Cream checks next to a white bed frame, a grey wool throw or a row of oak wardrobes keep a bedroom light. Laid along the side of the bed, the Mona runner in cream gives your feet a soft first step in the morning.

• Short pile with a woven check
• Suitable for underfloor heating
• 100% wool pile and wool backing
• Handwoven in India
• Runner shape for bedside, hall or kitchen

Used as a hallway runner, it follows the path from the front door. Along a kitchen worktop it marks the spot where you stand to cook. On tiles or laminate, put an underlay beneath it so it stays where you laid it. Mark the run with masking tape before choosing the right size, and the cream hall runner will sit exactly where you walk. Of our checked rugs, the Mona comes in cream, black, black and white and taupe, so this check rug can match other rooms too.

Swap the cream runner end for end at times, so daylight and footsteps share out. On smooth floors, keep it flat with an underlay a touch smaller than the runner, one of the simple steps in our cleaning advice that stops corners curling. Now and then, beat it from behind.