The Shag Rug Trend Gets a Much-Needed Trim — These Short-Pile Styles Hit the 70s Sweet Spot

Modern and miniamlist home with short shag rug in gray color, with beige sofa, round timber coffee table, floor lamp, and brick fireplace.

For the past few years, it’s felt like sheep from New Zealand to the UK have been taking hair supplements — rugs are getting progressively shaggier, with some editorial styles reaching near-human hair lengths. It’s all part of the ongoing 70s revival, seen everywhere in interior design trends.

There’s something free-spirited about taking texture to new heights — until you have to clean it. Shag is all good and groovy until you realize that what you thought was wool is actually plastic, or worse: an unmanageable lint trap that eats socks and snacks on pet hair. Which is why these short-pile shag rugs might be the happy medium we’ve all been waiting for — all the texture you'd expect from the best rugs, but none of the chaos.