All About Carpets & Rugs

Buyers Guide

Considerations When Buying a Rug / Carpet

Different people have different needs in mind when they look for a rug. It is important to take into account your needs before  beginning to shop for a rug.

Some people want a rug purely as a household furnishing. For them a rug is an integral piece of a larger puzzle. Others have a passion for rugs. They like the very idea of rugs. They are rug enthusiasts, rug lovers. They may be quite knowledgeable in terms of rug history or typology, or they may have a purely visual interest and response to the rug, a reaction that perceives the individual personality inherent in all handmade rugs, especially antique ones. To a rug enthusiast, the rug is more like a painting. It is a focus for detailed attention. It should go with the accompanying décor, but it is not immediately subordinate to it. For this type of buyer there are various levels of concern and interest.

Antique Rugs vs. New Rugs

People with a passion for rugs may well be concerned with the age of the rug, and for various reasons. Enthusiasts will sense that older rugs have greater quality and personality than newer ones. They may also be interested in the investment potential of antique rugs, which will generally hold their value or appreciate over time. Even those who are not rug lovers may be interested in antiques as investments. But those who are in the market simply for attractive and practical floor covering are best served by a new rug, which, if well made with good materials, will meet such needs eminently well.

City Rugs vs. Village or Tribal Rugs

Although all rugs are woven in more or less the same technique, the divide between city and village or tribal rugs can involve substantial distinctions in style which, in turn, lend themselves to different formats and uses in interior décor. City rugs tend to be sophisticated, refined, and elegant, qualities that work well in formal settings, while the bolder, geometric designs and effects of village and tribal rugs work better in less formal circumstances. But taste trumps all such considerations. Those who appreciate tribal rugs will find them appropriate to any setting, just as aficionados of city rugs do. Village or tribal rugs tend to appeal especially to rug enthusiasts and collectors, who find in such pieces a remarkable degree of cultural authenticity, vitality, and personality.

Reading up on the Subject

If you are actively seeking to purchase a rug or if you have a serious interest in rugs, it is advisable to look into the available literature. Rug aficionados may wish to learn about the history and typology of rugs. There are various books on this subject currently available. Those with a serious interest in collecting may also wish to follow auction catalogs as a guide to market value and availability, or to attend auction viewings to develop a firsthand knowledge to fine rugs. For those who are new to the subject there are various guides to rug buying, as well as style or pattern guides or carpet identifiers.

Excellent Books:

            Lee Allane, Oriental Rugs: A Buyer's Guide

            Ian Bennett, Oriental Carpet Identifier

            Charles Grant Ellis, Early Caucasian Rugs

            Emmett Eiland, Oriental Rugs Today

            Murray L. Eiland Jr. and Murray Eiland III, Oriental Carpets: A Complete Guide

            P.R.J.Ford, Oriental Carpet Design: A Guide to Traditional Motifs, Patterns, and Symbols

            Jenny Housego, Tribal Rugs

            Charles W. Jacobsen, Check Points on How to Buy Oriental Rugs

            Anthony N. Landreau, The Nomadic Weaving Tradition of the Middle East

Anthony N. Landreau and W.R. Pickering, From the Bosporus to Samarkand, Flat-Woven Rugs

Werner Loges, Turkoman Tribal Rugs

Diana K. Myers, Temple, Household, Horseback: Rugs of the Tibetan Plateau

George W. O'Bannon, The Collector's Guide to Selecting, Identifying, and Enjoying New and Antique Oriental Rugs

            James Opie, A Complete Guide to Nomadic and Village Carpets

            Ignaz Schlosser, The Book of Rugs: Oriental and European

            Ulrich, Schurmann, Central-Asian Rugs

            Jerome A. Straka, The Oriental Rug Collection of Jerome and Mary Jane Straka

            Jon Thompson, Oriental Carpets From the Tents, Cottages, and Workshops of Asia

Choosing a Rug and Interior Decoration

·         Finding the right Rug

Finding the right rug for your needs depends on determining those needs first. There are various considerations regarding the purpose that the rug will serve. These have to be settled before even beginning to look.

·         Functional Needs

First off, the buyer needs to determine the immediate purpose that the rug will serve. Is it to serve primarily as insulation or to dampen sound, or is it meant to be decorative, or both? Is it for use at home or in a business environment? Is it for a formal or informal space? Is it desirable to use a room-size rug, or several smaller ones?  Is it to be used for the floor or as a wall decoration, table covering, or a throw? Will it be used in a high traffic zone? These are all vital considerations n determining which way to go.

·         Home vs. Business Space

Rugs meant for a business environment will meet different requirements than those for use at home. A rug in a business setting is to some extent an expression of the image that the business seeks to project, so it may require something formal, reserved, or bold and playful; it all depends. But a rug for a place of business will need to stand up to considerable traffic, so it should above all be durable. Such commercial needs will generally be met by new rugs, but certain types of business, those that seek to project tradition and refinement, may require an antique.

Rugs for use at home should reflect the taste of the owner, and in a very profound and personal way, since they provide a constant feature or part of one's private environment. But here too, there are practical considerations. If the rug is needed for insulation or to absorb sound, a thicker, perhaps more coarsely woven rug may be required. If it is primarily intended as a home furnishing, a new rug may be the right way to go. If one is a rug enthusiast, it may be worth the added expense to look for an antique.

·         Formal vs. Informal

Interior décor falls into essentially two categories -  the formal and the informal. Rugs and carpets that convey formality are generally those produced in sophisticated urban settings. In the Orient this means Persian, Indian, and Turkish city rugs with sinuous, finely detailed arabesque designs. In the west this means the classical elegance of Aubusson, Savonnerie, Axminster, and Spanish carpets, but also Art Deco rugs with a modernist emphasis. Oriental rugs that lend themselves to informal settings are primarily tribal and village rugs with simpler geometric designs, whether from Persia, the Caucasus, and Turkey, or nomadic Central Asian rugs. Turkoman or "Bokara" rugs, with precise, geometric patterns, however, straddle this divide.

In a high-powered business space, formality is appropriate to rooms where one meets clients, board rooms etc. In residential space, foyers, living, and dining rooms may require formality, and perhaps libraries as well. Informal rugs work well in more relaxed business environments. For home décor informal pieces are generally appropriate to dens, family rooms, bedrooms. But once again, personal taste is the bottom line. Some clients want formality virtually everywhere, while others prefer informality throughout their residence.

·         Comfort vs. Appearance

While rugs and carpets appeal most immediately on a visual level as designs comprised of line and color, they are nevertheless tactile three dimensional objects that function as cushioning and insulation as well. It is important for buyers to consider the extent to which this aspect of the rug is also important. If it is, higher pile village or tribal weavings like Gabbehs or certain Tibetan rugs will be more appropriate than many other types of rugs, which are made with lower pile to emphasize the precision of the drawing in the design. Various new rug productions are also made in thicker pile with a notable cushioning effect. However, antique rugs may be less appropriate for those who desire high, cushy pile, since even if in good condition, they tend to have lower pile due to wear.

·         Room-Sized Rugs vs. Area Rugs

Rugs offer a useful means of defining and dividing space. They can serve as an anchor or focus for grouping furniture, or breaking a room up into two or more functional areas. To do so, however, one should decide whether to use one or more large rugs, or multiple smaller rugs. There are no hard and fast rules for approaching such decisions. This relies largely on what one needs to do with the space functionally, and on personal preference. But this is a decision that needs to be made early on in the process of choosing the rug. Larger, room-sized rugs that will cover a substantial portion or majority of the floor space offer the advantage of visual unity for the room with furniture distributed across the rug surface. But a number of smaller rugs will accomplish the job of covering the floor, while creating multiple foci for several groupings of furniture. Multiple smaller rugs also give the impression of greater space. But even if one opts to use larger rugs, it is important visually not to cover the entire floor surface of the room. Leaving a substantial margin of floor around a room-sized rug will make the room look bigger.

·         Rugs as Wall Hangings and Throws

Although created as floor covering, smaller rugs also make excellent wall hangings or furniture coverings. A good antique with an effective design worthy of sustained attention will work much like a painting when hung on the wall. Prayer rugs with architectural niche compositions are especially effective on the wall, where they function like windows, so as to expand or open up the space of the room. Supple antique rugs are wonderful as throws on a sofa or chair, and they make lovely bedspreads or tablecloths. Indeed, when Oriental rugs were first imported to Europe they were considered too precious to be walked on, but were used instead as tablecloths. The leather couch for the patients in Sigmund Freud's famous office in Vienna was covered by his prized Qasghai'i rug.

Personal Taste

Some buyers have an instinctual approach when shopping for rugs. Whether or not they are well informed regarding rugs, they can readily sense what appeals to them and what does not. Others, however, may be overwhelmed and confused by the wide range of choices available to the potential; buyer. In the latter case it can be very helpful to consult well-illustrated books on the history and typology of rugs simply to get an idea of the range of patterns and colorations before wearing out the shoe leather.   But in doing this sort of research it is important to take note of what does appeal and to remember the names or labels applied to the rugs that seem attractive. By learning to recognize what you like and to communicate such preference to dealers, it becomes far easier to shop for the rug.

Durability

Not all rugs are produced with the same capacity to stand up to prolonged use. Durability depends on several factors – the quality of the wool, the tightness of the weave, and the condition upon purchase. A rug made from lanolin rich moist, lustrous, healthy wool will withstand the friction of traffic better than dry, brittle, dull wool. Firm rugs that are tightly woven, with a high vertical compression or density of knots will also stand up better to foot traffic than a floppy, more loosely woven rug, however good the wool. Antique rugs that are densely woven from fine wool can still be walked on if they have a fair degree of pile intact. But an antique piece with low pile is best used in an area with a lower volume of traffic. If durability is an issue, it is important to ascertain the wool quality, density, and depth of pile, whatever the age of the rug.

Establishing a Budget

Establishing a Budget is perhaps the most important decision one can make in purchasing a rug. Two factors are critical – how much can one afford, and how much should one have to spend? The first issue depends on the buyer's finances. The second issue depends on the type of rug that one requires, which in turn involves its size, age, quality, rarity, condition, and market demand. While deciding how much to spend is ultimately based on the buyer's resources, it also involves a certain degree of learning or education on the buyer's part – discovering the market cost of the qualities that one is seeking, and gradually adjusting to realities of cost. One can then decide to spend more or to settle for less, and to strike a balance among the various trade-offs. The more realistically one approaches budget, the more effective or efficient the search for a rug becomes.