Mats for every room

Kitchen counter & sink

The strip of counter beside the sink is permanently wet in most Indian kitchens. Something has to live there, and it should be something that either drinks the water or rolls out of the way.

MicrofibreMicrofibre dish drying mat, 50×38The cheap fix, and a good one. Soft, folds away, goes in the machine. Wring it out at the end of the day or it will smell by Thursday.RollsSlatted roll-up drying matSlats with gaps between them, so the water drains instead of sitting under a plate. Rolls into a bundle the size of a rolling pin.LargeLarge roll-up drying mat, 60 × 40The big one, and it rolls rather than folds. This is the size for a full sink run of pans, not a few plates.Cut to fitRoll-up drying mat, cuttableAbsorbent rather than slatted, and you can cut it down with scissors to fit an awkward counter. Doubles as a protector for the worktop under a hot pan.AbsorbentSink drainer mat, 50 × 30A plain absorbent slab that sits under the coffee machine or beside the sink and quietly takes the drips. No-rinse, so it stays put.SiliconeSilicone dish drying matRibbed silicone. Heat resistant, so a pan straight off the hob is fine, and it wipes clean rather than absorbing — which some people much prefer.Not a matRoll-up over-sink drying rackNot a mat, but it replaces one. Stainless rods roll out across the sink to take the washed things, then roll away to nothing.

Coffee & bar station

A mat under the machine is what turns a corner of counter into a station. It also catches the grounds, which is the actual reason to have one.

Spill-proofSilicone coffee station matRaised edges, so a knocked cup stays on the mat instead of running under the toaster. Lifts out and rinses in the sink.BaristaEspresso tamping mat with tool storageFood-grade silicone with a portafilter rest, tamper slot and recessed circles for the pucks. Tamping on bare stone chips the stone eventually.BarRubber bar mat, 45×30The proper bar thing — studded rubber that holds a glass steady and drains underneath it. Good under a kettle too.

Drawers, shelves & fridge

Sold by the roll and cut to fit, so one buy does a whole kitchen and the leftover does the wardrobe shelves. The cheapest thing on this page by a distance.

DaisyDaisy print EVA liner, 45 cm × 5 mTranslucent food-grade EVA with daisies on it, so it can go under things you eat off. Five metres does most of a kitchen.PlainTextured EVA liner, 45 cm × 5 mThe same roll with a plain grey mesh texture and no print. The one to pick if the drawer is already busy.5 metresAnti-skid fridge & drawer roll, 5 mMade for fridge shelves, where the point is that the spill stays on the liner and the liner comes out. Works in wardrobes too.

Bathroom

Two different answers to the same puddle. Microfibre is warm and soft underfoot but has to be washed; stone drinks the water and dries itself, but it is hard and cold to stand on.

MicrofibreClover bath mat, 40×60Two thousand GSM, which is the number worth reading — it is what keeps the pile from going flat and staying damp by the second week.ShapedCloud bath mat, 50×80A scalloped green ground with HAPPY across it in white and oversized flowers underneath, and big enough to step out of a tub onto. Not subtle, and not trying to be.ShapedSmile flower matRust red, with yellow and deep red flowers on blue stems. Between 1800 and 2000 GSM with a gripped back — the one for outside the bathroom door rather than inside it.StoneDiatomite stone bath matWater vanishes into it in about ten seconds and it is dry again by the time you are dressed. Never goes in the machine, which is the whole appeal.StoneStone bath mat, slimThe same idea in a thinner slab. When it stops drinking water, sand the surface with the pad in the box and it starts again.TraysDiatomite tray set, 3 pcsTwo sizes, raised feet. These go under the soap, the toothbrush cup and the shampoo bottle — the three things that leave rings on a shelf.RubberRubber anti-slip matPerforated non-toxic rubber, so water goes straight through it. The only one here you can stand on inside a running shower or beside a pool.

Desk

A desk mat is a border. Telling the rest of the table where the work stops is most of why a desk with one looks tidier than the same desk without.

ReversibleReversible vegan leather desk mat, 60×35Navy on one side, mustard on the other, and no right way up — flip it when you get bored of it, or when one side has taken a coffee ring.Cable storeDesk mat with cable organiserTwo studded loops on a tan strip along the top edge hold the charging cables, so they stop sliding off the back of the desk every time you move the laptop.LeatherLarge vegan leather desk matThe plain premium one, in brown. Big enough that the mouse never runs off the edge of it.

Kids & play

Thickness and whether it wipes are the two things that matter. Anything soft enough for a crawling baby is also thick enough to trip everyone else, so it wants a room of its own rather than a corner of the living one.

TilesInterlocking foam tiles, 61×61 cmTile as much floor as the child currently occupies and buy more later. Twelve millimetres thick and waterproof, so spills wipe off.CrawlingRound baby play matRound and padded, with the flowers appliquéd on and a pom-pom trim all round the edge — sized for tummy time rather than for a toddler. Folds up when the room has to be a room again.ReversibleExtra large reversible play matA town with roads on one side, a pale blue sky with aeroplanes on the other, and genuinely big. Folds like a book and wipes with a cloth instead of needing a wash, which is the whole point at this age.

Festive & pooja

Out for a week, away for a year. All four fold, roll or stack, so none of them needs a cupboard of its own.

KolamKolam half-round mat, 40×80A tufted kolam on a half-round, so it sits against a door the way a drawn one would. Soft enough to be a real doormat the rest of the year.RangoliRound rangoli rug, 60×60The round one, for the middle of an entrance floor rather than the threshold. Same tufted microfibre, so it can be walked on and washed.PoojaRangoli petal setPetal-shaped pieces you lay out yourself, so the rangoli is a different shape each year. For haldi, mehndi and pooja.HandmadeHandmade Rajwadi flower matPom-pom flowers worked into a rangoli by hand. The one that reads as decoration rather than as a mat, and the one people photograph.

Front door & outdoor

The mat that does the most work in the house, and the one people replace least often. Everything here is coir on a PVC or rubber back — the back is the half that decides whether it stays put or skates down the landing.

Measure the gap under your door first. Coir is thick, and a 15 mm mat under a door with 12 mm of clearance is a door that catches every time you open it. There is no fixing that afterwards.

CoirCoir doormat with tile print, 40×60A quatrefoil tile repeat in natural coir on black, with a green leaf set into each one. Stiff enough to actually scrape a shoe rather than just wipe it.FloralCoir doormat, single bloomOne oversized pink gerbera across the whole mat. It is a lot, and on a plain door it is exactly the right amount.GeometricCoir doormat, geometricA black and natural diamond repeat. The one to pick if the door, the tiles or the wall are already doing something.OvalLong oval entry rugRibbed coir set into a scrolled black rubber frame, and long. For a double door or a landing where a standard rectangle looks stranded.Half roundHalf-round tree mat, 40×70The half-round shape reads as an entrance rather than as a utility mat, and one broad tree fills the whole curve instead of sitting in the middle of it.RunnerTropical coir runner, 120×40Green palm leaves on coir, and long enough for a wide door. Covered outdoor is fine; open to the rain is not — coir holds water and stays wet.BalconyArtificial grass mat, 35 mmSold by the roll for a balcony or a terrace corner. Thirty-five millimetres is the tall pile, which is what makes it read as lawn rather than as doormat.