Doormats

A doormat keeps the daily mud, water and grit out of the house: cheaper to replace every 2-3 years than to deep-clean the carpet behind it for a decade. Cheaper-Online.co.uk, Choice Furniture Superstore and Cox and Cox between them cover £2-£330 across the range. Material decides what the mat actually does. Coir (coconut fibre, the British classic, scratches mud off shoes, sheds fibres for the first 2 weeks); rubber-edged coir (firmer, cleaner edges, no fibre shedding); rubber-and-bristle (the all-weather pick, doesn't trap moisture); cotton or microfibre (absorbs water, the indoor mat for shoulder seasons). Standard doormat sizes: 40x60cm (small entrance), 50x80cm (household standard), 60x90cm (large entrance or back door). Patterned coir mats (with welcome message or graphic) suit visible front doors but read busier than plain mats. Look for non-slip backings on indoor mats; outdoor mats sit on coconut grit naturally.