Welcome, Oriental Rugs Lovers!

Here you’ll learn about the art of Oriental rug making, find tips on choosing the perfect rug to suit your taste and lifestyle, and much more. When you’re ready to start shopping, just click on any of our category departments.

HISTORY

From the beginning Carpets have been a part of the Oriental culture. It achieved unparalleled heights in Baghdad, Damascus, Cordova, Delhi and in the legendary cities of Central Asia. They were mainly used to cover the floors of mosques and houses, and were occasionally used as wall decorations. The first half of the 16th century is considered the 'Golden Age' of Persian Carpets, when large carpets with rich colors and intricate designs were produced out of factories in Iran.

Consequently, carpet weaving in Orient was perfected to fine art in Persian and Turkish regions and they were the first to be recognized as Oriental carpets.
Throughout the Mughal period the carpets made in the Indo‐Pak Sub‐Continent became so renowned that there was an increasing demand for them abroad. These carpets had a unique design and boasted a rich knotting density. The carpets made for the Mughal emperors, including Jahangir and Shah Jahan, were of the finest quality. It was during Shah Jahan's reign that Mughal carpet weaving took on a new aesthetic and entered its classical phase.

BUYING ORIENTAL RUGS

From Casablanca to Canton, carpets have been woven for a thousand years or more.

Why an Oriental Carpet?
A handmade Oriental carpet is as much a piece of furniture as a fine desk or a treasured bookcase. A simple carpet can give to a plain room a mysterious glow, creating an out of the ordinary mood and atmosphere. Each carpet was different from the next, with its own intrinsic personality, its own special feel and exclusive design.

Yet, purchasing a carpet has always been something of a dicey business. The experience is all too frequently cloaked with speculation and luck. Questions such as: "Is this carpet good quality?", "Is it synthetic?" or "Am I paying too much?" tend to turn up just as you give away the traveler’s cheques.

Dishonest dealers with their smooth sales talk, puzzling technical terms and unconventional methods can transform what should be a enjoyable buying of a carpet into a frantic nightmare. You can't learn all there is to know in a few minutes, but we can surely help you to become at least a little
"rug‐wise". Pick up a few facts, act in a certain way in negotiations, and you will automatically sidestep many of the pitfalls.
Knotting

There are so many thousands of different carpet varieties, that it is useful to divide them into a couple of more manageable sub-categories. There are two very different kinds of carpet made. One is made with the Turkish knot, and the other is created with what is known as the Persian knot. Hundreds of thousands of knots are tied side by side to form a tufted pile. As a rule, the closer the knots are together, the higher the quality.
Styles
Carpet designs fall into two broad categories of style also. Tribal rugs are quite different from those made in cities. Because one is made in the city doesn't mean that the carpet is lower, or higher, in quality than the one produced in a secluded village or elsewhere. The two kinds are simply different, neither better than the other.
Tribal or Workshop?

A lot of tribal carpets have the precise name of their tribes such as Bakhtiari, Baluchi or Afshar. Their designs are often rougher, more angular than those of city carpets. They are frequently, and especially until very recently, made to be used merely by the members of the clan or tribe. Only in tough economic times was a carpet sold to outsiders. Carpets made in a city are crafted to a much more rigorous system of specific styles and designs, using more measured motifs and regular colors. Their lines are generally more rounded, the patterns more flowery, than those of the tribal clans. The weavers are normally paid by the hour, or by the week: a fast weaver can tie somewhere approximately 1000 knots an hour, yet a
medium size carpet still takes up to eighteen months or more to complete.
Get the feel first

Before you start out to buy a carpet, you should prepare. One good way is to get a book about carpets. Flip through the pages and see what directly appeals to you. If you are not in a big hurry, try leaving the book open for a couple of days at a certain page to see if the picture of a particular style fits the room. In any case, look at the pictures with great care. Examine the varying systems of pattern: you will immediately see that a carpet made in Baluchistan is very different from one crafted in Istanbul.
Posing as an expert!

To keep away from making the wrong selection you must make the seller believe you are a serious connoisseur. He will make conclusions about your knowledge and level of expertise from the way you look at a rug, the questions you ask and even from the questions that you don't ask. There are a few facts and figures that are useful to know. A cunning dealer will try to trip up by slipping baffling words into the conversation in an attempt to fluster you.
Baffling words

For instance, Pushi, Zaranim and Dozar are words that indicate the size of the rug. Kaba describes a coarse carpet, while Kurk is very high quality wool. The popular octagonal shape, called Filpai (pronounced Feelpoy) means "Elephant Foot". Herati is a very common Persian design, which usually has a central floral pattern with symmetrical floral corner pieces. It is also sometimes known as Mari, the fish pattern. Gul simply means "Flower" in Persian: it’s often a stylised octagonal flower shape. Boteh is Paisley, and has great significance throughout Asia: it’s seen as a herald of good fortune. Mihrab is the Central Arch, which is very common in smaller rugs, used for kneeling in prayer. Be careful of terminology and don't be taken in by it. I once heard a tourist in Middle East being told that the carpet in question was a genuine Khalis Baftagi, which in Persian means "entirely woven"!
Don't get carried away

The primary golden rule of getting rug‐wise is not to buy anything on the first visit, or from the first shop you stumble upon. Check out what everyone has to offer: look through their stocks and ask for prices. Go home and think it over before committing to making a definite choice. Most importantly: don't be sucked in by the dealer's tricks. He may bring you endless cups of tea, pull dozens of rugs down for you to inspect, or imply you can't afford them. One expert of rug‐wisdom I know insists that when a salesman uses such ploys you must react accordingly!
End note

After the first visit to the dealer's "den" you will begin to look like an expert. Keep in mind to always act with self-confidence: use a cool, dignified approach. Learn from the salesman. Look at the way he turns the carpets over, how he examines the underside, watch the movements he makes when he appraises it.
Another golden rule is, never buy a carpet from someone who insists lavishly about the favour he is doing you. Fly by night Rug Dealers will cause problems later. Be sure to get a certificate of origin for the carpet, and the check that the import taxes of your own country aren't excessive. If you take into consideration all those points mentioned above, you'll definitely catch a good deal and not to mention an exciting carpet buying experience. Wish you luck hunting down the great carpet for yourself!

DECORATING WITH ORIENTAL RUGS

When thinking about the interior decoration of your house the key is to consider the floors as the base for the whole room design. Oriental rugs can visually integrate or harmonise basic items in the room. By choosing an oriental rug that has accent colors and design elements that are found in the room's decor, the rug can become the unifying element for that room - the foundation of the room design. Most importantly, one must keep in mind that, when selecting oriental rugs, you should not go out of your way trying to match the main color of the carpet to the base colors in the room. When the coloring doesn't match precisely or some hues would fade over time and start looking differently, that slight variation in coloration will stick out. You should try to match furniture or paint colors to the highlights in the rug. An oriental rug with many different colors will leave you open to add more design elements of different colors in the future. For the overall look you should try to create contrast between the room and the rug. You can use the rug to introduce new or different colors into the room. If you have hard floor surfaces your rug will also warm up the room and soften the feel in the sound in that room. Most importantly have fun picking your rug. Your Oriental rugs and decor should reflect your style and personality.

Oriental rugs come in very many different designs and price range. Most popular designs are those that takes its origin from Persia, Turkey and China. For instance, most popular Persian rugs designs come from such cities of the modern day Iran as Afshar, Ardabil, Kashan, Sarab, Sarouk, Tabriz, Bidjar, Isfahan, and some others.

Here are some tips on how to properly choose a rug for your apartment or house.

First of all, it's important to know where it all begins. Are you designing a totally empty room, or are you trying to fit a carpet into the existing interior? How are you planning the room to look like? Will it be full of colors and texture, or would it be more minimalistic in style? In any event, if it's an empty room, then you should start with selecting a rug, and then decide on the colors of the walls that will be based on the hues found in your rug.

Now, if you already have some furniture in the room, or if it's a fully furnished room, then make sure you pick up a rug in the same color pattern as the furniture. You can mix patterns, just make sure that the colors coordinate well. From there, you can incorporate the rugs elements into the overall look of your room. For instance, you can put framed pictures of flowers on the wall, if your oriental rug is floral in pattern.

The next major decision is the size of your rug. How will the rug fit into the room? The answer will depend on how the room will be used, and how much light and traffic it gets. The areas of your house that get a lot of traffic, such as hallways, will be better off with more durable and Decorative Rugs. Quieter places, like a dining area or a bedroom, are more suitable for delicate and higher quality oriental rugs. Remember to match the rug's design and color with the appropriate furniture that can either offset the rug's design or enhance it.

It's always a good idea to size up the space you want to cover with the rug before you actually purchase it. Most common rug sizes are 4" x 6" and 6" x 9." Larger rugs, like 8" x 10" and more can cover the whole room. Smaller rugs are more appropriate for decorating small areas in your house, for example, an area in front of a fireplace, or beside a bedside.

Oriental rugs can truly be a focal point of any room, particularly when placed in highly visible areas such as living-rooms or dining-rooms.  A general rule here is that rugs in light colors gives your room more air and  make it look larger, while bright deeper colors would add a sense of luxury and comfort.

How long do you want your rug to serve you? The durability of the rug is a very important issue, particularly when it's an expensive rug. For the Oriental rug to last longer, it must have the right combination of fiber and density. Generally, the closer the tufts (stitches), the denser the pile, and the longer it will serve you.

Don't forget to purchase a good pad for your rug. It will not only lessen the impact of feet traffic, but would also reduce the wear and tear of oriental rugs during vacuuming.

Oriental Rug Lovers

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