Accessories - Housewares - Finishing Touches - Need help choosing an area rug.

I'm looking for a large area rug to cover my new laminate floor in the main living area (lots of traffic, with small children and small dog). I've read on several rug sites that wool rugs are the "standard" by which all other rugs are measured, but it also seems as if they may be harder to clean and more fragile than other fabrics? Is there such a thing as a rug that is stain resistant, very comfortable, easy to care for, easy to clean, and preferably budget-friendly? What fabrics should I be looking at?

Thanks for any help.
Amanda

all the same features from wall-to-wall carpet apply to area rugs. the most dense the better (# of tufts per inch), a tight twist, wool is best, but very expensive, then nylon, then olefin. hand made will cost much more than machine made. also look at the binding. some inexpensive rugs have a kind of binding that doesn't handle traffic well & wears to a frizz quickly. if you're needing an 8x10 size, you'll probably just want the least expensive you can find! (have you priced large rugs lately? :eek: )

i'd be looking for a rug that's not too light-colored and preferably one with a fairly busy pattern to hide dirt or stains. you might also want to look at having a good wall-to-wall carpet bound into an area rug size.