Run a hand over the Mona and wool is the first thing you notice, slightly springy, with a fine ribbed grain from the weave. Taupe sits between grey and brown. On pale boards it looks warm, and against white walls it stays calm rather than dark.

Short pile, quiet check. Underfloor heating can run beneath it without trouble, and the low surface makes this taupe rug easy to live with in a bedroom or a lounge. At a dining table the chairs should stay on it even when pushed back, so choosing the right size matters more there than anywhere else.

Pile and backing are both 100% wool. Handwoven on a loom in India, the taupe Mona is one of our wool rugs with a check that is woven in, not printed on.

It works under the table as one of our dining room rugs and just as easily among rugs for the living room, laid in front of the sofa where this checked rug shows its squares clearly.

New wool lets go of some loose fibres at first, and they settle the more you vacuum. Trim any strand that pokes up with scissors rather than pulling it, which is the first rule in how to clean your rug made of wool. Taupe wool flattened by table legs usually springs back after a light dab of water.