IVI Play Rugs from Danish by Design – Review and Giveaway

*** This giveaway has now closed, and the lucky winner is Karen Turner! ***

I’m a huge believer in toys and activities that encourage our children to be creative, imaginative, and spontaneous. I love seeing the children expressing themselves through play, so I am always on the hunt for pieces that will hold their attention by offering endless possibilities.

The IVI Play Rug from Danish by Design ticks all of those boxes and more. The concept is very simple – a beautiful high quality rug which illustrates an engaging scene for the children, but with one very clever feature that sets it apart from anything else. The rug is 3-Dimensional!

It is made from 100% polypropylene (no shedding!) which is carpet quality so it is incredibly durable, and can therefore be used as a normal rug anywhere in the house. We chose to use it in our main family room as it is lovely and soft to just sit or lie on, looks fantastic, and a is a great way to keep the kids happy while I can keep an eye on them.

The 3D effect is a result of the rug having no pile on certain areas, creating little roads and laneways which get little fingers just itching to drive the cars about town. I had barely got the rug down, before Katie ran off and brought back a collection of her ponies and cars. I didn’t say a single word about what the rug was for, and yet she instinctively knew how she would like to play with it.

When my son got home from school, I heard him rummaging around in his bedroom, and out came his collection of farm animals.

Soon enough they were grazing happily in the paddock at the top of the rug.

And the tractor was doing its daily rounds of checking the fences and throwing bales of hay to the other farm animals.

One night, the kids decided that there was a neighbourhood party being held in one of the houses. So that meant that there was a lot of traffic on the roads, while all the neighbours drove around and around looking for a close park!

The next day was such a lovely day, we borrowed our little family from the dollhouse and invited them to a picnic by the lake. We took them for a walk over the bridge and then the baby fed the ducks in the pond.

Every single day I have watched on as the children come up with the most exciting adventures for their little farm. I love that they can either play together on one area of the rug, or they can create two completely seperate scenarios at either end.

We have used animals, dolls, cars, trucks, teddy bears, and trains, and watched as the cars zoom around the roads, or the animals settle nicely into a new paddock. The rug is large enough so that I can sit down and join in with the game, which may be just a quick 5 minute play or close to an hour!

There are four 3D designs available – Farm, Formula 1, PLaying Family and Traffic, and they come in two sizes of small (100 x 150cm) or large (134 x 180/200cm). The small IVI Play Rug is $159.95(RRP), and the large IVI Play Rug is $229.95(RRP). Be sure to measure your space to make sure you get the right size!

The rugs are easy to clean – I give mine a quick vacuum every couple of days, and they are hypo-allergenic, anti-static, and anti-stain (and they don’t feel itchy or scratchy to sit on!!).

My children are aged from almost 2years to 7 years and it holds equal appeal across all ages. The farm design particularly appeals to both boys and girls because there are just so many areas to play in and it can incorporate so many different characters into the different scenes.

With school holidays approaching, I know the IVI Play Rug will certainly be a popular choice, and we might even be able to set up a few more little houses and barns that we can add to over a few days!

The team at Danish by Design would like to offer one reader the chance to win a Large IVI Play Rug in the Farm design (exactly the same as mine), valued at $229.95. It’s as easy as following the Rafflecopter steps below, including leaving a comment telling me what you love most about these gorgeous rugs. Open to Australian residents only and all entries must be received by midnight AEST, on Sunday 16th September, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway