Plush Interlocking Carpet Tiles – 12 Foam Puzzle Mat Squares, 11.8 in, Hand-Washable

Twelve plush foam squares that lock into a soft patch of floor where you want one

These are interlocking puzzle tiles, not glue-down carpet tile: each square is a thin EVA foam mat, about the size of a large dinner plate, with a deep fleece-style pile bonded to the top and a jigsaw edge all the way round. Twelve of them press together in a couple of minutes into one soft rectangle about the size of a bath mat and a half. That is the honest job of this set: a warm landing spot beside the bed, a soft square in front of a dresser or desk, a corner to sit on the floor in, laid straight onto a hard floor with nothing to stick down and nothing to cut unless you want to.

What twelve tiles actually cover

What it is made of

• A foam mat with a fleece top. The body of each tile is closed-cell EVA foam, the same family of foam used in gym puzzle mats, with a soft polyester plush pile bonded to the upper face. The maker gives the make-up as roughly nine parts EVA foam to one part polyester by weight.
• About three quarters of an inch thick, pile included. The maker's drawing shows a foam layer and a pile layer of about equal depth, roughly 0.4 in each. The foam is thinner than a gym mat and the pile is what you feel underfoot: soft and warm, with a little give.
• Jigsaw edges on every tile. Each side has small square tabs and notches that press into the next tile. The outside of your layout shows those tabs; this set does not include straight edge strips, so if you want a clean straight border you trim the outer tabs off with scissors.
• Cuts with household scissors. The foam and pile cut cleanly, so a tile can be trimmed to fit around a bed leg, a radiator pipe or a door frame.
• Six solid colors. Coffee, Gray, Green, Camel, White and Pink. All tiles in a pack are one color; mix packs for a checkerboard.

Where it works, and where it does not

Size and specification, as the maker states it

Laying it

• Sweep the floor first. Grit under a foam tile shows as a bump and wears the underside.
• Start in a corner and work outward. Line up the tabs of one tile with the notches of the next and press the seam flat with your hand. Keep the pile running the same way on every tile or the color will look patchy in side light.
• Trim to fit. Mark the cut on the foam side and cut with scissors. Cut the outer tabs off for a straight edge.
• Let it settle. Tiles come folded or stacked and can hold a curl for a day. Lay them out, weight the corners with a book, and they flatten.

Good to know

• It sheds a little at first. Loose pile comes off for the first few days. A lint roller or a vacuum on low suction clears it; it settles down.
• It is soft, not thick. This is a warm, cushioned surface for feet, not a crash mat. If you want thick padding, a plain EVA gym mat is the better product.
• Slippery floors stay slippery. The underside is plain foam. On a smooth floor the joined patch stays put under normal walking, but it is not anchored and a single loose tile can slide. Nothing here carries a slip-resistance rating.
• Wash one tile, not the patch. A spill is the reason to buy a tiled rug: lift the one tile, rinse it, dry it, click it back. Keep them out of the washer and the dryer; the foam does not survive either.
• Color varies a little between packs and screens. If you are covering a large area, order all the packs at once.

In the box

• 12 interlocking plush foam tiles, about 11.8 x 11.8 in each, in the color you choose