Dive in

An ocean rug brings the calm and wonder of the sea into a room: a coral reef bursting with fish, a sea turtle gliding through blue water, the turquoise shallows of a beach seen from above or a great wave curling over. For a child's room, an under-the-sea scene is the favorite; for a living room or a bedroom, an aerial view of the water or a soft wave pattern is the calm, grown-up choice. Ours are printed edge to edge on soft velvet, so every shade of blue comes out clear and deep, and every rug goes in the washing machine.

Ocean designs

Design	The look	Best in
Under the sea	Fish, coral, octopus, turtles and starfish	Kids' rooms, playrooms, nurseries
Aerial shoreline	Turquoise water fading to deep blue over white sand	Living rooms, bedrooms, beach houses
Coral reef	A riot of color and texture	Kids' rooms, bathrooms
Deep sea	Glowing jellyfish and strange creatures on black	Teen rooms, game rooms
The great wave	A curling wave in the Japanese woodblock style	Living rooms, studies
Whales and dolphins	Giants of the sea	Nurseries, kids' rooms

Under the sea

An under-the-sea rug is one of the best rugs for a child's room or playroom: clownfish darting through coral, an octopus waving its arms, sea turtles, crabs, seahorses and starfish on the sandy bottom. Children can spot and name the creatures, or play with toy sea animals right on top of the scene. On a hard floor, choose Standard: 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back, about 500 g/m², so the rug stays put. Our kids play rugs page has more ideas.

Amazing ocean facts

The ocean covers about 71 percent of the Earth's surface and holds some of its most remarkable life. There are five ocean basins, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic, and the Pacific is the largest. Its Mariana Trench plunges nearly seven miles deep, deeper than Mount Everest is tall. The Great Barrier Reef, off Australia, is the largest coral reef system on Earth. An octopus has three hearts and blue blood, and the blue whale is the largest animal known ever to have lived. An ocean rug is a perfect starting point for sharing facts like these with a curious child.

Aerial shorelines

Seen from above, the place where the sea meets the sand is a beautiful gradient: white beach, pale aqua shallows, turquoise and then deep sapphire. An aerial shoreline rug, sometimes with a thin line of white surf, looks like abstract art and brings a calm, beachy feeling to a living room or a bedroom. It pairs beautifully with white walls, linen and pale wood. For more beach styles, see our coastal rugs.

Coral reefs

Coral reefs are among the most colorful places on Earth, alive with pink, orange, purple and yellow corals and the fish that live among them. A coral reef rug is bright, joyful and full of detail, great for a playroom or a bathroom. It's also a gentle way to talk about protecting the reefs, which are sensitive to warming seas.

The deep sea

Far below the surface, where sunlight never reaches, live creatures that make their own light: glowing jellyfish, anglerfish with lures and tiny animals that sparkle like stars. A deep-sea rug, luminous blues and purples on black, is a moody, mysterious design for a teenager's room, a gaming setup or anyone fascinated by the unknown.

The great wave

One of the most famous images in art is a towering wave about to crash over small boats, with Mount Fuji in the distance, made by the Japanese artist Hokusai around 1831. A rug inspired by that woodblock style, deep Prussian blue with curling white foam, is a dramatic, elegant design for a living room or a study, and it works beautifully in a room with Japanese-inspired decor.

Whales, dolphins and sea turtles

The gentle giants of the sea make some of the loveliest ocean rugs. A whale swimming with its calf, a pod of leaping dolphins or a sea turtle gliding through blue water is calm and sweet, a perfect nursery or child's room design. Sea turtles can travel thousands of miles and are thought to use the Earth's magnetic field to find their way. For more, see our whale rugs.

Nurseries

A soft ocean nursery, gentle blues, smiling whales and little fish, is calm and timeless. Choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, about 700 g/m², for tummy time and first crawls; switch to Standard's non-slip back once your child is walking on a smooth floor. Our kids and nursery rugs have more ideas.

Bathrooms

An ocean rug is a natural fit for a bathroom: fish, coral or a turquoise wave beside the tub. 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 bath or shower, and choose Standard for its grip on tiles.

Beach houses

In a beach house, an ocean rug ties the inside to the view outside. Sand and salt water come out in the wash between visits; choose Standard for entryways and kitchens, where it stays put. For a lake house, a soft blue wave design works just as well.

Calm, blue living rooms

Blue is often described as a calming color, and an ocean rug in soft aquas and deep blues can make a living room feel restful. Pair it with white or sand-colored sofas, natural wood and a few green plants. A 5×7 ft rug is our largest standard size; custom sizes go up to 5′11″ × 10′. Our living room rugs page has more layouts.

Mermaids

For many children, the ocean means mermaids. A mermaid rug, with shimmering scales in pastel pinks, purples and teals, a seashell crown or a mermaid tail curling across the floor, is a magical design for a girl's bedroom or a playroom. A rug printed with iridescent-looking scales, like a mermaid's tail, is especially popular, and it looks lovely as a round rug.

Caring for the real ocean

An ocean rug can also be a gentle reminder to look after the real thing. Sea turtles, whales and coral reefs all face pressures from plastic pollution and warming waters, and small habits, like carrying a reusable bottle or picking up litter on the beach, make a difference. It's a lovely conversation to have with a child sitting on their under-the-sea rug.

Siblings and shared rooms

When two children share a room, an ocean rug is easy to agree on: one can choose the sharks, the other the sea turtles, and both can share the reef. A large 5×7 ft scene in the middle of the room gives room for both to play.

Gifts

An ocean rug is a wonderful gift for a child who loves sea creatures, a family with a beach house, a scuba diver or a marine biology student. An under-the-sea scene is the safest choice for kids; an aerial shoreline is the most elegant for adults.

Round ocean rugs

A round rug can look like a porthole into the sea, a circle of blue water with fish swimming through, or like a whirlpool of waves spiraling to the center. 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.

Surf and sailing

For those who ride the ocean rather than dive into it, see our surfboard rugs, and for nautical stripes and anchors, our coastal rugs.

Your own ocean

Want a rug of your favorite beach from above, a photo from a snorkeling trip or a sea creature with your child's name? 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, so please check names and spelling before ordering.

Standard or Premium

Standard is best for playrooms, bathrooms, beach houses and anywhere with a hard or slippery floor, because its non-slip back stays put. Premium is softer and warmer, best in nurseries, bedrooms and living rooms. Both are printed the same way, so blues stay clear and deep, 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 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

Shake out any sand before washing. 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 ocean stays blue, wave after wave.

Ocean zones, from sunlight to midnight

Scientists divide the open ocean into layers by depth, each with its own light, temperature and life. The sunlight zone, from the surface down to about 200 meters, is bright and warm enough for plants and most of the animals we know, from dolphins to coral reef fish. Below it, the twilight zone, down to about 1,000 meters, is dim and blue, home to fish with huge eyes and many that migrate up at night to feed.

Deeper still, the midnight zone, from about 1,000 to 4,000 meters, is completely dark except for the glow of bioluminescent animals, like anglerfish with lights dangling over their mouths and jellyfish that flash when disturbed. The abyssal zone reaches about 6,000 meters, and the deepest trenches form the hadal zone. The Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point on Earth, lies nearly 11,000 meters, or about 36,000 feet, below the surface.

A rug can turn that journey into a beautiful, educational design: a tall rectangle that darkens from turquoise at the top to deep navy and black at the bottom, with animals in their proper zones and depth markers along the side. It suits a child's bedroom, a homeschool corner or a long hallway, where walking from one end to the other feels like diving to the bottom of the sea.

For a younger child, keep it simple: sunny water with a turtle at the top, a whale in the blue middle and a glowing anglerfish in the dark at the bottom. Older kids can follow the real numbers and learn why so few animals live at the very deepest point.

A long runner suits it best, so walking from one end to the other feels like a dive from the surface to the deep.