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How Much Do You Really Know About Rugs?

By: Vaheed A.Taheri

A decorative hand-woven rug may be the largest and most expensive piece of artwork someone will ever own. It must appeal to one's sense of sight and touch, and ones' sense of self. It must define a space without overwhelming it, and enhance décor while enriching your life. And it is absolutely true that a carefully selected area rug will add value to all the artwork, furniture, and all other articles in a room.

Area rugs hold a lot of fascination for consumers, collectors, interior designers and architects. Rugs are not longer limited to the traditional colorful designs we were accustomed to in our childhood days.

Currently, area rugs are being designed by new leading designers, architects, and famous fashion and textile designers. Interior design firms have also jumped on board to lend their talent and vision to the creation of attractive area rugs. Most of the area rugs that are being sold today are under license production of well known fashion and textile designers.

Changes are ongoing in the rug industry. Throughout the years the rug industry has come up with different techniques and ways of weaving rugs, and different materials for the content. Most of the original designs have been modified to suit today's lifestyles.

Area rug producers are constantly looking to minimize the cost of the materials, and make the rugs in areas where labor is less expensive than the country of origin design. While a large part of the rug market has been saturated with lower end area rugs such as handcrafted and machine made, still there is a demand for high end area rugs and most designers and architects are demanding superior quality.

Most area rugs fit in one of three different categories:

• Hand Woven: This type rug has an actual knot with wool, silk, or cotton foundation. Contents are natural and sometimes the colors are natural, too. Hand woven rugs tend to last a long time and keep their value and they have a good resale value. You can feel the personality and character of the design.
• Hand Tufted: This type rug has a cloth backing (canvas) and is made with synthetic glues to hold the loops together. Weavers use a special gun to weave this type of rug, which can be wool or silk, and th4e colors are usually synthetic. Hand tufted rugs are lower in price, and they tend to last for fewer years because the glue dissolves over time. Almost all of the hand tufted rugs are from China and India. There is no resale value. Hand tufted rugs show their age and wear after only a few years.
• Machine Made: This type rug is made on what is sometimes called a power loom. Like the hand tufted rug, this one doesn't have a foundation. It is usually of wool or synthetic content. Power loom rugs tend to have a better durability and last longer than hand tufted rugs. But, again, there is no resale value unless they are one-of-a-kind and antique.

I always encourage my trade partners or the end user clients to buy a handmade rug, because the contents are natural and they will last longer. Best of all, after a few years your rug can be washed and it will look new again. From experience and training, I can tell you that if you don't abuse the handmade rug, there is no way you can ruin it.

In hand woven rugs, regardless of their country of origin, there is a personality and heritage with it. They are truly pieces of history and humanity. They are a true marriage of art and craft.

In today's market, rugs from Iran and Turkey are hard to find and they are becoming more and more expensive due to less production and higher labor costs. The art of weaving area rugs in Iran and Turkey is a dying art, and many rugs that are labeled as Iranian or Turkish are actually being imported to Iran and Turkey from other countries, and then exported as Iranian or Turkish rugs. Most hand woven rugs today are coming from Pakistan, India, China, Afghanistan and Nepal.

When considering purchasing a quality rug for your client, take the time to research your rug and really understand what you are buying. Your clients will appreciate the service, and you will grow in your knowledge of beautiful rugs.

Vaheed A. Taheri is cofounder and carpet designer at Modern Fever in San Francisco's design District.