The pile on this rug is soft--Im impressed! Even though it is a short pile, it is thick and feels good. The one thing Im not completely happy about is the color. The rug really looks teal in the photos, and some of the color throughout us indeed teal. But the overall effect with the grey makes it look like country blue or smoky blue. The fringe is really more of that country blue than teal. Even so, the pattern is really nice and I love the yellow. I bought a 9x13, and its too much trouble to return it at this point to get a better teal. Overall, pretty well pleased. I guess you take a chance when you order online like this.