The distressed foliage rug by West Elm is incredibly photogenic, especially in the “Moonstone” color which offers hues of blue interspersed with white.
From a design perspective, we appreciate how the rug adds texture and optional color while staying muted enough to blend in with any variance of furniture or stylistic settings. Construction quality seems reasonable for the price, materials and durability may be questionable. In person it’s not quite as beautiful as it is in pictures, though maintains the expected aesthetic.
The first thing we noted about this rug in the store was how frayed and shabby the hanging model looked, giving us initial pause about the purchase. The West Elm site does advertise that shedding of the fibers is normal and will dissipate by 3-6 months, which is about in line with what we’ve found. That being said, you can expect to need to vacuum this rug regularly (2-3 times a week) for several months to keep it looking decent. Additionally, even after more than 6 months, our vacuum still noticeably picks up loose fibers and we wonder how much of the rug is actually going to disappear before it stops.
As a bi-product of this shedding, what was a modestly “fluffy” rug with decent foot feel on arrival is now an incredibly flat mat which you can basically feel the floor directly beneath on. West Elm recommends a rug pad with this rug, and if you’re looking for a softer foot feel you’ll absolutely need one which adds to the potential cost.
Our last qualm is that it is not particularly easy to clean. Though we’ve seen worse, because of the variety of fiber types and weave, stains really dig their way into the rug and require quite a bit of work to get out completely. A really bad stain would likely require a professional which will cost you a reasonable amount. For this reason, we really don’t recommend this rug for a high traffic area.
Overall the rug isn’t priced too badly for what you get – a stylish floor covering – but generally speaking unless you’re really in love with the aesthetic we think there are better options out there.
