The Controversial Find I Put in My Bathroom That Makes It So Much Cozier

I’m no stranger to pushing the envelope a bit when it comes to my home, from adding a hot tub to my “too-small” yard to putting up a gold Christmas tree. But choosing a white shag rug for my bathroom might be the most controversial thing I’ve ever done in my home — and it’s made my bathroom so much better. Here’s why I highly recommend it.

At first, I wanted to put in new bathroom flooring, but at the end of the day I decided to save the time, energy, and money that it would require. Instead I put down a couple of bathroom rugs to add some visual interest to the floor, but they didn’t feel quite cozy enough. 

I’m big on cozy everything — throw blankets, area rugs, soft textures — and I wanted something soft under my feet as I carried out my self-care rituals at the start and end of each day. Bathroom floors tend to feel extra cold as soon as the temperature drops, and I wanted to warm things up. 

Enter: the white shaggy faux fur rug I scored on Amazon. Yes, that’s right — a shag rug, which really hasn’t comfortably lived in bathrooms since the mid-1970s, is on my bathroom floor. It isn’t all that surprising considering the retro vibe of my home, and I actually have these white shag rugs in several rooms. I’ve had the rug in my bathroom for about a year, and it’s been one of my better purchases. 

You might be skeptical about having a shag rug in the bathroom (especially a white one), but I’m here to tell you it’s worth it. Here’s why I love it so much.  

I placed my shag runner right at the vanity so I can feel its sumptuousness under my feet as I do my skincare routine, put on makeup, and dry my hair. It’s light-years better than just bare feet on a cold bathroom floor. 

I’m constantly trying to get warm, stay warm, and basically live my life in 24/7 warmth. The faux fur envelops my feet as I walk around my bathroom, and it really does make me feel warmer from head to toe. 

Things like painting my nails and doing some gua sha facial massage usually feel a little tedious to me, but the faux fur runner under my feet adds a bit of comfort and luxuriousness to those humdrum tasks. Who says a bathroom can’t feel warm, cozy, and comforting? To get that hygge ambiance in a bathroom, I say that a rug, preferably a shaggy faux fur one, is basically a requirement. 

Although I worried this rug would get too dirty, moist, or matted in a bathroom environment, that hasn’t been the case at all. Here are my tips for keeping it looking and feeling as luxe and cozy as ever. 

I use a super-strong rug pad gripper that keeps my runner in place, and it seriously never moves — even though the bottom of the rug is a little slippery. I’d strongly recommend doing the same, as you don’t want to slip when getting out of the shower.

Luckily, this runner is machine-washable. I was nervous to put it in the washer the first time, as I’ve destroyed a shag rug or two over the years by doing this. But this rug always comes out great (as long as I use the delicate setting), and the shag bounces back with a little shaking and fluffing after I take it out of the dryer. I clean it once a week, and vacuum it weekly as well to fluff up the shag.

This runner is actually not technically designed specifically for bathrooms — I decided to go rogue by putting a regular rug in there. The trick is to look for one that’s machine-washable. Because it’s made of faux fur, the one I have dries surprisingly quickly. 

Sure, like any bathroom rug, it’s prone to matting and dirt with use. Although the shag isn’t as fluffy and majestic as it was when I first purchased it, it’s held up shockingly well for one that sees a lot of traffic. When I wash it, it bounces back to its fuzzy clean white self.