Hi Oceanna,
So I have done some research in the past when I was purchasing rugs and here is what I went by. Rugs are usually made of wool and wool that is fat and dry makes the rug more durable and last longer. There are also rugs made with silk which are thinner and smoother however they do cost more. Prices, for the most part depend on the density of the rug. The more the dense - more expensive. A good rule of thumb is the more knots there are in the rug the stronger it is. Oh and also the dyes in the rug is also important. Dyes that are made from vegetable or other natural dyes are better because dyes that are chemically produced fade faster.

Also depending on your floor a rug pad might be a good idea. They aren't necessary but they prevent slippage and if you have an uneven floor like stone then in increases the life span on the rug.

I hope that helps you with your rug selection and I hope you find a good rug that you like!
Happy Holidays

Hi Oceanna,

I have to say that even though I've been looking for rugs for a long time, I don't have a good idea of whether I'm getting my money's worth. The rugs that I've been looking at are new hand-knotted rugs (for the most part) so I am able to compare prices from store to store for some sort of price check. However, even there, the prices for the exact same rug have varied considerably.

While knots per square inch is one indicator, the type of wool used is another. The rug store guy is trying to educate me by showing me that wool can be dry or oily (oily is better) but my novice hands can't tell the difference.

Hopefully you will find something you like at a price that you can pay and you won't have to worry that you were ripped off. Good luck!

We own about two dozen rugs, most of them handmade but some machine-made. We've been collecting them for over thirty years now. The machine-made synthetic rugs have jumped considerably upwards in quality in the last ten years. It's really remarkable.

My take on rugs is different than lionstale. I prefer wool rugs or high-quality synthetics (olefin or polypropylene, NEVER rayon) to silk. Silk has a high tensile strength but very little abrasion resistance. It does not last well underfoot. I use it only for very low-impact areas.

Rugs are either flat-weave or plush. Both are good, it merely depends on what you like. Flat-weave can be better in high-traffic/dirty/muddy areas where plush will pick up and "hold" more dirt. Depending on the pattern of the rug, it may not look dirty...but trust me, it is.

In plush, the higher the knot count, the better. The exception is Chinese rugs, which use a much thicker wool and thus their highest count is 210, compared to an Oriental which can go up to 1200 knots.

Most rugs will outlive you. It doesn't matter if they're Chinese or Oriental, wool or olefin. Even a Couristan brand machine-made rug will outlive you with ease.

The most important things to remember about rug care is: 1) use a rug pad! Softer underfoot, won't slip, and helps the rug last longer. 2) Keep it clean. Vacuum regularly, treat spots immediately, and have it professional cleaned whenever it gets dirty. Whether machine-made or hand-made, this WILL COST YOU. It is not at all unusual for the cost of cleaning over a thirty year period to exceed the cost of the rug, especially on small ones. They can't be cleaned with those W2W carpet steamers you rent at the local store.

I dislike natural dyes because in cheaper rugs, they tend to bleed when wet. They are softer in color than metallic dyes, however, so some people prefer them. Chromium dyes offer more brilliant color patterns. There's nothing wrong with them; virtually everything in your house and that you wear uses synthetic dyes.

Like anything else, shopping around will give you a feel for the right "price points". Anything drastically lower than that range, is low for a reason. It may be a good reason, such as cutting out the middleman and not having a store rental to pay. Always check out your vendors with the BBB and if necessary, ask them for customer referrals if you're feeling at all uncomfortable with them. You're really only confirming they are good to do business with in the short term anyway. Rugs don't come with a guarantee; most vendors will only give you 30 days to exchange or refund.

I figure any room with enough sun to make my rugs fade, is also killing the upholstery and wood flooring along with it. Get some UV film up if it's a problem, especially with west-facing windows. Otherwise, a few hours of sun slanting through your windows isn't a big issue. For instance, one of my rugs does have some sun fading on one side. But this was after 15 yrs of west-facing sun on a daily basis. And frankly, most people can't even see it; you have to look pretty closely to see that the intricate blue patterning is slightly paler on the right than on the left. My low-tech solution was to flip the rug around.

I own one of the Chinese 210's and it literally feels like velvet to the hand. It is also extremely heavy, as you can imagine. I haven't seen one offered for sale in over twenty years, however. There are a lot of inexpensive Orientals coming out of Pakistan and Afghanistan these days that are keeping prices depressed. They're very high quality for the money, although I confess that I've always had some qualms about who's making them. Let's face it, traditionally women and children have always been used in making hand-made rugs. I doubt that all of them are making good wages.

Unless you're going to buy very expensive rugs just set a budget for yourself and get something that you like. Karastans are great machine made rugs with few if any issues and most like them. If you find one you like, someone on this board has a supplier with good prices who ships.

Chinese Art Deco rugs are very good buys right now as they are out of fashion. They wear like iron and can easily be found in a google search. But they have a specific style and colors and motifs which you need to like. I just sold one I had for a million years and did ok on it. The problem is condition since they are 70 y.o. and can be worn or moth eaten. Nichols are the gold standard in those.

Then there are Oriental rug styles, new and old. In general, there are Indian and Persians (also Caucasians and Turkish) which are reproduced in various sizes and colors as new rugs. They can be handmade or machine made and you don't need to worry about condition.

If you like new program rugs -- one which has some kind of brand attached to it and have the same pattern in various sizes -- it's a bit easier to shop. F.ex. Couristan and others have rugs offered in collections -- prices range. The price will vary depending on what someone's markup may be -- as T2G explained, those rugs are sold by distributors to dealers so the wholesale is what it is.
Very thick wool rugs from Tibet are more modern than others and very beautiful but often quite expensive (and new unless you find one on Craig's or at a house sale).

Unless you know what you're doing, I don't recommend buying at auction or delving into older Persian rugs which take a tremendous amount of study. I spent nearly a year developing my taste and trying to find an old Persian I could afford.

I like wool rugs. The dry/oily thing sounds like salesmanship to me -- I never heard anything about that in the year I shopped for antique rugs and spoke with numerous dealers at every level. I did hear about rugs made from a private flock of sheep that were elite and only sheared at a certain time of the year. When you find dealers with those kinds of stories I say run.

The dealer I bought from was as straight as could be, never pressured or told me stories and was very liberal about how long I took the rugs for approval. Old school rug dealers are the only way to go IMHO.

There is some good, basic information on rugs over on the atticmag.com site.
Good luck on your search.

Hi, this post caught my interest. I want one rug only because its the only pattern I have seen "in real life" that I really like. It's a JC Penny rug and it's wool. that's about all the internet description tells me. I'll post a link to it.
you all are very knowledgable about rugs.
thanks for all the info, Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: jcpenny rug link

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your experience and expertise! I've learned a lot.

"from a private flock of sheep that were elite and only sheared at a certain time of the year. "

roccocogurl, that is hilarious !!

mitch --that is an absolutely true story and he was a high pressure dealer who had prices I didn't agree with because I'd seen far better things in the same price range -- in contrast to some wonderful and very knowledgeable people I've dealt with and spoken to (like our own t2g).

Same is true in many areas, as you well know. I met a wonderful majolica dealer two weeks ago. Of course you must like the dealer's taste as well. LOL.

I just wanted to also say thanks to everyone's suggestions above as we also will be in the market for 1-2 oriental rugs for the living/dining room and don't want to break the bank. Just curious, if I were to buy a used rug, what is the ballpark for having it cleaned and who cleans it? Drycleaners or someplace specialized in rugs?

I have a couple of 4x6 cheapo "oriental style" rugs in my kitchen I bought from Linen's 'n Things. I really like them and they don't show the dirt, but I know they are dirty because they are on the floor below the sinks. I've not put a rug pad because I like to pick it up, shake them out and clean the hardwood floor below. Would it be better to use a rug pad there? Also, they say dry clean only but I'm tempted to try handwashing in the bathtub. WOuld that be such a bad thing? They were only $39 so no point paying more than the rug clost to clean it--otherwise I'd just swap them out every 6 mos. Opinions?

I recently brought an eBay purchased hand-knotted rug to a cleaner/restorer and he's charging me $1.95 per square foot to wash our rug. In this case the cleaning is going to cost more than what I paid for the rug and shipping because it was one of those cheap-o eBay auctions that I didn't think could be for real. The rug was so dirty that when I picked it up to sweep under it, there was a pile of dirt underneath, almost like a sandbox, so it had to be cleaned. Gross!

I saw them cleaning the rugs and they actually wash it with soap of some kind and then hose it off.

As far as prices for cleaning, the rug store in LA quoted a similar price to clean our new rug--which shipped today.

As for whether you could hand wash yours, I'm not sure. Hopefully someone else can chime in.

Meg, when you say "I saw them" do you mean the dry cleaners? Good grief, any of us can wash them with soap and hose them off. I have to laugh as a former dog breeder -- one person is advertising a very large rug for $100 on CL here because her dog peed on it and she doesn't want to clean it -- I got the feeling she doesn't want to touch it -- hehehe.

We have 4 wool Karastan rugs, 8x10 11x12 6x8 5x6 In Baltimore it cost 400 to have all 4 cleaned. I can't remember how much it was per foot. I get them cleaned every 3- 4 years if they need it. they have been cleaned twice. A bonus is they will wrap and store them for 6 monthe for no extra charge, which we have done twice once for a new puppy and once while we were doing a lot of construction.
You can wash them your self but I think the weight of the large rugs when they are wet would be impossible,and they need to dry flat. I know someone who cleans her small wool rugs herself with no problems,she sends her large one to be cleaned as well. HTH Sue

No, Oceanna, not the dry cleaner. I was at the rug restorer's work place and I saw them washing someone's rugs. I guess if you have the right equipment and the space, you could do it on your driveway but I didn't want to take that chance with an older rug. And where would you let it dry here in sunny Seattle?

That's a great price cooperbailey.

That's a great price?

Hmmm... as I'm reading this thead I'm having visions of getting two smaller rugs and velcro-ing them together. lol! With five dogs I'm of the mind everything in my house but the furniture should go in either the dishwasher or the laundry. :-O

Well, granted the cleaning price is much more than what it would cost you to do it yourself--if you could--but I just meant it was a great price relative to what I would have to pay up here in Seattle.

Oh don't tell me that! lol!

Maybe what we need to find is a laundromat with a ginormus machine? I'll lset you know if you'll let me know. :P

Okay, maybe this is a stupid question, but is there such a thing as an attractive rug, say 5x7 or 5x8 that can go into a washing machine -- even a big commercial washing mashine like at a laundromat? I have to ask before I make flooring decisions. With five dogs (who are currently having a bout of the runs) practical ways to clean everything are always a consideration.

Oceanna-

I am like you. I have 3 large dogs and 4 messy kids. There is no way I could afford to have a rug over my hardwood floors or under my table that I would have to pay 1.95 a square foot to clean. If it can't go in the washer, it isn't worth having.

I ended up buying a rug at Target. I have the 5x8 and it fits into my front loader washer. It washes up excellent. Muddy dog prints, spilled drinks or whatever just wash right out in the washer. And the price was right. Maybe someday when it is only me and DH and some little ankle-biter, I may get something different, but for now, I will stick with a washable rug!!

This link isn't the pattern I have but it is the same type of rug. I lucked out and got mine on clearance for 50% off.

Here is a link that might be useful: Target Rug

I send my big Karastans to the oriental rug cleaner, but anything small enough for me to roll up and schlep out onto the porch or the driveway....I wash myself...literally hose off and then squish rug cleaner or any mild soapsuds through it (or even use a brush gently) then rinse rinse rinse. They do wash the rugs at good rug cleaners BUT they have big drying rooms where they can hang the rugs and dry them fast and thoroughly....so for DIY the weather is very important. I've alternately left them flat on a deck (where the spaces between the slats helped with drainage) and flipped the rug regularly, or hung it over porch railing, also flipping regularly. This was all in hot, dry weather, mind you. And in a pinch, I have blasted the water off with my big dog dryer and then draped the rug over something and propped the dryer to leave it blowing on the rug for hours....but probably most people don't have a big dog hair dryer, so I only mention it in case. ;~)

I know that many people swear by their Dash & Albert rugs. D&A now makes indoor/outdoor rugs that are machine washable, scrubbable and bleachable. Here's the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dash and Albert indoor/outdoor rugs

Thanks, Iasheff, Briosa and Meg!

Actually, I DO have a professional dog dryer. :D They blast the water right out of stuff. Awesome idea.

One stop shopping on 1000's of Beautiful home decor ideas and decorative home accents from around the world!

Here is a link that might be useful: Decor ideas for your house

Decorating your home with rugs and the benefits they will have to the look and feel for your home.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap Rugs