There is a lot of foot traffic coming in and out of my house, and most of it is wearing heavy boots. I live in Wisconsin where it is cold in the winter, and there is snow on the ground. Needless to say, my doormats gets shredded. Between the snow, the ice, the mud, and the thick heavy boots, I go through two or three doormats a year. I was sick of it. I wanted my house to be welcoming, but I didn't want to be buying a doormat practically every other month. That is when I decided to get a cast iron door mat.
I wouldn't have thought that iron mats existed until my wife suggested it. The idea of cast iron door mats seemed somehow ghoulish to me, like something out of the Addams family. After all, a doormat should be soft and welcoming – at least as much as a muddy piece of rug lying outside could be. A rubber door mat already seemed to be going too far, but a cast iron door mat seemed ridiculous.
Nonetheless, when I saw the ornamental iron mats in the store, I was completely blown away. I have always loved the way that cast iron looks. I have a cast iron fence in front of my house, a cast iron door knocker, and even cast iron chandeliers. I know that it is too bleak a look for some, but to me it is classical and beautiful. The cast iron door mat seemed like a welcome addition to my home decorating motif. Once I realized that cast iron doormats were neither obscures nor in bad taste, I set off to buy a couple. I actually have a cast iron doormat in front of every entrance to my house.
Cast iron door mats are better for some things than for others. For example, a cast iron doormat is really not very good for houses where people are going to wear their boots inside. You can scrape your shoes off on a cast iron door mat, but you can't really get the dirt out from inside the treads. By the time you step off of it, no matter how thoroughly you scrape your shoes, there will still be mud on the bottoms of your feet. Therefore, if you live in a milder climate than I do, or if you're used to wearing your boots in the house, you really should stay away from the cast iron door mat.
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