Keeping the rugs in your home protected is a big part of making them last. A rug cover — a fitted textile layer placed over an existing rug — does exactly that: it shields the rug underneath from everyday wear while also giving an older, worn rug a fresh new look. With options in every size, color, and pattern, there's a rug cover to suit almost any room.
What Is a Rug Cover?
Typically laid directly over an existing rug, rug covers have become increasingly popular in home decor in recent years, adding a decorative finish while doing double duty as protection. They're produced in a wide range of patterns, colors, and textures.
Rug covers play a real role in a room's overall look. Their color, pattern, and texture bring a different character to the rug underneath, effectively giving your existing rug a new identity without replacing it.
With an elasticized construction, a rug cover can fit snugly over the entire rug. Made in square or rectangular shapes, these covers are built to fully enclose the rug beneath them. Structured somewhat like a fitted sheet, they can be removed and washed just as easily.
Types of Rug Covers
Like rugs themselves, rug covers come in a wide range of sizes, colors, textures, and fabric types. Here's how they break down:
- Rug covers are offered in a range of common sizes to fit different rugs — typically scaled to match standard rug dimensions.
- Patterns vary just as widely as sizes, so you have plenty of room to bring a different look into your space through color and design alone.
- Printed rug covers let you display virtually any pattern or image on top of your existing rug.
- Material also varies by cover — foam-backed and fleece rug covers are both common, and you can pick whichever suits your needs.
- Thickness is another variable. A foam-backed rug cover gives you a noticeably softer floor surface if that's what you're after.
What to Look for When Buying a Rug Cover
There's a wide selection of rug covers to choose from for the rugs already in your home. A few details are worth paying attention to:
- Size: First, know the exact dimensions of the rug the cover will sit on. The cover should fully enclose the rug, or at least cover the majority of it, and if it's going under furniture, it needs to work with those dimensions too.
- Material: Choosing a durable, easy-to-clean material pays off with long-term use. Cotton, polyester, and wool blends are all solid choices for durability and ease of cleaning. For a softer feel, a velvet rug cover is worth considering.
- Ease of Cleaning: How easily the cover cleans and maintains itself matters too. A machine-washable or stain-resistant material makes upkeep noticeably simpler.
Are Rug Covers Actually Useful?
A rug cover can go a long way toward preventing wear from everyday use. By fully enclosing the rug's surface, it lets you keep using the rug while also protecting it.
Rug covers are a smart choice in homes with kids, especially for protecting rugs with sentimental or financial value from everyday accidents.
A water-resistant rug cover, for example, means that if your kids spill something on the rug, the rug itself stays protected underneath. A kids' room rug cover also lets you give a room a fun new pattern your child will love without buying an entirely new rug.
Rug covers are also simple to install and remove. With elasticized, zippered designs, you can take the cover off and put it back on whenever you like.
Can a Rug Cover Damage the Rug Underneath?
Rug covers largely prevent the wear that comes from everyday use. That said, using one incorrectly — or choosing a low-quality cover — can end up causing damage rather than preventing it.
A few habits help make sure your rug cover protects rather than harms the rug beneath it:
- Clean the rug cover regularly, and let the rug underneath air out periodically.
- Lift the cover from time to time so any moisture or dirt trapped underneath can be cleaned out.
- In areas that get direct sunlight, use curtains or blinds to reduce the chance of fading.
- Avoid pulling the cover perfectly taut over the rug — leaving a little breathing room helps air circulate underneath.
