A welcome mat is a bit like a tie, no practical purpose except the purpose of convention. Some may agree with Wikipedia and argue that it is used “to allow people to easily scrub or wipe the soles of their feet before entering”.  However, unless the mat is brand new, chances are it holds more dirt than your shoes, much like wiping your hands in an old towel hanging on a rail at a shabby pub. 

In all sorts of fonts, the word welcome is often scrawled across the mat.  Despite the fact that germs from shoes are clearly welcome, are burglars, sought after criminals, arsonists welcome?  Just as you should “be careful what you wish for”, you should also be careful what you welcome, and therefore, if you are choosing a doormat, you should choose it wisely. Here are different types of doormats which feature in the world:

1. The traditional mat
The traditional welcome mat is usually made out of brown material with an uppercase WELCOME written in a bold font. The traditional proves that the owners are either genuinely welcoming anyone or anything that stands at their front door, or else were attracted to the comfort of its conventional status.

2. The sarcastic mat
These are for individuals who have a sense of humour. Taking the traditional look to contrast nicely with the harsh, unconventional words in the same bold font, the sarcastic doormat varies with messages such as ‘leave’, ‘go away’, ‘not you again’, ‘nice underwear’ and ‘get lost’.  Possibly an ice breaker for anyone who walks in your house. But then again, the sarcastic is also getting a bit clichéd, and slowly entering the traditional zone.

3. The themed mat
Doormats have been manipulated to fit with the lifestyles of the people who live in it. Binary mats for coders and computer technicians, ‘slide to unlock’ mats for Iphone enthusiasts and, of course, the ‘only welcome if you have alcohol’ mats.

4. The first impression mat
If you are going to put a doormat to welcome someone into your house, you might as well choose a pretty one. After all, first impressions are deemed important. That is where the array of mats sporting spots and stripes and flowers and swirly patterns enter the market.

Despite the various categories of doormats, everyone knows that no one takes doormats seriously. After all, if they weren’t, there would be many more robberies, people would judge each other more, and everyone would have less friends.