The rug for a Dragonborn

A Skyrim rug is a piece of Elder Scrolls decor for the floor: the province's parchment map, the dragon emblem from the game's cover, the claw-mark script of the dragon tongue or the banner of a favorite hold, printed into soft velvet that goes in the washing machine. The classic choice is the map, which looks like an antique cartographer's chart to guests and like a hundred hours of wandering to anyone who has played.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, from Bethesda Game Studios, was released on November 11, 2011, and it has never really left. It has been re-released on almost every platform since, from the Special Edition and the Nintendo Switch to virtual reality and the Anniversary Edition, and it has sold tens of millions of copies. Its cold northern province, its dragons and its endless side quests made it, for many players, the game they return to every winter.

The map of Skyrim

The in-game map, mountains, pine forests and rivers drawn like an old parchment chart, with Solitude in the northwest, Windhelm in the east and Riften in the southeast, is the single best Skyrim rug design. It is detailed enough to study, calm enough for a living room and recognizable to anyone who has fast-traveled across it. A map rug works especially well in a study or reading room, or as a centerpiece under a coffee table.

Printed in aged sepia and ink brown, it reads as historic cartography. Printed in white lines on deep navy, it becomes something closer to a blueprint, modern and sharp. If you want your own marks on it, the hold you played as a home, the route of your first character, a custom version is possible through our custom rugs. For other world maps and fantasy cartography, see our world map rugs.

The dragon emblem

Skyrim's cover shows a single dragon emblem, sharp and angular, in grey on black. It's one of the most recognizable symbols in gaming and, because it's built from simple shapes, it prints beautifully. On a round rug, it becomes a bold, graphic piece for a setup or a hallway; on a long runner, it suits a passage with dark walls and warm lighting.

Words of power

The Dragonborn learns Shouts, words in the dragon language, from Word Walls hidden in ancient Nordic ruins. The script is made of claw-like strokes and slashes, as if carved by a dragon's talon into stone. The most famous Shout, Unrelenting Force, is the one players know by its three words, Fus Ro Dah. A Word Wall design, rows of dragon script cut into grey stone, makes a striking, mysterious rug, and only fans will know what it says.

The nine holds

Skyrim is divided into nine holds, each with its own capital, jarl and banner. Players tend to adopt one as home.

City	Hold	Known for
Whiterun	Whiterun Hold	Dragonsreach, the Companions and the horse banner
Solitude	Haafingar	The Blue Palace, the Bards College and the wolf banner
Windhelm	Eastmarch	Ulfric Stormcloak's palace and the bear banner
Riften	The Rift	Autumn forests, canals and the Thieves Guild
Markarth	The Reach	A city carved into stone over Dwemer ruins
Winterhold	Winterhold	The College of Winterhold above the sea
Falkreath, Morthal, Dawnstar	Falkreath, Hjaalmarch, the Pale	Forests, marshes and the frozen north coast

A hold banner, Whiterun's horse, Solitude's wolf or Windhelm's bear, makes a heraldic rug that looks like a medieval tapestry on the floor. Many players choose their character's home hold, or the hold where they bought their first house.

Imperials or Stormcloaks

Skyrim's civil war splits the province: the Imperial Legion, defending the Empire's rule, against the Stormcloaks, the rebels of Ulfric Stormcloak who fight for Skyrim's independence. Every player picks a side, or carefully avoids picking one. A design in Imperial red and gold, or in Stormcloak blue with the bear, lets you declare your allegiance, and a split design, half of each, is a peace treaty for a shared room.

The constellations

Skyrim's skill menu is a night sky: each skill, from Smithing and Archery to Destruction and Sneak, is a constellation, and perks light up as stars. It's one of the most beautiful menus in any game. A constellation design, silver stars and lines on deep blue, is an elegant rug that suits a bedroom or a reading nook, and it looks like a star chart to visitors.

Northern lights and the Throat of the World

Skyrim's skies are full of green and violet auroras, and the tallest mountain, the Throat of the World, rises above them, with the monastery of High Hrothgar on its slopes where the Greybeards meditate. Climbing the seven thousand steps is one of the game's first great journeys. An aurora over snowy peaks is a calm, cinematic rug for a bedroom or a cabin, and it works as a landscape design for anyone, gamer or not.

Guilds and factions

• The Companions, the warrior guild of Jorrvaskr in Whiterun, with a secret of their own.
• The College of Winterhold, the mages' school on a crumbling cliff.
• The Thieves Guild, in the Ratway and the Ragged Flagon beneath Riften.
• The Dark Brotherhood, the assassins, with their black handprint and their Night Mother.
• The Dawnguard, vampire hunters from the expansion of the same name.

A faction emblem makes a personal rug: the Dark Brotherhood's black handprint on red is the most dramatic, and the Thieves Guild's emblem suits a fan who never could resist a locked chest.

Dragons and Alduin

The main quest is about the return of the dragons, led by Alduin, the World-Eater, a great black dragon prophesied to end the world. Alongside him is Paarthurnax, the old dragon on the Throat of the World who teaches restraint. A dragon in flight over the mountains, or Alduin's dark silhouette against a red sky, is a dramatic rug for a game room. For more dragons, knights and quests, see our Dungeons and Dragons rugs.

The jokes that never get old

Skyrim gave the internet some of its longest-running jokes: the guard who used to be an adventurer until an arrow found his knee; the opening cart ride where a fellow prisoner tells you that you're finally awake; the merchant cats who always have wares; the follower who is sworn to carry your burdens; the sweetroll that someone always seems to steal. A sweetroll design is a lovely, cozy rug for a kitchen, and an arrow-in-the-knee design is a perfect gift for a friend who quotes the guards.

Blackreach and the Dwemer

Deep underground lies Blackreach, a vast cavern lit by glowing blue and gold mushrooms and the ruins of the Dwemer, the vanished race of dwarves whose bronze machines and steam pipes fill Skyrim's ruins. Its glow is one of the most beautiful sights in the game. A Blackreach design, softly glowing fungus in the dark, is a moody, atmospheric rug for a bedroom with low light, and Dwemer gears and pipes make a bronze, steampunk pattern.

Hearthfire and a real home

The Hearthfire expansion let players build their own homes, Lakeview Manor, Windstad Manor and Heljarchen Hall, with fireplaces, trophy rooms and wooden halls. Many fans try to recreate that feeling in their real homes: dark wood, iron fixtures, furs, candlelight and a stone fireplace. A Skyrim rug in a Nordic-lodge room, perhaps the map or a knotwork pattern, is the finishing touch. Nordic knotwork, the interlaced patterns carved in Skyrim's ruins and on its furniture, makes a rug that suits a cabin whether or not anyone plays.

Jeremy Soule's music

Skyrim's score, by Jeremy Soule, is one of the most beloved in gaming: the main theme, sung by a choir in the dragon language, and the quiet, wandering pieces that play as you walk through forests and tundra. Many fans play it while studying or falling asleep. A Skyrim rug in a reading corner, with that music in the background, is about as cozy as gaming decor gets.

Mods and replays

Skyrim has one of the largest modding communities in gaming, and many players have run through the province dozens of times with new mods, new characters and new rules. For a fan who has played it on every platform it came out on, a Skyrim rug is a fitting celebration of years spent in the same snowy hills.

A fantasy shelf

If your library also holds The Witcher, Elden Ring or Baldur's Gate 3, you'll find their pages too, and fans of Bethesda's other worlds have Fallout and Starfield. Fans of epic fantasy beyond games will find The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones pages, and the whole range lives in our gaming rugs.

Colors and rooms

Skyrim's palette is cold and earthy: snow white, slate grey, pine green, iron black, parchment beige and the warm gold of firelight, with Imperial red or Stormcloak blue as an accent. It suits dark wood furniture, wrought iron, sheepskins and warm, low lighting. The map and knotwork designs are the most versatile; the dragon emblem is the most graphic.

Sizes and levels

The dragon emblem or a hold banner suits a 3.3 to 4.6 ft (100 to 140 cm) round rug. The map suits a large rectangle, 4×6 or 5×7 ft, where its detail can breathe. A Word Wall or knotwork pattern works well on a runner or a 2.6×3.9 ft rug by the bed. Under a gaming chair, choose Standard in 3.3×5 or 4×6 ft: its 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back lets wheels roll freely. For a lodge-style living room, choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, which feels like a warm hall floor.

Gifts

A Skyrim rug is a great gift for a friend who has played since 2011, a modder with hundreds of hours or a fan who hums the main theme. If you aren't sure which design to choose, the map is the safest, and the dragon emblem is the boldest. 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.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes. The design is printed into the fibers, so the map stays sharp, no matter how many times you fast-travel across it.

A note on the game

Padrift is an independent studio. Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls and their symbols are named to describe what our designs are inspired by; we are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax Media or Microsoft.