When you go to a stores for purchasing rugs for your home or office, you are awe-struck with varieties and prices. Varieties are many such as hand-knotted, hand-tufted, machine-made and so on; and some prices are low while others are high. Left to yourself, you don't know which is best and which to choose.
Mostly, you have to go by what the salesperson leads or misleads. Should such a predicament happen to you when you pay handsomely for the purchase? No, we don't expect it to happen to you. So prepare yourself to know these valuable rug buying tips beforehand so you find yourself safe and satisfied with what you buy, without any regrets.
Benefits:From the days of yore, use of rugs in houses, inns, and palaces is extensively in vogue. Aside from the scientific advantages they bring in, they remain mute tellers of your status as well. Carpets give manifold benefits to buildings and occupants- they give warmth to legs preventing chillness from affecting them, conceal floor defects, bring about an elegant ambience, absorb dust, and control noise including echo. Generally affordable, they appear in different colors, sizes and artworks.
Measurements:Floor spreads in general are called rugs; while sizes beyond ten by eight feet, and eleven by nine feet are called normal carpets, those above 24'x14' are called palace carpets. And for covering full room size, rugs are customized by taking measurements. As in everything else, knowledge of Rug buying tips will help you decide on purchase of the most perfect rugs for your room.
As a first step toward buying rugs, you measure accurately the floor space and major furniture items. A few aberrations are possible in measurements of rugs in shops. First, rugs in hanging condition for display in shops may look bigger than they really are for naked eye, and you're not to get carried away by such illusions; second, rugs in shops may differ in dimensions, particularly in length by upto 5%; then, stores may not include the fringe measurements into the total size of a rug. So while making purchase, you check them up all vis-a-vis your actual measurements to avoid short lengths or run-overs on walls.
Color choices:Choosing matching colors with walls, sofa covers etc. according to your taste matters. Referring to a paint specimen, pillow cover or something like that will help in selecting the match in person in a store.
For online purchases, look for return policy and 'try before you buy' clause, so in case of return or exchange, no extra financial implication occurs. “Order small, try the match and then decide on larger purchases” is the guiding factor in this.
Life-period of rugs:Life period varies as the type and place of use of rugs. But the dependent factors are amount and number of people using them, material and construction followed. The places are broadly classified as high traffic which includes entry points, hall and family room; medium traffic area means dining room and home office, while the low traffic covers bedrooms and living room.
The area rug types mainly come as hand-knotted, machine-made, hand-tufted, hand-hooked, braided and flat-woven. Depending upon the type and the place used, the use-period varies from 5 to 20+ years. So while purchasing rugs, bear this in mind to decide “which is to be put where.”
Beware of allergies:Primarily, rugs prevent dust allergies as they trap most of the dust into and under them. As a general rule, you have to remove out and vacuum them twice a week, followed by an yearly cleaning by a professional. Ironically there's as yet no rug in the market which is allergy-free.
Use of rug pads:Rug pads, otherwise known as rug underlays are an accessory for rugs. Though very cheap, their advantages are immense. They help keep the rugs in place, thereby saving children, elderly and others from any unexpected slips; adding cushioning and softness to the rugs which avoids scratches on floors is another advantage; they also give softness to the floor underneath, apart from overall increasing rugs' life-period. When you buy and use a rug, don't forget to buy rug pads also; they are very cheap too!
Choose a trustworthy store:Half of your worries are over when you make the purchase from a trusted and tested stores; because they deal with products which are known for quality, competitive price and reasonableness; and no wonder, by choosing such a shop, you can relieve yourself of worries of low quality or undeserving high price. This is the general experience.
However, before choosing a shop, you are to make enquiries and go through reviews with particular reference to low-price guarantee, exchange and return policy; it should not add any additional expenditure on you. While making online purchases, look for security icons such as Better Business Bureau or e-trust.
Don't hesitate to ask for clarifications and gauge the stores' response for speed and knowledge about products. And you have to be wary of higher discounts (above 20%), as pricing pattern in such cases will be unreliable.
Know the differences:Rugs are manufactured with different materials like cotton, silk, bamboo and natural fibers; they are chiefly hand-knotted, hand-tufted, or machine-made. Choosing the best for you becomes really difficult when you don't know what's what. The tips below will put you in proper perspective to make the correct choice. A look at the backside of rugs will reveal the differences amongst these three types.
Machine-made rugs:The alignment of the warp and threads will be uniform. With an over-stitch design on the back, the overall color and design will look hazy. The fringe is only sewn on, and not extended for warp strings here. Its over-stitching keeps the knots in position as seen on the edges.
Mostly made in Belgium using fine wool, these are fit for use in high traffic areas. Of late synthetic rugs made from synthetic fibers such as rayon, nylon and polypropylene are available in markets; these too are durable, suitable for high traffic rooms.
Hand-knotted rugs:The backs will expose well-pronounced individual knots and designs characteristically. These are knots that keep the other knots securely in position, with their ends hand-finished, and marked by ruggedness. Fringes are nothing but simple warp string extensions on the back. Wool, silk and cotton are the materials predominantly used in making hand-knotted rugs, with wool being the most used material among them. Thanks to their ruggedness, they are preferred for high traffic areas.
Hand-tufted:Its distinguishing construction is its cotton support glued to the loosely-knit cotton or linen cloth to underside of the rug. Material used for this is mostly quality wool. Looking like a hand-knotted rug, but with no knots, it is fit for use in high traffic rooms at low cost.
Antique rugs:Speciality with antique rugs is they look extremely grand with marvellous art works. They are known for unique softness and durability. Purchasing such a piece will be quite worth the money you pay for. This, however, doesn't mean you buy only these items. This is only an additional set of tips for your use, should you need them. Main criteria followed in the selection of antique rugs are their age and condition.
First is knowing the age of the rug. Persian made antique rugs are in high demand. Due to calendar differences, years marked on tags on the back of rugs mostly following Persian era, may not be able to be understood properly. Hence you have to refer to the three age categories defined below.
First category of age is antique, which means rugs are made prior to 1915; semi-antique belongs to rugs made between 1915 and 1950; and contemporary refers to rugs manufactured after 1950. As for conditions, there are three categories-fine, average and worn. Obviously related to their age, these in turn are proportionate to the rugs' value.
“Fine condition” rugs are those with no noticeable traces of wear and tear, coming with characteristic high quality and life-period; average condition refers to rugs with small to medium level of wear, while worn rugs appear as bare, faded, insect worn, stained and thinning spots. After all you are the best judge to decide which to buy- the brand new rugs or the antique rugs, depending on your taste; but forget not to follow the tips.
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