I'm using this product as a door mat as the designer intended. I can't really comment on the rubber smell since it stays outside.

It looks pretty good sitting on my front step. It makes a great conversation starter. It's the first thing guests notice and comment on when they arrive. It's a bit too clean to be really convincing, but that's besides the point.

As far as door-mats go, it works fine. It's no worse than the plain rubber mat it replaced. It's not like the bristly beige mats you find at golf courses which work very well at scrubbing off all kinds of mud and dirt. This mat works best with flat-bottomed dress shoes. It'll have trouble getting mud out of sneakers and hiking boots. It's better suited for shedding water. You just have to ask yourself, how often do you come home with mud on your shoes?

As far as size goes, it's a little wider than your average rectangular mat. Factor in the round shape and I'd say it has approximately 50% more surface area than your average mat.

If you're in the market for a designer door mat (who isn't??) you could do much worse than to buy this or one of its inter-city cousins.

I bought this for my 17 year old son for Christmas. It's really a cute item but the rubber odor is so potent I had a difficult time finding a place to hide it. I kept it in my walk in closet but the rubber smell started permeating my clothing. If the smell weren't so strong I'd give this a five star for a cute thing to put in your kids' rooms.