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Area Rugs
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For spreading personality around a room, the area rug has few rivals. What
could be more elegant than an heirloom quality Oriental area rug atop a gleaming hardwood
floor, or more charming than a handcrafted braided area rug on timeworn pine planks. In
myriad styles and prices, versatile area rugs set the mood-and more.
Beyond beauty, these stage-setters are hardworking area rug design
elements. Area rugs bring softness and warmth to any hard-surface floor, instantly infuse
color and pattern into a space, and make comely cover-ups for soiled or damaged carpet.
Area rugs are great unifiers, sparking entire color schemes. One of the best decorating
strategies is to use area rugs to define specific activity centers within a room,
especially important in large rooms and in today's flowing, open-plan homes. For example,
let one area rug set boundaries for a conversation area and another area rug outline a
dining spot. Area rugs can be used alone or in conjunction with carpet.
Traditional Area Rugs
Rich in history and hue, jewel-toned Oriental
area rugs are the aristocrats of area rugs and are prized in traditional, formal, and
eclectic schemes. Authentic hand-knotted Oriental area rugs may take years to create, but
can wear well for more than a century. Equally elegant and formal are French area rug
classics, such as Aubusson rugs, Savonnerie rugs, and hand-stitched needlepoint rugs.
Flat Woven Area Rugs
Popular in contemporary and eclectic room schemes are wool dhurrie area rugs, produced in India for centuries.
Sumptuous colors, stylized motifs, and vivid geometry characterize these flat-woven area
rugs that are durable and reversible. Kilims are flat
woven area rugs with no pile. Persia, Turkey and Afghanistan offer Kilims in geometric
designs, while Besserabian Kilims are floral area rugs. Other picks include Scandinavian ryas rugs, shaggy
Greek flokatis rugs, and modern
area rugs in bold, graphic designs.
Braided and Hooked Area Rugs
Colorful braided area rugs, hooked area rugs, and rag rugs bring,
homey, handcrafted appeal to country-spirited rooms, and antique examples are
increasingly prized by area rug collectors. Many area rug reproductions are made by
traditional methods and reprise historic motifs, and there are contemporary
interpretations in fresh pastels. Another option is the floorcloth,
a favorite of colonial America, with designs from primitive area rugs to formal painted
area rugs on canvas, jute, or other fabric backing. Painted Sisal
is a contemporary area rug inspired by 18th century floorcloths
Antique Area Rugs
If you're shopping- for an authentic area rugs or antique area rug, research the techniques, materials, and
designs of the period and the region of origin, as well as the area rug's
identifying characteristics. For example, high-quality Oriental area rugs are made
of sheep or lamb's wool yarns, hand-knotted through linen or cotton backing. The more
knots per square inch, the better the quality area rug. A superb Persian area rug may have
more than 500 to 1,000
knots per square inch. There are handsome area rug reproductions made on power looms, and
less-costly facsimiles with designs printed on the pile surface. Antique area rugs,
especially Orientals, are always expensive and often difficult to find. Although good
examples turn up at estate sales and auctions, your best shopping bet is a reputable,
established area rug dealer.
You might want to consider an antique area rug from a particular region:
Persian Area Rugs of metropolitan areas differ greatly
from those of small rural villages. Urban area rugs are sophisticated floral designs with
fine knots. Village or tribal area rugs are simpler geometric
patterns of a coarse weave with bold colorations. Some of the major types include:
Tabriz, Heriz, Sarouk, Kashan, Isfahan and Kerman.
Turkish area rugs are mostly tribal, and are generally
geometric in design with the exception of a few types such as Hereke - a fine area rug
that is made in both pure silk and cotton and wool.
Caucasian area rugs feature bolder geometric patterns
in bright colors. Antique Caucasian area rugs can be extremely fine and are very valuable.
Pakistan presently produces almost all of the Bokhara
area rugs including those in the classic red shades and the new pastel look. Pakistan is
also known for the excellent Persian Weave Pakistan. These are similar to the Persian
urban area rugs.
The elegant lines of Chinese area rugs are indicative of
the refined Far Eastern taste. The area rug designs are invariably floral, often
incorporating Chinese symbols. The area rugs are created from a soft palette with thick
piles and broad, uncluttered backgrounds. China is also a producer of Persian design area
rugs.
India is a large producer of oriental area rugs today. Similar to the Persian area rugs
in design, owing to the current production they are made in a large variety of styles.
Area rug colorations are generally more oriented to the Western taste with pastel
predominant. Antique area rugs from India include Agra, Amritsar and
Larestan.
Area Rugs Sampler
From the sophisticated beauty of dhurrie area rugs and Orientals rugs
to the homespun charm of rag and braided area rugs, there's an area rug to suit every
taste, budget, furnishings style, and palette. Although antique area rug examples rest at
the expensive end of the spectrum, there are many reproductions and adaptations of
timeless designs available today, and some styles are still handcrafted using age-old
techniques. Click below for an international sampler of classic area rug designs.
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