Wings on the floor

A butterfly rug is one of the prettiest ways to bring a little nature and color into a room. The showpiece design is a rug cut to the shape of a butterfly itself, its wings spread wide, lying on the floor like it has just landed. Close behind are bold monarchs in orange and black, shimmering blue morphos and a scatter of small butterflies across a pale ground. Ours are printed edge to edge on soft velvet, so the fine patterns of the wings come out in remarkable detail, and every rug goes in the washing machine.

Butterfly-shaped rugs

A butterfly-shaped rug is a little piece of magic in a bedroom or a nursery. Our shaped rugs are cut to the outline of the wings, in sizes from 2.6×2.6 up to 5.2×5.9 ft (80×80 to 160×180 cm). A small butterfly beside a bed is sweet; a large one in the middle of a room becomes its centerpiece. Choose realistic wing patterns for a grown-up room, or soft pastel wings for a child's.

Designs

Design	The look	Best in
Monarch	Bright orange wings with black veins and white dots	Living rooms, sunrooms, kids' rooms
Blue morpho	Brilliant blue wings edged in black	Bedrooms, modern rooms
Swallowtail	Yellow and black wings with long tails	Garden rooms, kitchens, playrooms
Vintage specimen plates	Rows of butterflies, like an old natural history print	Studies, libraries, living rooms
Scattered garden butterflies	Small butterflies among flowers on a pale ground	Bedrooms, nurseries
Y2K pink butterflies	Pink, lilac and sparkle, early-2000s style	Teen bedrooms, dorms, vanity corners

A monarch's orange and black is the boldest choice, while the blue morpho suits a cooler, modern bedroom.

Monarchs

The monarch is North America's most famous butterfly, and one of nature's great travelers. Each fall, eastern monarchs fly up to about 3,000 miles from the United States and Canada to the mountain forests of central Mexico, where millions cluster together on the trees for the winter; western monarchs gather along the California coast. Their bright orange wings, veined in black and edged with white dots, make a bold, warm rug design that feels both natural and graphic. A monarch rug is a lovely choice for a sunroom, a living room with plants or a child who's learning about migration.

Blue morphos

The blue morpho, from the rainforests of Central and South America, has wings of a brilliant, almost electric blue. That blue doesn't come from pigment at all: it comes from the microscopic structure of the scales on its wings, which reflect blue light, so the color seems to shimmer as the butterfly moves. Our rugs can't shimmer, but a morpho design, vivid blue wings edged in black, is one of the most striking butterfly rugs we make, beautiful in a bedroom or a modern room.

Vintage specimen plates

In the nineteenth century, naturalists displayed butterflies in neat rows in glass cases and illustrated them in beautiful printed plates. A specimen-plate rug, butterflies of different species arranged in rows on a cream or black ground, has that same curious, collected feel. It suits a study, a library, a dining room or any room with antiques and botanical prints.

Scales and wings

A butterfly's wings are covered in thousands of tiny, overlapping scales, which give them their colors and patterns. The scientific name for butterflies and moths, Lepidoptera, comes from Greek words meaning scale wing. A close-up design of a single wing, its pattern magnified across the whole rug, makes a striking abstract that looks like modern art.

A symbol of transformation

Butterflies begin life as caterpillars, wrap themselves in a chrysalis and emerge transformed, one of the most remarkable changes in nature. That's why butterflies are so often seen as symbols of change, growth and new beginnings. A butterfly rug can be a meaningful gift for someone starting a new chapter: a new home, a graduation or a recovery. For children, a design showing the whole life cycle, egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly, is a gentle science lesson on the floor.

Y2K butterflies

Butterflies were everywhere in the early 2000s, on hair clips, tops and bedroom walls, and they're back. A pink or lilac Y2K butterfly rug, sometimes with a little sparkle or a heart, is a favorite for teen bedrooms, dorm rooms and vanity corners, paired with fairy lights and a mirror full of photos. For more, see our cute rugs and retro rugs.

Butterflies and moths

Butterflies have a few cousins that make beautiful rugs too. Moths mostly fly at night, and their antennae are usually feathery, while a butterfly's end in little clubs. The luna moth, a pale green beauty with long, trailing tails, is one of the loveliest insects in North America, and a luna moth rug, soft green on a dark ground, has a quiet, moonlit elegance that suits a bedroom or a study.

Bringing butterflies to the garden

If a butterfly rug inspires you to welcome real butterflies outside, the secret is plants. Monarch caterpillars feed only on milkweed, so planting it helps the species, and nectar-rich flowers like coneflowers, zinnias and lantana attract many kinds of butterflies. A butterfly rug in a room overlooking a pollinator garden ties indoors and out together.

Dressing rooms and vanity corners

A butterfly rug in front of a vanity or a full-length mirror adds a pretty, feminine touch to getting ready. A pink butterfly or a pale specimen design suits a dressing room with soft lighting and a few framed prints.

A butterfly nursery

Soft pastel butterflies make a gentle, timeless nursery theme. Pair a butterfly rug with white furniture, soft pink, lilac or mint and a mobile of paper butterflies. Choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, about 700 g/m², for tummy time and first crawls; once your child is walking on a smooth floor, Standard's non-slip back is the safer choice. Our kids and nursery rugs have more ideas.

Bedrooms

A butterfly rug beside the bed or at its foot adds color and lightness to a bedroom. A butterfly-shaped rug suits a child's or a teen's room; scattered garden butterflies on cream suit an adult's; a single dramatic morpho suits a modern room. Our bedroom rugs page has more layouts.

Garden rooms and living rooms

Butterflies and flowers belong together. A butterfly garden rug, with blooms and butterflies on a pale ground, suits a sunroom, a conservatory or a living room full of plants. A 5×7 ft rug is our largest standard size; custom sizes go up to 5′11″ × 10′. For more garden designs, see our flower rugs, botanical rugs and bee rugs.

Kids and curious minds

Children are fascinated by butterflies, and a butterfly rug is a natural way into the subject. Count the spots on a monarch's wings, find the matching pattern on both sides, or trace the life cycle from egg to wing. A bright butterfly rug in a playroom or a classroom reading corner makes nature part of everyday play.

Bathrooms

A small butterfly rug by the vanity is a pretty touch in a bathroom. One honest note: our rugs are printed velvet, not thick, quick-drying bath mats, so place one by the vanity or the door rather than right where you step out of the shower. Choose Standard: 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back, about 500 g/m², which grips the tiles.

Round butterfly rugs

A round rug with a single butterfly in the center, or a ring of butterflies around the edge, is a soft, pretty shape for a reading corner or a nursery. Round rugs come from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across. Our round rugs page shows each size in a room.

Your own butterfly

Want a butterfly in your exact colors, with your child's name, or based on a photo of a butterfly from your own garden? Our custom rugs can print it in any size up to 5′11″ × 10′, or cut it to shape. Custom rugs are made just for you and can't be returned.

Standard or Premium

Standard is best on hard or slippery floors, in bathrooms and under desk chairs, because its non-slip back stays put. Premium is softer and warmer, best in nurseries and bedrooms. Both are printed the same way, so every detail of the wings stays crisp, and both go in the washing machine.

Sizes, shipping and returns

Rectangles come in 2×3, 2.6×3.9, 3.3×5, 4×6 and 5×7 ft. Round rugs come from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across, and butterfly-shaped rugs from 2.6×2.6 up to 5.2×5.9 ft (80×80 to 160×180 cm). Custom sizes go up to 5′11″ × 10′. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that. Unused rugs can be returned within 30 days on US orders; custom rugs can't be returned.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes, and blot spills with cold water right away. The design is printed into the fibers, so the colors stay as bright as a summer garden, wash after wash.

Butterflies around the world

Some of the world's most remarkable butterflies come from far beyond the backyard. The glasswing of Central and South America has wings so clear you can see through them, framed by thin dark edges. Queen Alexandra's birdwing, from Papua New Guinea, is the largest butterfly known, with a wingspan that can approach a foot. The painted lady is the great traveler, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America, and it makes long migrations of its own.

Those species open up new designs. A glasswing rug, with transparent-looking wings over a soft background, is airy and modern, perfect for a light-filled room. A birdwing in iridescent green and black is bold and dramatic for a living room. A swarm of painted ladies in warm orange and brown gives a cozy, autumnal feel.

For a child who loves nature, a world map with a butterfly from each continent turns the rug into a small geography lesson and a reason to look for butterflies on every trip.

For a child who keeps a butterfly journal or raises caterpillars at school, a rug of world butterflies makes every sighting outside the window feel like part of a bigger adventure.