All Season Striped Doormat

The stripe here is doing a job as well as looking tidy. Running across the direction of travel, it breaks up the surface so that grit and water get worked out of a shoe rather than skated over, and it hides the wear line that appears down the middle of every plain doormat within a year. Two colours are offered: a neutral grey and a deep carmine red.

The pile is seventy per cent polyester over a thirty per cent PVC base. The polyester is what gives it a tufted, brush-like surface with enough bite to actually clean a boot; the PVC gives it the weight to stay put and the resilience to be left outside. It is specified as stain and fade resistant, so summer sun on a south-facing step will not bleach it out in a season.

The profile is kept low so an inward-opening door clears it without dragging. Two sizes cover a standard front door and a wider set of patio or bifold doors. The backing is slip resistant on hard floors, though on a wet tiled threshold it is always worth stepping onto it deliberately rather than at speed. Hand wash it and dry it flat.

• Tufted striped doormat, 70% polyester / 30% PVC
• Sizes: 40 x 60 cm and 80 x 120 cm
• Stain and fade resistant for sunny doorsteps
• Low profile clears inward-opening doors
• Slip-resistant backing for hard floors
• Hand wash and dry flat - do not tumble dry