Is this a thing now in impoverished Britain

I have seen these rugs in some stores. What comes to mind is no matter how good the paving worms and creepy crawlies always seem to get underneath anything laid on the ground. I see these rugs as trip hazards and another thing to be cleaned.

same at Christmas when you see prices for a "box of chocolates" or a hamper, some of them cost more than I spend on food all year, just for 1 day.

I got a cheap one in Home Bargains for £10, it's easily cleaned and waterproof, but I do roll it up and bring it into the garage at night cos of the creepy crawlers. The dog loves lying on it, especially when the slabs are very hot.

Doodledog

nanna8

Could use some of that fake grass,too. I think it is fairly cheap.

Not for dogs. It heats up terribly in the sun. My daughter got an offset of it for her dog after he had an op which left him dragging his legs for a while. He was scraping them on the flags and hurting himself. This worked well until the warm weather (and not the heat of this summer) when the 'grass' got so hot he couldn't sit on it. She got rid of it and bought an outdoor rug instead.

We had some in a cat enclosure in the garden but the cats loved to wee on it ! Bad idea for pets, I agree. The cat enclosure has now become a greenhouse and the cats are free to wander round during the day. The enclosure keeps the pesky possums out and I can grow stuff in peace. I saw a possum bigger than the cats yesterday, about the size of a terrier. Impressive.

My grandmother's old indoor rugs make ok rugs for the summerhouse (shed with door and window open) but I guess not the same sort of consumer item and they need treatment for moth.

If you look at the outdoor rugs on Next, I think most of them have the PET symbol.

I nearly bought one a few days ago, for £18...decided it was just a pointless purchase and left it be...

My daughter uses her back garden as another 'room'. They spend a huge amount of time out there as a family and also cook outside. It all looks very stylish and yes she has an outdoor rug to pull the whole 'look' together with sofas and large potted plants and a chiminea . I don't know how much the rug cost but I don't think it was very expensive as she changes themes regularly inside and outside the house. She did study interior design when living in Rome and has a very good eye for creating great 'looks' without spending a fortune.

I don't wish to cover up our eye wateringly expensive patio which was laid last year so I won't be buying one! However, I do hope that the impending financial crisis and associated difficulties won't stop us from sharing any good fortune, new purchases, holidays without being made to feel guilty. We don't have a garage to put stuff away in, our large shed is a spider (and mice) metropolis, so all of our garden furniture has to stay out, covered up for the winter months, cushions stored in the house.

You could get two or three pressure washers for £640 PamelaJ1 and still have enough for the waders you need to wear while using them! ?

However, I do hope that the impending financial crisis and associated difficulties won't stop us from sharing any good fortune, new purchases, holidays without being made to feel guilty.
I very much echo this sentiment HouseplantQueen. It's one of the reasons I come on to GN.

The truth of the matter is doubtless that no country is entirely impoverised.

Everywhere there are some well-off or rich people who are not particularly worried that food, heating, petrol, water rates and anything else you and I have to think of are going up in price.

It must be nice for them, but slightly inconsiderate to discuss something so uneccesary from my point of view as outdoor rugs. But then I don't even have a patio.

If I did and it got too hot to walk on, I would either just sit somewhere else in the garden or put down newspaper!

JaneJudge

They are £25 in most shops, like wilkos I just think it's another thing to clean though

All needed is to brush any leaveS etc no "cleaning" !?! They're not wool rugs ya know!?

I think maybe under the heading House and Home would be a good place which is wherevl discussions on furnishings usually thrive.

Blimey! Who can afford newspapers?!. All that filthy print on feet traipsed into house.....bad idea...

4allweknow

I have seen these rugs in some stores. What comes to mind is no matter how good the paving worms and creepy crawlies always seem to get underneath anything laid on the ground. I see these rugs as trip hazards and another thing to be cleaned.

No. Nothing "gets under" mine. The flags underneath are old and past ket washing as the finish has worn off and we can't afford to rip up a really well laid patio for cosmetic reasons so the "rug" covers all and not a trip hazard either! Seats and flower pots weigh down and it helps if one watches where one's walking too? Oh and it's non slip in winter too!

Surely any rug or ourdoor furniture needs ideally to be moved undercover when the weather gets cold and damp, a rug left outside over the winter would be just one more thing to have to clean
It's good to have something soft to sit on in the garden when you can sit on the grass, well you can do now from the point of view of dryness but dead grass is prickly. I personally take dog rugs, blankets or sheepskins outside for doggies and me.
Plastic is so very hot though
At a friend's who has wheelchair ramps made of black rubber, in the summer sun they heat up so much, you could fry eggs on them
I have seen pictures of people's slabs that have been painted with patterns, which does look nice but not sure how hard wearing that would be. I've also seen on one of those garden makeover programmes someone continuing the internal tiles outside and thought that that was a recipe for broken hips when it rained
If I had a patio with a canopy or suchlike over it which kept things dry most of the time and that I could use more often than just the patio I might get a rug , if I do it will need to be one made out of recycled stuff, sadly most of our carpetting these days is synthetic.
I do wish that there was more ways of recycling some of the plastic that comes with modern gardening, pots and compost bags for example. Some british plastic recyclers take feed and fertiliser bags from Farmers who collect them in bulk, I'm sure that if it was possibl to do that with compost bags many would take their old worn out ones there, I have seen a bin in one garden centre but it was too far away to go on a regular basis

Things are always being thought up for people to spend their money. Someone I know has decking with a three piece suite (weatherproof) and dining table and chairs and loungers etc. I haven’t even got a three piece suite or settee indoors.

Bijou

Things are always being thought up for people to spend their money. Someone I know has decking with a three piece suite (weatherproof) and dining table and chairs and loungers etc. I haven’t even got a three piece suite or settee indoors.

Patio heaters seem crazy to me - if it’s too cold to go outside on the patio, stay indoors!

The "expensive" rug that PamelaJ1 first spoke of is a tightly hand-woven kilim. It's pretty big for a hand-woven kilim - 300cms x 230cms. I suppose it's also probably more expensive than it need be as it's made in India but sold in Germany. It's part of a range of hand-woven kilims made to a bespoke design for a German company (which can be sized specially for your space). It is sold here in the UK through 1stDibbs who presumably also take a cut.

All genuine artisan made items will be more than mass-produced ones (and rightly so) but in this instance there are also middle-men involved.

My question about this "expensive" rug is the same question I try to ask myself about other prospective purchases... did the artisan making the item actually get fair recompense for making it?

If so. Fair enough. If we find objects/furnishings/artwork to be truly beautiful and will cherish them then I think they are contributing to the happiness in the world (and people with enough income to do so should buy them if they like).

Some things are worth "investing" in. Some, most decidedly, in my opinion, are not. I have no interest in an outdoor rug but I have spent many long hours trying to find the most-perfect-i- can-afford carpet for my sitting room. I know the one I've chosen will give me years of pleasure and I'm aware how lucky I am to be able to replace the worn-out one. At all.

Some years ago there was a thread a bit like this. I commented on my kettle which was expensive but which I love. Some people said "a kettle is just a kettle" but no - mine is thing of beauty and every day I enjoy using it. I like it for its form and solidity, every day it makes be pleased to use it. I do remember in tough times not being able to afford to mend my kettle (in the days when you coild buy a new element) and having to use a pan to heat water. Oh the joy of just plugging it in once we had got it fixed! It was such a good and luxurious feeling. I remember it still.

I can't believe that all people who like "expensive" or even "unnecessary" things don't care about others less financially fortunate. Many people are striving for a fairer world.

There is undoubtedly too much "tat" in the world but I do not begrudge anyone a little joy - whether that's a working kettle or a garden rug.
I would be dissapointed if they binned either before it was worn out though!! ?

I just think the world has gone totally bonkers!!!

oodles Every year I gather all my compost bags together and then put them on our local 'freecycle' social media page. Someone always wants them. This year the lady who took them was using them to bag up her horse's manure which she then put on the freecycle site.

Well said Monica. All this outrage at people who enjoy buying things for their home and garden. If they’ve worked hard for their money is it any of our business.

There will always be people who can buy when others are struggling. This is nothing new.

Apparently there are as many people who have accumulated large amounts of money during lockdown eithe4 legally or otherwise as there are people getting poorer and poorer. If you have a large , regular income paying over £600 for a rug is not excessive.
A house very close to mine went on the market less than a week ago and now has a sold board up. The cost is 1.5 million and the purchasers are a young couple with a baby and toddler. They might well be able to spen£ a large sum for a rug for the patio !

NotSpaghetti I can't believe that all people who like "expensive" or even "unnecessary" things don't care about others less financially fortunate. Many people are striving for a fairer world.

I agree. People do care about the less fortunate. People help, people give to food bank, people pay their fair taxes and many indeed want a fair world.

Not everyone is saving for a deposit, feeding a family, purchasing furnishings, paying a childminder paying a mortgage. Some are just spending. Spending runs the economy.