7 Ways to Dress Up Your Bathroom Floor With a Mat or Rug

1. Pop the cork. To kick off the list, let’s start with a material that reminds us more of happy hour than of bathroom design: cork.

Not only does cork add a rustic feel to a room, but also it provides a cushion for your feet. Cork is a sustainable material, a fact that designers and homeowners find appealing. You can even make your own mat out of bottle corks (like the one pictured here).

Or you can take cork a step further by using it as the flooring material for all or part of the floor. Before you do, though, have a flooring professional check your room’s moisture levels. Proper sealing and placement will be needed to ensure the cork will be a long-lasting option.

Cork Flooring 101: Warm Up to a Natural Wonder

2. Play with patterns. As with any other room in the house, a bold rug works best when the rest of the room is neutral or minimal in style. The boldness may be in the size of the pattern or color choice.

“In terms of the scale of a patterned rug, we like a pattern that is large enough to see from the entrance of the space, but still has interesting detail once up close,” says Holly Conlan of Wake + Loom Design.

3. Go big. If your layout is more open, a large area rug may warm up the room. If the colors are neutral, find a bold hue or pattern (as mentioned under No. 2). If you already have a bold focal point in your room, select a rug in a complementary color.

4. Take a trip into the woods. Ditch fabric and go with a more natural look on your bathroom floor. It is a common belief that wood and water do not mix, but that is not true if done right.

“Wood is used on decks and docks, where it is constantly shifting between wet and dry (and getting snowed on),” says Mark Clement of MyFixitUpLife. “So why not use it [as] the shower floor or in another bathroom area?”

Choose a bath mat that is finished and sealed, and regularly wipe up any extra water that collects under the mat.

Wooden bath mats are great additions to rustic, farmhouse and Scandinavian design styles. They help the space feel more natural and warm, and it is as easy as laying down a fabric bath mat.

Houzz contributor Amanda Pollard has a recommendation if your bathroom has multiple finishes on your wooden accents.

“If you’re going to combine materials in a small space like this one, make the dominant wood lighter and use the darker version as an accent to keep things light and airy.”

Browse wooden mats

5. Try faux fur. Faux fur and hides add luxury and warmth to a bathroom. Go with a rug in one subtle color, or try a bold animal print. While you want to pick a rug that goes with the room design, most faux fur and hide rugs are versatile.

“I almost think of animal prints as a neutral,” says interior designer Shirley Meisels. “They are usually tone-on-tone, monochromatic or black and white, so they are a safe way to mix and match.”

6. Run a runner. To create a walkway or cover a long, thin floor space, try a rug runner. While you see many runners in hallways, they can be a great addition to a bathroom as well. They cover the floor without creating a wall-to-wall carpet look.

Choose a width that is functional for your space. “For both safety and comfort, it is preferable to have both feet fall within the surface of the rug in a high-traffic area,” says Janell Beals of House of Fifty.

7. Create an optical illusion. This might be a trick answer, but we have to mention it! If you want the look of the rug without any of the upkeep, consider creating an inlaid “rug” made out of floor tile. This is a more permanent solution, but it adds elegance to any bathroom space.