Deep pile shaggy rugs

The long-pile shaggy rug is comfort made visible. With its plush 3 to 8 cm pile (more still on "high pile" designs), nothing else feels quite so soft underfoot. This is the rug of pure sensory pleasure, the one you want to touch and to sit on. In a scheme, it brings strong texture, a cocooning effect, and remarkable sound absorption.

The different kinds of shaggy

Several versions exist side by side:

• Classic shaggy: a smooth 3-5 cm pile, the most common of all, comfortable and soft to look at
• XXL / high pile shaggy: a 5-8 cm pile, deeply plush, unashamedly fluffy
• Looped shaggy: small soft loops that add relief without going too long
• Sheepskin effect: a plush white imitation hide, thoroughly cocooning
• Berber shaggy: tribal motifs (diamonds, lines) on a shaggy ground. See our Berber rugs

Which room?

The bedroom is the natural home of the shaggy rug. That softness first thing in the morning is a genuine pleasure, and it muffles footsteps, which counts for a lot upstairs. Recommended sizes: 200×300 cm under a queen bed, or 160×230 cm at the foot of it. In a living room, shaggy creates an enveloping relaxing corner, ideal in front of the fireplace or in a reading nook. In a child's room, a large soft shaggy is a joy for little ones playing on the floor.

Where to avoid shaggy

A few rooms simply do not suit it:

• Dining room: chairs crush the long pile and it does not spring back. Go for a short-pile textured plain
• Entrance hall and hallway: a dust trap that marks easily and stands up poorly to traffic. Choose a short-pile oriental or a textured plain
• Kitchen: crumbs lodge in the pile and there is no easy way to clean it
• Stairs: dangerous, as the long pile flattens and turns slippery

The go-to shaggy colours

Shaggy works particularly well in soft neutral tones, which show off the texture without crowding it:

• White and ivory: a luxurious sheepskin look, perfect in a bedroom
• Beige and cream: the universal safe bet
• Light grey through to anthracite: modern and sophisticated
• Dusty pink: very much in demand in bedrooms
• Taupe and soft brown: warm and current

Materials: plushness versus durability

By far the most common shaggy material is microfibre polyester: ultra-plush, soft to the touch and available in many colours. Long-pile polypropylene is tougher and better suited to rooms with moderate traffic. For a top-of-the-range shaggy, our wool handmade rugs offer unmatched density and comfort.

Caring for shaggy

This is the one real drawback to know about. The essential rules:

• Vacuum without a rotating brush (the brush pulls the fibres out). Use the flat nozzle, or set the vacuum to "hard floor"
• Shake it out regularly (once a month, outdoors if you can) to bring back the volume
• Pat it by hand or comb it with your fingers to lift flattened fibres
• Stains: blot immediately, and never use a brush