Tag: Oriental Rugs

How to keep your Oriental rug looking at its best

Posted on by D F

You’ve just bought an Oriental rug and it really ties the room together. Now you probably want your new rug to last years to come. No problem. You just have to follow a few simple rug maintenance instructions in order to make the most out of your rug’s life and durability.

Take you shoes off!

Of course that there are some issues that can not be avoided. Rugs, unlike most of our purchases, are made to be walked on. So the best and first thing to do is to ask your family to remove their shoes while in the house. Most of the dirt and wear of rugs is a direct result of the surprises we carry on our soles (by the way in Persia, nobody keeps their shoes on while inside).

Rotate

Although Oriental carpets come from a land of a thousand suns, rugs do not like direct sunlight and they tend to fade out. So just like you do with your mattress, try to rotate the carpet from time to time and prevent wear and color fade from happening in the same areas. Rotating a carpet a couple of times a year can help you maintain the rug’s value and look.

Come back next time for more tips, or log on to www.1800getarug.com where you will find information about your rug maintenance.

How to keep your Oriental rug looking at its best. Part II

Posted on by D F

Vacuum rugs often, and do it on both sides. Try to use the vacuum nozzle instead of a beater bar and whatever you do – don’t shake them! Shaking Oriental rugs leads to thread and knots damage. When you vacuum, don’t skip areas that are hidden under furniture. Moths love those dark, quiet places and moths’ eggs just love to consume rugs.

Or you can try this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wAzhII7zOs]

Know Rug First Aid

There’s nothing to do about it – sooner or later a glass of wine will spill, coffee will drip, the kid’s soda, and the dog that couldn’t wait… It is very important to master the rules of rug first-aid and act as quickly as humanly possible in order to prevent rug stains and heavy smells. Before the spill begins to dry, clean the area with a wet paper towel. Then use a mix of water and vinegar if you want to prevent color damage.


Get a Rug Pad

A rug pad is also recommended and can help prevent slippage, act as a buffer to minimize abrasion and protect your floors. A good quality pad will also provide airflow between your floor and the rug and airflow allows the rug to breathe, which in turn will extend the rug’s life. Rug pads may also prevent the crushing and wearing of pile after heavy use.

If you still need help with your rug cleaning or rug restoration, turn to a professional Oriental rug dealer such as www.1800GeatARug.com where you will find experienced importers and wholesalers of beautiful rugs from all over the world.

How Persian Rugs are made?

Posted on by D F

The Persian Rug is more than just a decorative piece. Rugs and carpets are a vital part of the Iranian culture. It’s also interesting to know that rug weaving is an honorable occupation in the Persian culture – only last year Iran exported more than 400 million dollars worth of hand made rugs and it’s Iran’s largest export after… oil!

You can imagine that rug weaving is pretty complicated. Depending on size, quality and the pattern of the carpet, it can take up to a few years to make a rug. When knotting a rug, the weaver creates detailed and complicated patterns; as rug weavers can create thousands of patterned knots in each day.

Sounds like much of a hassle over something that a machine can do in a matter of minutes. Well, there are machine rugs which might look like Persian rugs but there is no real knotting involved and as in most of machine made products – these rugs are made from industrial materials and synthetic fibers that can not match the true beauty and quality of a handmade rug.

If you’re interested in seeing the magic of weaving – it’s fairly simple. All you have to do is visit Tabriz – the center of carpet production in Persia. Here is a glimpse at the process of weaving an Oriental rug in Turkey:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzyUYl64Pg8]

For more information about Persian Antique or Semi-Antique, Fine New Oriental Rugs, 19th century European designs or modern area rugs, log on to www.1800getarug.com where you will find a unique collection of beautiful hand-knotted rugs which is always up to date with color and design.

Not every Rug is an oriental Rug. How can you tell the difference?

Posted on by D F

The term Oriental Rug has been used, overused and misused throughout the last few decades. Notice that suddenly, any carpet with a certain design pattern, whether handmade or factory produced is termed “Oriental carpet” by some companies.

Carpet outlets, furniture stores and even some large home improvement stores have been known to put out a carpet that ‘looks’ like an Oriental rug and just claim it as so. But Oriental rugs are much more than patterns or designs.

In this blog post we’d like to take a minute and define what is a real hand-made Oriental Rug:

  • True Oriental rugs are made by hand and never produced in a factory. Mass factory produced carpets are not unique – the machines do a perfect job of duplicating a single pattern and we don’t like perfect, not in the rug business. Hand made carpets on the other hand, are imperfect and even if they seem to have the same design, each and every one of them is different. The beauty of the hand made carpet (or hand-knotted, or hand woven, however, you want to call it) is in its imperfection. Each carpet is a unique work of art or as we like to call it “Art on the floor”.
  • By definition, Oriental rugs should genuinely come from an Asian country (that’s why there’s Orient in Oriental Rugs). Oriental rugs could be sub-divided into Middle East or Far East and the most well-known countries in the list for hand woven carpets would include India, Afganistan, Iran, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Turkey and some southern regions of what used to be the former Soviet like Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Just to be on the safe side: “Wilton”®, “Karistan”® and “Couristan”® are nice rugs that are made by machines and have Oriental carpet designs. Please don’t confuse them with authentic “Oriental carpets”. Also know that no genuine Oriental rugs are made of nylon or polypropylene.

If you’re looking for a true Oriental rug, visit us at www.1800getarug.com where you will find a unique collection of beautiful handknotted rugs which is always up to date with color and design.

The Dirty Persian Rug Test

Posted on by D F

Feel like your Oriental rugs or Persian rugs are dirty? Having a hard time remembering what color it was when you first bought it? Chances are, it’s filthy, either that, or you’re losing your mind. Most hand knotted Oriental or Persian rugs require a yearly cleaning, depending on a couple of factors. Performing the dirty Persian rug test is one way to tell.

Try one of the following methods to see if your rug needs a cleaning:

  1. Moisten a white towel and gently rub back and forth; if the towel is soiled, it’s time for a cleaning!
  2. Pick up the corner of your rug and give it a swift kick; if a little cloud of dust emerges, it’s time for a cleaning!
  3. Lift up a corner of your rug so that the backside is facing you; fold the corner down and over so you can get a good look of the crevices your vacuum can’t reach. If you see debris, dust, or fibers, it’s time for a cleaning!

In terms of self-cleaning, the process is a bit more complicated. If your task is to clean a large area rug, stop and call a professional. The smaller the rug, the easier it is to clean, and the less likely you’ll be to ruin the entire rug. Now cleaning a rug is similar to washing your hair. But before you start anything, test a small patch to check for color runs! Firstly, remove any debris with a quick vacuum job, lather your rug with shampoo and water, rinse thoroughly with water, squeeze excess water out, and lay flat to dry.

To maintain a clean rug, avoid wearing shoes inside the house or try vacuuming once a month to get rid of dust and fibers. Stick with these few tips and you’ll be more likely to see your rug’s true colors.

The Magic Carpet is My Favorite Rug

Posted on by D F

As far as I’m concerned, it will never even be up for debate.

It won’t be two-hundred-year-old oriental rugs. It won’t be hand-stitched Persian Rugs. It won’t be hand knotted rugs, silk area rugs, or even a gorgeous brand-new vegetable dye rug.

No, no, no… as far as I’m concerned, my favorite rug will forever and always be The Magic Carpet for Disney’s 1992 film Aladdin.

I mean, how cool was that guy (thing?)? First appears in the “Cave of Wonders,” which is a pretty cool name for a place to hang out in. then, without even knowing Aladdin (or his grumpy and territorial monkey, Abu) he risks himself to save them both when the cave begins to collapse.

He clearly has some history with the Genie, a character be beats at the game of chess later on. And I mean, come on…an omnipotent, magical, wish-granting supreme being was defeated by “the rug man,” as he jokingly address’ him. Gotta give some props for that.

However, what I’ll always remember is how an animated character with ZERO lines and no face was able to seem so human just through “body” language. It’s the first animated character I can remember that was created solely with Computer Generated Imagery, and for that reason alone it will always be my favorite rug, fictional or not.

Clean Your Floor and Rugs With A Roomba

Posted on by D F

The Roomba is an automated robotic vacuum cleaner. In other words, it’s one of those disc-shaped vacuums that cleans up all by itself. Sold by iRobot, the Roomba is designed to find the way around a space, vacuuming the floor while simultaneously avoiding furniture and other obstacles.

The Roombas has continued to advance and improve. For example, the first generation models ahd to be programmed and told the size of the room they were supposed to be vacuuming. However, the second and third generation models do not require this kind of programming.

Unfortunately, while the Roomba does operate successfully on oriental rugs, it is not capable of functioning on a deep-pile carpet. Additionally, earlier versions of the Roomba would get caught on rug tussels, and sometimes even extension cords.

Also, owners of valuable Persian Rugs may want something a little more…er, delicate, taking care of maintain their possessions.

So for these special one of a kind rugs it is not recommended that you utilize a Roomba for cleaning, but instead bring your rug to your local rug dealer who can assist you with the cleaning of your fine rug.

Below is a video of a first generation Roomba in action.

The Rug Knot Breakdown: Part I

Posted on by D F

Persian rugs, oriental rugs, hand knotted rugs, Persian carpets, symmetrical Turkish knot, asymmetrical Persian knot, Ghiordes knot, Turkish knots,

If it’s not our Persian rugs, it’s our oriental rugs that we love—or both. Nothing, and I mean, nothing, ties a room together better than a Persian or oriental rug. The intricate motifs, designs and patterns of hand knotted rugs are practically a map of the long history of Persian rugs, dating as far back as the 16th century. The craft of Persian carpets and oriental rugs has such a deep-rooted history that each weave, loop and rug knot is carefully tended down to the last thread.

There are two basic knots that are used in most Persian or oriental rugs: the symmetrical Turkish knot and the asymmetrical Persian knot. This week, we’ll be discussing the symmetrical Turkish knot.

The origin of the symmetrical Turkish knot dates from 1895-1900 and is also known as the Ghiordes knot that is used in Turkey, East Turkmenistan, the Caucasus, and some Turkish and Kurdish areas of Iran. Turkish knots are made when yarn is passed between two adjacent warps, returned back under one, wrapped around both forming a collar, and then finally pulled through the center so that both ends emerge between the warps producing an uneven pile effect. Here’s a handy diagram that might make it easier to understand this knotting process.

The Rug Knot Breakdown: Part II

Posted on by D F

Persian rugs and oriental rug history and one of the most basic knots that are used in Persian or oriental rugs, the Turkish knot, or the Ghiordes knot that originates from Turkey, East Turkmenistan, the Caucasus and other Turkish and Kurdish areas of Iran. This week, we’ll be discussing the only most basic rug knot that’s seen in Persian and oriental rugs: The Persian Knot.

The Persian knot, also known as the Senneh knot, the double knot and the asymmetrical knot is used for finer rugs is used principally in Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Egypt. The Persian knot is wrapped around only one warp, as opposed to the Turkish knot that is wrapped around two adjacent warps, then passed behind the adjacent warp so that a single warp divides the two ends. It can be open on either the left or right side, thus leading to its brother name “the asymmetrical knot”.

Other less commonly used and seen hand knotted rugs have knots include that the Jufti knot and the Spanish knot. The Jufti knot is tied around four warps strands instead of two and reduces the time it takes to weave a rug. The Spanish knot is looped around single alternate warps so that the ends are brought out on either the left or right side.

The Louvre Museum

Posted on by D F

My family, since before I can remember, has a long standing history of collecting antique Persian and oriental rugs. The care and time spent creating and weaving a hand knotted rug represents not only a rich history, but also beauty as well. On a recent trip to Paris, France, I visited the Louvre Museum that houses a Persian rug from the 16th century. The gift was given in 1914 buy Joanny Peytel and is titled “Carpet with animals”. The small rug is made entirely of silk and is said to have come from Kashan, Iran. This Persian rug features a rare indigo blue color and various pictures of animals frolicking on a field.

It was by luck that I came across this particular Persian rug while on holiday. The accentuated beauty, interesting motifs and designs, and rich colors of a rug from so many years ago before my eyes made me love Persian rugs even more. Now, nearly four centuries later, I was able to witness evidence that expert weavers knew what they were really doing since they continue to be in such good condition even today for myself. I’ve always purchased my Persian rugs from 1800GetARug.com because of their great prices and authenticity. With their help, I can bring what I love the most into my own home.