In the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Spain (near Granada), where I live, I simply can’t imagine my house (cortijo) without area rugs. The floors are all natural terracotta tile, and although it’s wonderfully cool on the feet in summer, in spring and autumn, and especially during winter, my toes long for something other than tile.

My Shaggy Shag Rug Studio

I look around the studio from where I write, and I can count 8 area rugs, just here in the studio, and it’s none too many. There’s a thick wool shag rug in front of the fireplace, but I have a few used rugs layered around and on top of each other, a little like an Arabian tent floor, just that I leave the stone area nearest the fire exposed. Since my studio is open I can see the salon (living space) and kitchen and dinning area from where I sit.

By the kitchen basin there’s a super long shaggy white and reddish purple shag rug that somewhat matches a royal purple chair throw (I got in India), and I have it in the kitchen because I love my hubby to sit and talk with me while I make salads, so I have a comfy chair and rug in the kitchen, which I know is odd, but it works for us. There’s also a large round shag rug (more of a low pile chenille rug) under the antique round wood dinning table beside a long wood console table I got in Belgium. (I know this is about rugs, but my console table is a work of art, all hand carved with two drawers and twisting legs, and the best part is that the top lifts up and has a second table top that is made of travertine marble and converts into a bar).

I also have a fabulous antique Russian Samovar (that my mother-in-law gave me) on the console table and a small gilded mirror above it. But, I’m getting distracted…this is about the shag rugs that are near my console table and all over the house.

More of my Shaggy Shag Rugs

Oh…and there’s the white sheepskin shag rug (from somewhere in Northern Europe…I’m not sure where because it was a wedding present) beside my bed. Mmmmmm, my toes love that shaggy sheep in the morning! There’s also a turquoise blue shag rug on my hubby’s side of the bed, which he bought from a local goat herder/carpet maker in the mountains above the house.

At the foot of the bed is a huge white shag (that could be and should be in the living room) that I just bought about two months ago in a mountain village. It’s an exquisitely soft white shag rug that my 3 cats love to curl up on. But it’s such a huge rug that I think when I finish renovating my antique house (which is quite another story) I will use it as the central rug in the living room. Anyway, I also have two multicolored (traditional alpujarreño) shag area rugs at the entrance to the courtyard (yes, in Spain, mountain homes called cotijos still have courtyards).

My Shag Rug Collection

So when I talk about rugs…I might actually know what I’m talking about! I’ve bought (or been given or somehow acquired) area rugs over the last 20 years as I traveled as a journalist, throughout Asia and Africa and Europe and the Americas (mostly South) and I have collected a lot of rugs.

Some are still in storage in Asia, but I will one day have all my area rugs in one place – my wool shag rug from a Mongolian trader, my strange American leather shag rugs that a friend sent me from New York, my Persian rug with the swirly Islamic motif, and my round Chinese rug with the lucky emblem in red and my all time favorite Tibetan rugs, one that is a sheepskin shag rug and the other a hand knotted wool area rug with a delicate Buddhist motif.

These are not what you think when you hear leather. They are not tanned animal hides, cow hide or sheepskin but a tied or woven item in the shag style.

A spaghetti leather shag rug is made of long, delicate strands of very soft leather or suede.

The most subtle, delicate and unique of all is the fine spaghetti shag rug made from Italian or Spanish calf or kid leather. These are shag rugs that employ slender strips of leather, like spaghetti, which are then hand tufted into a cotton backing. They are plush thick rugs, very different from the flat weave leather rugs that look like car seat protectors. They are fluffy not smooth. The great thing about these rugs is that they bring that wonderful leather smell to any room, even if they are a bizarre or none traditional color. They come in everything from tan or brown to neon bright funky modern pinks and purples.

Not Cheap Shag Rugs

Real leather area rugs are not cheap. Like all true leather home furnishings, be it a sofa a chair or a footstool, if made from leather they will cost a pretty penny. For a medium sized design expect to pay anywhere from $250 to more than $400. You may be able to find a small handmade rug that super soft suede for about $60, but it will be very small. Most can be spot cleaned with warm water and mild soap but otherwise, as with all leather products, they will require professional rug cleaning from time to time.

One 8 foot round leather Spaghetti shag rug in a rich brown color, which has been hand tied and has a leather and cotton blend, ultra soft and cozy is a great value for just under $220.

Leather Area Rugs and International Shipping

If you are hoping to order a leather shag rug from an online distributor, please be aware that many leather products cannot be shipped internationally. It is best to find an online rug merchant who is in your own country if possible and has already gone through the leather import process on your behalf.

Leather Shag Rugs and Fire Resistance

The other thing to be careful about is that some leather rugs are not fire resistant and may not be a good idea to have near the fireplace or in the kitchen. Please check the label for fire retarding protection before selecting a leather area rug or any kind of shag rug, be it a wool shag rug, a cotton shag rug, or a leather shag rug, especially if it is to be a kids rug or will be anywhere near a radiator, water heater, stove or open fire.

Leather Shag Color Variations

Another thing to be careful with when buying a leather area rug is the color. What you see on your screen (when shopping online) may not be exactly what you receive in the mail. Exact color matching is almost impossible. There are two ways to help: Order a swatch first. Visit a carpet retailer in your area and see the colors and then order online for better prices. However, even when you buy leather rugs in a shop you will note that no two leather products will take to the dye in the exact same way.

So, if you need two identical area rugs, buy them at the same time and from the same merchant. Even then there is no guarantee. Color variants in leather are not just a little different, but can be very noticeable. That however is part of the charm of natural shag rugs as a whole, they are natural and hand made and will not be manufactured mimicked copies of each other.