Picture a Saturday morning: someone pads across the floor barefoot with a mug of tea, and a toddler is already sitting on the squares, lining up wooden blocks along the grid. White polyester feels soft underfoot, which is a good start to the weekend.

The Edda's pile is 100% polyester, a synthetic fibre that takes up hardly any moisture. The back is jute, and the rug is machine-woven in Turkey. That is why the checks come out so crisp and evenly spaced. It is a shaggy rug with a deep, high pile.

White with a checkerboard print is easier to place than you might think. Among our Synthetic Fibre Rugs, it is a calm design, and it sits happily beside plain walls and wooden furniture. In the living room it gives a sofa group some structure. It also suits the bedroom beside the bed, and it works in a child's room too, because the squares double as a playing field. The Edda comes in grey too, if white feels too bright for your floor.

It is fine over underfloor heating, so warm floors are no obstacle. Mark out the play corner with masking tape before you settle on one of the sizes for the white Edda.

For spills, blot first, because liquid stays on the fibre for a while, then use as little water as you can. Our cleaning advice for the white Edda says to comb the long pile now and then so it doesn't mat and to brush any flattened spot up against the pile. Vacuum it without the rotating brush.