Crystal Velvet Area Rug

A plain grey rug that does its work by feel rather than pattern. The crystal velvet pile is short, dense and soft enough that people take their shoes off without being asked, and the colour is a true mid grey that sits under almost any furniture without competing. In a minimalist room it supplies the one thing hard floors cannot: a quiet surface that absorbs sound, warms the space underfoot and draws the seating into a group.

The pile is fine and closely set, so it takes light smoothly and shows the faint directional sheen velvet is known for rather than the matted tracks of a long shag. It lies flat and stays flat, and because the surface is short it is easy to vacuum and easy to keep looking even. Five sizes are offered, from a small forty by sixty centimetre mat up to a hundred and sixty by two hundred and thirty centimetre room size, with useful runner and half-room proportions in between.

Take the large sizes for a living room, floating the front legs of the sofa onto the rug, or for a bedroom where it should extend well past the bed on both sides. The small sizes work beside a bath, at a bedside, in a walk-in wardrobe, or on a balcony in dry weather. It pairs well with the pale wood and boucle pieces Urban Arcadia stocks, and it suits anyone softening a hard floored flat on a sensible budget.

• Pile: crystal velvet, short and dense
• Colour: grey (shade 05)
• Sizes: 40 x 60 cm, 80 x 160 cm, 120 x 160 cm, 140 x 200 cm, 160 x 230 cm
• Feel: soft and warm underfoot, helps soften room acoustics
• Best for: living room, bedroom, balcony, dressing room, cloakroom
• Care: vacuum regularly, spot clean with mild detergent, air dry flat