Cream is an easy colour to place. On the Nain runner, the cream sits quietly beside darker floorboards or painted skirting, and it brightens a narrow bedroom corner without shouting. The ornamental pattern is drawn in soft lines, so the surface looks calm rather than busy.

Low pile and ornaments: what the cream Nain runner feels like

This is a wool rug with a short pile, so it lies flat and doors clear it easily. The surface feels dense and slightly springy underfoot. Hand-spun yarn gives the colour a soft, uneven depth, and small variations from one patch of wool to the next show up close.

Where the cream runner earns its place

Beside the bed, a pair of runners frames each side, and your feet land on wool first thing in the morning. Along a hall it follows the line of the passage, much like our other runner rugs, and in a kitchen it can sit in front of the worktop. With such a short pile, heating underneath is fine, and which size to pick is easy to work out with a strip of masking tape on the floor.

Material and making of the Nain in cream

Each runner is knotted by hand in India, knot by knot, into the warp threads. Pile and backing are both wool, with 100% hand-spun wool in the pile. New wool rugs shed a few loose fibres at first, and that eases with vacuuming.

Caring for your cream Nain runner

Dab spills with a light cloth, working from the outside in, and never rub. Underneath, a pad slightly smaller than the rug keeps the runner flat and its corners down, following our rug care tips for wool. Turn it now and then so sun and footsteps are spread evenly, and vacuum it regularly.