How to choose your rug

How to choose rugs

Buying a rug is like buying a wedding ring for your fiancé-it can be overwhelming. There are a number of factors to consider, like if the ring is the perfect size, does she love the design and if she would love to flaunt it or just wear it occasionally. It's like that moment where "could have/would have/ should have" doesn't really work unless you know all the specifications just like what you need to buy that PERFECT RUG. There are several factors that one has to take into consideration prior to choosing a good quality handmade rug. For Example:

• Decide the Placement of the Carpet

Buying a handmade rug and then keeping it in storage won't do any justice to it. If the rug is not used, it will only get ruined overtime and be eaten by moths or rats. Hence, prior to picking and choosing a fine quality rug, one needs to decide the placement of the same. One can choose a large area rug for a living room or a dining room. One can place beautiful rugs on the bed-side or in front of the bed. For an Entrance, one can place a beautiful round rug and for a hallway/corridor, a runner rug would be ideal. Lastly, if you're an outdoor sitting at the patio kind of person, our outdoor rugs would be perfect.

• Measure the size of the room where the rug needs to be placed

Take the exact measurement of the area where you would like the carpet to be placed and note the size of the area that you want to cover. Round rugs are for Entrances, round dining tables etc. While long runners are for Corridors/ hallways/ Passages etc. Most of the carpets are rectangular in shape and are standardized in size. Common sizes (approximate) of rectangular rugs are:-

2x3 ft (60x90cm) 3x5ft (90x150cm) 4x6ft (122x183cm)
5x7ft (150x244cm) 5.5x8ft (167x244cm) 6x9ft (183x275cm)
8x10ft (244x305cm) 8x11ft (244x335cm) 9x12ft (275x365cm)
10x13ft (305x395cm) 12x18ft (365x550cm)

 

One of the major factors to be considered is whether you would like the rug under the furniture or not. Also, if you are looking for an odd size rug, kilims and Afghans are the best option. Else, you can also place an order with us stating your exact specifications and we will be happy to customize the same for you as per your specifications.

• Colors/ designs/Patterns

Light colored rugs/pastel tones would not just add size to your room and make it look bigger but shall also match with most of the interiors of your space. A quick tip should be kept in mind while purchasing your favorite rug is that it doesn't have to match 100% with the colors of the room. As long as it compliments and is in sync with the rest of the room and is visually appealing, one should be good to go.

Color pattern chart image

There are various designs and patterns one can choose from. From a traditional design point of view, one can choose from having a rug with/without medallion, Qum, Bokhara, Nain etc to name a few. Beautiful intricate designs mean greater workmanship on the rug that could have easily taken 8-10 months with 2-3 weavers working on it on an average. On the other hand, for a modern design rug, you can choose from our collection of ready stock as well as request an order for a customized one.

• Legs on or off

This is one aspect where a lot of us get confused whether to keep the legs of the furniture on the carpet or off the carpet. Well, the trick is to be consistent throughout instead of having one side of the carpet with legs and the other side without the legs of the furniture. If you have more room and would like your entire rug to be as visible as possible, then the best bet would be to have the legs off the carpet plus this helps in vacuuming the rug as nicely as possible. On the other hand, if one has less space and would yet like to place a beautiful rug as per the size of the room, once can totally opt for half of the legs off the rug while the other half on the rug.

• Traffic area

A high traffic area needs a rug that is more durable, stain resistant and has more longevity. Due to this, it is advisable to choose a rug that is double weft, good quality fiber (wool/silk). For low traffic areas like the bedroom, one can consider handmade pure silk rectangular rugs to place by the bed front and long runners for the bed side. Low traffic areas include bedroom, formal dining area and living room, guest room whereas High traffic areas include lounges, casual dining/living room, kid's room etc.

• Rug durability

A handmade rug is 5 times more durable than a machine made rug. Durability of a rug also depends on the type of fiber used (wool/silk/mixed). A synthetic silk rug is far less durable than a Kashmir silk rug just like a double weft New Zealand wool rug is much more durable than a single weft wool rug.

• Budget

Buying a rug is certainly not like buying vegetables from the grocery store on an everyday basis. It is one of those things that one buys and treasures for a long time keeping its longevity in mind. If you are looking for a long term buy and would like to pass it on for generations to come, investing in a high quality handmade rug is definitely worth all the effort.

On the other hand, if budget is a constraint and yet you would like to have a beautiful rug that adorns your house each morning, opt for a lower range of handmade rug since they are more durable as opposed to a machine made rug which is short lived and not good quality at all.