “faux wool” in its title. This just goes to show you that many people do not read everything in the product description before making a purchase on Amazon. However, there is one sense in which this gripe leads to a legitimate concern: Some people write that the nature of the material makes it difficult to vacuum.
Is this the case? I had to see for myself. After all, the rug’s placement in my apartment means there are perpetually paint chips on it that need to be removed.
Here are before and after photos:
As you can see, I was able to quite easily vacuum the debris from the rug. A small paint stain remained, but remember: I used a Dyson vacuum, not a Bissell carpet cleaner. All I was trying to do was to get rid of all the loose dirt. I succeeded. Furthermore, according to the listing, this rug is machine washable. I don’t need to test that just yet, because the black line is not visible when I move the chest back into place, but there you have yet another option for cleaning.