The 15 Very Best Sisal, Jute, Seagrass, and Abaca Rugs

Material: Sisal, tightly woven | Style: Solid, Four colors

While rugs made of sisal, jute, and other natural fibers can look very similar, sisal rugs are made with a harder weave and have a more polished look. Crate and Barrel’s sisal rug has the nicest, tightest weave among the ones I tested, and I liked how neat it looked. It also felt quite hardy, which is why sisal is great for areas like hallways and living rooms. While it’s definitely the scratchiest of these types of rugs, it didn’t feel too stiff underfoot, though I wouldn’t necessarily want to lie down on it.

For its look and durability, it’s the sisal rug of choice for two of the experts I spoke to as well. Interior designer Tara Smith likes that its more textured boucle weave “elevates this rug a step above your standard sisal,” and that it’s durable “yet sophisticated enough to go in any high-traffic area of your home.” Interior designer Becky Shea particularly likes it for layering, saying it’s “a great rug to have as a foundation in a living or family room, and can be layered with a kilim or vintage Turkish rug to injecting a little color into a space.” It comes in four different colors, including the linen shown here, which I like the best, as it’s a little softer and grayer than the other beige-tinged options. Sizes start at six by nine feet for $499 and go up to ten by 14 feet for $999.

Material: Sisal, tightly woven | Style: Solid, eight colors | Customizable: By size

If you need a nonstandard size, Pottery Barn’s custom sisal rug is a great option that comes in 15 length and width options from two feet up to 16 feet. It has a larger, looser, more textural weave that I think gives it a more laid-back vibe — and perhaps scratchier feel — than the Crate and Barrel sisal. Three of the interior designers I spoke to, including design historian Alessandra Wood, Jessie Schuster of Jessica Schuster Design, and Shea, all like working with this particular rug. Schuster calls it a great option “if you’re on a budget. They are a nice quality, and you can customize the size within a short lead time.” Prices range from $39 for the smallest size (two by two feet) to $2,549 for the largest (16 by 16 feet). It comes in eight colors, including deeper shades like mocha, bronze, and gunmetal.

Material: Sisal, patterned | Style: Solid, One color | Customizable: 14 sizes

Sisal rugs can also be patterned beyond the traditional basket weave. Denver-based interior designer Jess Knauf, who prefers working with sisal over jute and abaca because of its durability and stain resistance, tells me that Ballard Designs makes some of her favorite “nicely finished” options. She recently installed the brand’s Dori model, which has an unexpected jacquard weave in a fishtail pattern (and is actually blended with a little bit of jute, depending on the size), in her own living room. “I like that it has a serger-finished edge, which has a more polished look,” she says. “I went with the natural, which sort of lets all the other fabrics in the room stand out. It has held up beautifully.” Knauf also appreciates that the rug has a nonskid rubber backing to keep it in place, which means she doesn’t need to use a pad. The rug comes in 14 sizes, from two feet by three feet up to 12 by 18 feet.

Material: Seagrass | Style: Paneled, solid | Customizable: Six sizes, with extra paneling you can sew together

For an even more casual, tropical look, consider this seagrass rug from Rush House that suddenly seems to be everywhere. It’s featured in a few Architectural Digest house tours, in the homes of stylish people like Daphne Javitch and Julie O’Rourke, and in the Hudson Valley restaurant Stissing House. The reason for its popularity is its versatility and affordability. It looks just as convincing in a country-style home in the South as it does in a mid-century-modern pad in Los Angeles. (The style has been around since the ’70s and is also known as seagrass mats.) I first noticed it at the home of my friend Sunny Kang, who tracked it down after seeing it in a magazine because she “loved the price point, especially for such a big rug.” She also appreciated the fact that it can be customizable to fit any space. She bought two for her dining room and sewed them together herself with twine. Maintaining it is just as easy, too: “We’ve dropped plenty of food on it, and you wouldn’t notice at all,” she says. All she does is vacuum it. As for how it feels, the rug has a more grassy, strawlike texture than sisal, and a looser, more open weave. For added comfort and longevity, Rush House recommends using the rug with this rug pad, which you can also buy on the store’s website. Available in six sizes and even single panels, the rugs can be expanded by sewing full rugs or squares together, as mentioned above, using the twine-and-needle set. As for pricing, the largest size of nine feet by 12 feet, costs $425, among the cheapest on this list for that size.

Material: Jute | Style: Chunky, solid | Customizable: Three sizes

Jute will feel softer underfoot and have a chunkier weave than sisal and seagrass rugs. This all-jute rug from Ikea came recommended by two of our experts — Tammy Price of the Los Angeles–based Fragments Identity and Dash — for its affordability. It’s Dash’s go-to because “it’s super-versatile and works all over the house,” she says. “I generally use this one as a layering piece and put a smaller rug with an interesting pattern over it. I actually have it in my living room with a vintage Persian rug layered on top.” The rug is available in three sizes; the smaller one is four feet four inches by six feet five inches and goes for $70.

Material: Jute | Style: chunky, solid, tasseled, nine colors | Customizable: Multiple shapes and sizes

This chunky jute style comes with tasseled ends and is recommended by interior designer Jamie Drake of the Manhattan-based firm Drake/Anderson who appreciates the minimalism of “the most natural and basic jute rugs.” New York Magazine deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff is also a fan after buying the rug for her own home. It looks more expensive than it is thanks to its handwoven design and the varied tones of the undyed natural fibers. This style starts at $70 for a rug that measures two by three feet.

Material: Jute | Style: Chunky, four colors | Customizable: By size, shape, rug color, border color, material, and width

Interior designer Elaine Griffin’s go-to source for natural-fiber rugs is Sisal Rugs Direct, which she likes “for the variety and customization options” and the fact that the rugs are “totally reasonably priced.” I turned to Sisal Rugs Direct myself when I needed a very specific size for a landing on my staircase. I was able to input my desired size — down to the inch — and pick my rug color (from four options), shape, and border material, color, and width. It cost less than another competitor I looked at, and it arrived in exactly four weeks. I’ve had this for two years now and it still feels soft underfoot and has held up great, especially considering it’s in a highly trafficked area of my home.

Material: Jute | Style: Chunky, patterned

Architect and interior designer Maria Augusta Louro of the New York– and Brazil-based firm Guta Louro says she likes to incorporate natural-fiber rugs in her projects because of their durability. She’s a fan of such rugs for their “earthy tones and rustic characteristics,” telling us this jute rug ups the aesthetic ante because its interwoven trellis design makes it look like pricer wool and silk rugs. The smallest size is two by three feet and goes for $112.

Material: Jute-wool blend | Style: Chunky, checkerboard, tasseled

If pure jute feels a little too scratchy, consider a rug that’s blended with a softer material like wool. This is a favorite of Allan’s, who says it feels more plush underfoot, because it’s handwoven and 50 percent wool. “This rug is a beautiful take on a tonal checkerboard pattern,” she says. “It’s warm, edited, and beautifully imperfect.” Allan suggests putting the chunky rug in a family or living room, hearth, or even dining room if you want to add “a subtle textural backdrop” to the space.

Material: Jute-wool blend | Style: Flat-weave, patterned

Here’s another jute-wool rug that’s flat-woven, making it a good option for a high-traffic space thanks to its higher ratio of jute to wool (77 percent jute and 23 percent wool). Strategist writer Emma Wartzman bought it in the white pattern for an open area by her front door between the living room and kitchen entryway, and over a year later, she says it still looks great. “I wanted something to mark the space but also wanted it to be hardy enough to withstand inevitable foot traffic and shoes,” she says. “I vacuum it once a week and I’m honestly surprised the white parts aren’t dirty, which I was nervous about at first.” Wartzman says that it’s “quite soft and looks substantial — the weave isn’t dinky.” While the white pattern is sold out, it’s still available in black.

Material: Jute-cotton | Style: Chunky, patterned, tasseled

Justina Blakeney, the owner of Jungalow (a favorite Black-owned décor business), designed this rug in collaboration with Loloi, a rug company that interior designer Leah Alexander loves for its “variety, dependability, and for featuring collections from a diverse group of makers.” It’s made of a cotton-jute blend and has a raised trellis design on a dusty green backing, allowing a subtle layer of color to peek through. “The jute rugs by Justina Blakeney are gorgeous, understated, and hardworking,” Alexander adds. The smallest size is five feet by seven feet six inches and goes for $599.

Material: Abaca | Style: Chunky, solid

Echoing the sentiments of our other experts, designer Aerin Lauder says she turns to natural-fiber rugs to “instantly provide a neutral look that is practical and elevated.” Her favorite is this abaca rug from Williams Sonoma (for which she designed the Aerin Collection, but this rug is not from that line). “I think that the tones and texture are perfect in any space,” Lauder says. “The rug provides a natural yet comfortable and effortless feel.” Sizes start at three by ten feet, which goes for $895.

As versatile and durable jute, sisal, and abaca rugs are, they’re very difficult to clean, as water and other liquids can ruin them. If you like the look of these types of rugs but want something easier to maintain, consider this washable rug from Ruggable’s “Re-Jute” collection that features floor coverings woven from recycled and virgin polyester and plastic water bottles. Production designer Anastasia White owns this runner with an Italian-inspired palazzo pattern and uses it in her kitchen. She loves the “super flat weave” that feels like the real jute rug in her dining room, only smoother, which makes it “so easy to wipe” while toning down “the stark whiteness of the kitchen.”