Blue with a faded, slightly sun-washed finish goes with white walls, pale oak and grey sofas alike. The Rina carries that shade in a vintage design.

Being a low pile rug, it lies flat on the floor, so chair legs pull out without catching. That makes it a sensible kitchen rug in front of the worktops and a calm base in a nursery, one reason the blue Rina sits with our kids room rugs. In a living room, place it so that at least the front feet of the sofa and armchairs rest on it. The seating then reads as one group.

Like the rest of our synthetic fibre rugs, the Rina is woven by machine, in this case in Turkey, with a pile of 100% polypropylene on a jute backing. Laid over underfloor heating, the blue Rina is fine too.

Mark out its spot with masking tape before choosing the right size, so you can see how much floor stays visible around the edges.

Heat is the one thing to watch, as our rug care tips point out, so hot pans and irons stay well away from the Rina. Patches pressed down by a table leg come back up with a stiff brush. A vacuum with a rotating brush is fine, since the pile is short.