10 of the Best - Miniature Dolls House Rugs

1. …for a warm welcome

The humble door mat has always been a symbol of welcome, a sign that you are nearing the sanctity of the home and a place to dry off your shoes. Now thanks to the experts at Home petite Home Miniatures, your petite home can welcome guests with a stylish door mat. These little handmade mats can be used inside or outside a miniature front or back door, and the makers say they are also popular in 1/12th scale barns. Each mat is printed and hand-finished onto a cork backing and they come in a host of designs featuring cats, dogs and lettering which includes ‘Welcome’, ‘Wipe Your Paws’ and ‘Fresh Bread Baked Daily’. The ‘Welcome Friends’ Rooster design mat, as pictured, measures 5.4cm x 3.4cm.
Home petite Home Miniatures
Price: £2.25 plus free P+P
www.homepetitehome.co.uk

2. …for Boho Chic



Combine retro and vintage furnishing elements, ethnic design and an eclectic taste and you have Boho Chic. Popular with artists, students and anyone leading or aspiring to a Bohemian way of life, this design style is being used more and more in large scale homes as recycling, upcycling and budgeting are becoming priorities. The miniature home can also benefit from a little Boho Chic design to reuse and repurpose existing miniatures, with the addition of ethnic-inspired items to create an artist’s garret, a student flat, a modern apartment or a hippie commune. This Turkish Miniature Carpet (number 62 in Cafe Anatolia’s range) is bright enough to use as a focal point and features an authentic Turkish pattern, which makes it ideal for this style. It is made of woven fabric, has fringing and is part of the extensive collection of modern and traditional carpets on offer.
Cafe Anatolia
Price (approximately): £4
www.cafeanatolia.com

3. …to add Art Nouveau style



Art Nouveau celebrated the natural world with stylised flowers and leaves in tandem with curving, sinuous lines. These design elements brought nature into the home predominantly in browns, greens and yellows combined with hints of brighter colours to add interest. Between 1890 and 1910 the most fashionable homes sported this modern style. Your 1/12th scale room box or house can join the trend with this Spring Carpet kit from needlepoint specialist Felicity Price. It showcases Art Nouveau style tulips and is available in a yellow and blue or pink and blue colour-way. Each needlepoint kit contains 22 tpi canvas, a needle, cotton threads, a coloured pattern and instructions. The finished carpet measures 12.2cm x 8.7cm. Kits range from nursery and Oriental, to modern and Art Deco.
Felicity Price
Price: £6.80
www.felicityminiatures.co.uk

4. ...for inspiration from Tibet



The ancient art of carpet making in Tibet is much prized due to the skill involved in knotting the rugs from highland sheep wool and due to the fact that carpets were an integral part of everyday life. They were used for floor coverings, wall tapestries, seating, for sleeping on and even for saddling horses. Bright colours, geometric patterns and animal designs are common features of Tibetan rugs. The tiger, as shown in this miniature carpet, is a particular favourite and is used in meditation rugs. It is thought to offer protection to the person meditating and rugs either feature tiger stripes or a whole tiger skin, as pictured. This rug is available in various sizes as either a needlepoint kit in 1/2th or 1/24th scales or as a completed rug finished in either machine or hand stitching. It comes in tiger or white tiger varieties.
The Miniature Textiles Company
Kit Price: from £12.25
Rug Price: machine stitched £45.50, hand stitched from £394
www.miniaturetextiles.co.uk

5. …to bring Christmas cheer



No Christmas scene would be complete without a little handmade rug courtesy of miniature needlepoint expert Janet Granger. This festive miniature is designed for placing under a 1/12th scale Christmas tree, but it could also double up as a hearth rug. The Snowy Village Tree Mat kit measures approximately 12cm in diameter when completed and the kit contains a colour block chart,  instructions, a needle, a colour photograph of the completed design, stranded cotton thread and 32 count silk gauze. To complete the festive look, Janet also offers a range of needlepoint Christmas stocking kits. And for those new to needlepoint, the website has detailed online tutorials.
Janet Granger Designs
Price: £19.50
www.janetgranger.co.uk

6. …to complete a Tudor room



For the wealthy of the Tudor period, elaborate embroidery was found around the home to brighten expanses of dark wood furniture and panelling. Carpets were imported from the Middle East, but they were also embroidered pieces of cloth either made by the women of the house as a pastime or bought commercially. Carpets were very expensive and only the wealthiest would actually put them on the floor; these small tapestries became known as ‘foot carpets’. Otherwise, the less wealthy would hang these items on walls or place them on table tops. Table carpets were purely decorative and were removed or covered with linen when food was served. Aside from the Middle Eastern patterns of imported carpets, popular themes included hunting and the countryside. In true Tudor style this little carpet or tapestry features a countryside scene. It measures 14.5cm x 9.5cm and is printed on canvas cloth. Small Wonders Miniatures stocks a selection of Tudor style tapestries, both printed and hand embroidered.
Small Wonders Miniatures
Price: £4.50
www.smallwondersminiatures.co.uk

7. …for the bathroom



Even the smallest room of the home gets its own specialist rug in the form of the bath mat set. Usually comprising of a bath mat, pedestal mat for the toilet and a toilet seat cover, these sets were used in homes from the 1950s onwards. This miniature version is a crochet pattern from Buttercup Miniatures, who also make miniature knitting and rug kits in 1/12th and 1/24th scale. The pattern comes with a materials list and is pictured in orange, but can be made in the colour of your choice to match your interior.
Buttercup Miniatures
Price: £2
www.buttercupminiatures.com

8. …to introduce Art Deco



Bring the glamour and sophistication of the Art Deco period into your 1/12th scale abode with this stylish gold and black fringed rug from Virginia Moxley. It would be right at home set on a period tiled or parquet floor surrounded by the characteristic geometric shapes, mirrors and metals used in the 1920s/30s home. The rug is made using an embroidery machine and features upholstery velvet with high sheen embroidery threads in gold. The backing is monks cloth which is hand fringed to create a rich and full finish. There are more than a hundred rug designs available on Virginia’s website and she also does custom work for clients.
A Touch of Fancy
Price: See website
www.atouchoffancy.com

9. …for a holiday



Complete a miniature holiday home, beach hut or beach scene with this cute mat and towel set from HiJinx. The rug, called ‘Boy’, could be used as a bath mat or door mat and has a delightful seaside scene on the mat and matching towel. It would equally suit a British holiday scene with deck chairs, miniature ice creams and a bucket and spade or a nautical themed bathroom surrounded by miniature shells and driftwood and sea coloured walls. This set comes in kit form, to be completed using counted cross stitch. The kit includes stranded cottons, 28 count cloth for the towel and 22 count canvas for the mat, which measures 6cm x 4cm when finished.
HiJinx UK
Price: £7
www.hijinx.co.nz

10. …for Aubusson flair



Aubusson carpets originated in the village of Aubusson in the 1740s and were popular with French nobles. They were handmade from wool and were so much admired that they were also made into wall tapestries and furniture upholstery. Initially designs mimicked those of Oriental carpets, but later rugs favoured flowers and scrolling vines or ribbons. For an Aubusson in miniature look no further than Nicola Mascall Miniatures. Nicola’s Napoleon III design, which can be used in any period of miniature home, is based on a real large scale Aubusson carpet and comes in either kit or colour chart form to be stitched using embroidery. It can also be purchased as a finished carpet. It comes in plum or blue and matching cushions, pole screen tapestries, bell pulls and Queen Anne chair covers are also now available.
Nicola Mascall Miniatures
Kit Price: £56
Chart Price: £26
www.nicolamascallminiatures.co.uk

This feature was originally published in Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine. If you like making miniatures, why not buy yourself a copy of the magazine. Or better still take out a subscription so you never miss an issue. For fans of Facebook and Twitter, or to email, print or comment on the feature, please use the buttons above to share with your friends.

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