What is the Light and Dark Side of an Oriental Rug?

A very large rug on the loom; note that weaving is done from bottom to top

In order to understand why there is a light and dark side of an Oriental rug, first you need to learn a little about the parts of a hand knotted rug.

Photo courtesy of rugchick.com

• The warp threads run lengthwise (or north to south, top to bottom) and make up the fringes of a rug.  
• The weft threads run across the width of the rug, (or east to west, side to side.)
• The selvage or edge of the rug is made by wrapping several warp threads at the edge of the rug with yarn to reinforce this part of the rug.
• The knots which are tied to the warps create the pile or nap of the rug.

Oriental rugs are woven from bottom to top. The weaver ties individual knots to the warp threads (lengthwise threads) and these comprise the pile of the rug. A knot is mostly woven in a downward motion and "opens" down which creates the pile direction. This can vary depending on the loom set up, as sometimes the knots are tied so they open to the left or right. Most rugs have a distinct pile direction that can be felt, as well as seen. If you run your hand on the pile of the rug from fringe to fringe, or diagonally, you will feel that the pile has both a rough and smooth side.

You can usually determine the "dark side" of the rug by standing at the end of the rug and running your hand toward you and the pile will feel smoother. Alternately, the "light side" of a rug will feel rougher when you run your hand on the pile.

The rug's light and dark sides result, in part, from the pile direction, although some Oriental rugs may have more pronounced light and dark sides because of the weaving style and the luster of the fiber.

Pile fibers lay at an angle where they will do one of two things: reflect or absorb light. On the rug's lighter side, light reflects off the fiber's sides, giving the pile a brighter sheen. From the dark side of the rug, your view is the cut tips of the wool which absorb light rather than reflect it, appearing to give the rug a deeper tone.

The photographs below are the same rug under the same lighting.

Light end of an Oriental rug

Dark end of an Oriental rug

Another article you may be interested in:

You can count the knots, although knots don’t count!
http://www.igotyourrug.com/you-can-count-the-knots-although-knots-dont-count/

Come by our Virginia Beach Rug Store to learn more about Oriental rugs!

Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore 

4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Virginia Beach, VA 23452

757-486-6600 

Website: http://www.IGotYourRug.com/ 

Let the floor set a design tone

Ikat Design Area Rug - Siam By Nourison

The area rug can be a room’s focal point, organize furnishings, add warmth and baffle sound.

Botanical rug adds color, becomes a focal pint and adds warmth to your room

BY ELAINE MARKOUTSAS
UNIVERSAL UCLICK


Carpet diem! Area rugs are seizing the day when it comes to dialing up personality in a room. And that goes for indoors and outdoors.


From flat weaves to bas relief, which adds sculptural dimension, it’s modern design that especially stands out, in an impressive range of prismatic colors, stylish patterns and tantalizing textures, many of which are obviously informed by fashion. And while some motifs like circles or squares or chevrons may be familiar, even vintage references are re-framed in an unexpected bold palette, scale or placement so that they look fresh.


The area rug long has played a pivotal role in interior design. It can be a focal point, much like a piece of art on the wall. It serves to ground a space, organize furnishings, add warmth and baffle sound.


For some designers, a rug sets the tone for a room, launching its color scheme — even one that’s monochromatic, which is best expressed by nuances with shades and textures.


But placing a rug in a room requires visualization. This is why retailer websites often show how color and pattern look underfoot and totally change the dynamic in a space. New York artist Madeline Weinrib told San Francisco writer Diane Dorrans Saeks that she had to rethink technique when she began to design rugs 12 years ago.


“I trained myself to see from the floor as opposed to the wall and realized that (a rug) had to exist in dialogue with the decor in the room, that it would have furniture placed on it,” says Weinrib, whose textiles and rugs are sold at ABC Carpet and Home and through her new showroom in Manhattan. “In painting, it’s a world of its own. That’s not true for rugs, which are part of the decor and must be functional.”




TIBETAN PIECES

 Transitional style rug made in Tibet

It’s the distinctive appearance of Tibetan rugs that really jelled in the 1990s and sparked renewed interest in an ancient tradition, especially among those who favor clean design like mid-century modern. The luster of rich wools and dense pile sparked attention, as well as a simplification of patterns that often emphasize geometric elements, such as squares, sometimes punctuated in silk for glossy sheen.


But in recent years, rug design really has exploded. Fashion, interior and lifestyle designers have added cache with collections that have an instant fandom for those who embrace their particular aesthetic. Technology has boosted methodology, allowing the equivalent of performance fabrics as well as digital printing.


Still, as in the past, it’s the materials and weave that enable so much variation. Sheep or goat wool from Iran, Turkey or New Zealand or cotton from India will vary in thickness and pile depending on how the weft threads are woven across the warp or foundation, whether the pile is sheered, tufted or looped. Some wools are more coarse, so the result is more rustic. Wool or cotton flat weaves without pile such


Besides weaves, it’s application of color that lends character. The most coveted antiques are appreciated for their natural dyes, from plants like madder (red), indigo (blue), walnut (brown and gray) and rhubarb (yellow). Today’s fashion-forward hues include deep pinks and raspberries, magenta, tangerine and greens, from kiwi to emerald.


Intentional shading also has added another level of sophistication, with striations that look like worn or wrinkled areas becoming part of the pattern, for example. Another effect called “ombre,” from the French word for “shaded,” features gradations from light to dark, often expressed in a single hue, but the fading effect also can apply to multiple colors. Paint techniques also can be replicated, such as sponged or watercolor prints seen in couture.


Another appealing genre is one that features vintage pieces of traditional Oriental rugs stitched together in a patchwork design, then “overdyed,” usually in rich jewel tones. What’s cool is that the original patterns peek through.


One Turkish-based rug wholesaler, Knotisse, celebrates green by rescuing old kelims from the 1920s to the 1980s, unraveling them piece by piece, then reweaving the yarn in very modern designs and colors. Owner Burak Aydogan calls it “upcycling.”




REPURPOSED RUGS

Over-dyed Patchwork Kilim Area Rug - Re-purposing perfected!

Santa Fe, N.M.-based manufacturer Foreign Accents recycles denim from blue jeans, silk saris and men’s ties, bits of sweaters and even bicycle inner tubes for its Deja New collection.


“The very idea of repurposing is compelling,” says Brian Rojanasumaphong, sales manager and buyer at Chicago retailer Oscar Isberian Rugs. “We live in a time where we’re cognizant of the impact we have on the environment. Anything we can do to reuse and repurpose resonates. When you reference the past there’s an almost spiritual connection.”


And romance. Some manufacturers are recreating vintage with new pieces washed and treated to look worn. The idea is analogous to roughed-up or stonewashed jeans, to instantly age them for a desirable patina.


No surprise then that there’s plenty of inspiration from women’s fashions, from hot colors to patterns.


“We love fashion,” says Chris Chapin, co-founder of the Concord, N.H.-based Company C. “So we often keep an eye on the latest in couture. We don’t recommend designing one’s entire home based on the latest fashion trends, but it is fun to sprinkle into our seasonal colors and designs fabulous influences from the runway.”


Large-scale florals and leafy designs echo the popularity of motifs from nature. Animal prints are especially fetching in fun combos such as azalea and green cheetah (from Company C), or a blue green jaguar from Suzanne Kasler for Safavieh. There are plenty of global and ethnic influences: supersized scrolls and paisleys, fretwork and Greek keys, lattice and Moroccan tile motifs.


But there’s also a practical plus for rugs.


“Rugs add so much to a room’s design,” says Chapin. “One of my favorite (things to do) is to stretch out on our rug after a run. Bare floors would not be as comfortable!”




Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/21/v-fullstory/2904059/let-the-floor-set-a-design-tone.html

Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore 

4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Virginia Beach, VA 23452

757-486-6600 

Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/ 

Pull the rug out ... and repair it

By Krys Stefansky
The Virginian-Pilot
July 31, 2011

Sometimes magic carpet rides fall to earth. Beautiful, patterned Oriental rugs, even expensive, high-quality ones from the far reaches of the globe, have accidents.

Bound edges come undone from wear or mishap. Furniture and foot traffic wear down their pile.

Fringe gets caught in doors, tangled in vacuum cleaners, gnawed by four-legged friends.

No matter how painstakingly they are made – by villages or nomads, on looms of wood or metal, knotted in the Persian style or Turkish, hand tufted or machine-made – eventually, they are dirtied by shoes, spilled on by partygoers, spit up on by crawling babies, tinkled on … and worse … by naughty pets.

Rugs with spots and rips or entire missing chunks make their way to rug repair rooms, if they’re lucky.

There, attention and mending makes them presentable again. Their once-dilapidated state stops being an embarrassment to their owners. Lovingly restored, they return to full glory.
But a good transformation doesn’t always happen without some homework.


Choose a rug restorer with care; No. 1 is the shop’s reputation. No.  2 is to ask and decide whether they really sound knowledgeable. No.  3 is to ask to see other repairs they have done. There are a lot of companies that do the wrong things.


The workrooms at Mark Gonsenhauser’s Rug & Carpet Superstore in Virginia Beach stay busy.
“When a rug comes in for cleaning and is damaged as well,” Gonsenhauser said, turning to a computer in his showroom, “we begin here.”


A menu of services offers spruce-ups like deodorizing, moth-proofing, mildew treatments, urine removal, color touch-ups, hand-serging, patching, turning fringe under. The list goes on and on.
“This is America,” Gonsenhauser said, joking. “You can have what you want.”

Most often, Oriental rugs are re-fringed, rebound, straightened, rewoven or cleaned, he said. Customers looking to protect their original investment often say, “Do whatever it is that you need to do.”
Back in the 1970s, Gonsenhauser, who learned the rug business from his father, studied the art of rug repair in Iran.


Owning a rug that looks a bit disheveled doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been abused.
The finest and best rugs will eventually show wear, he said. The sides of an Oriental rug – the bound edges, or selvages, that act like bumpers on cars – come undone or wear thin with time. If the selvage damage gets bad and eats into warp and weft (the threads that form the rug’s canvas backing), the patterned edges of the rug itself might need reweaving and re-piling. At the ends of the rug, fringe wears off and, if left unattended, so do the warp threads of the rug itself.
“In our business, it’s a stitch in time saves nine,” Gonsenhauser said. “You have to catch the damage before it gets worse.”


Taking action sooner rather than later is advice common to the business.

To make repairs to a rug’s pile, Gonsenhauser’s rug restorers use wool imported from India, Nepal or England and wools that are semi-worsted, hand-spun and machine-spun. The options allow restorers to capture subtleties in color and thickness.


“This is the heart of our repairing,” he said, touching hanks of different kinds of wool hanging from racks. “You’ve got to have the wool.”


Gonsenhauser also keeps a stack of salvaged pieces of old rugs so that, rather than reweaving, which can become expensive, patches can be fashioned.


Upstairs in his repair shop, an antique, 150-year-old Persian Hamadan colored with vegetable dyes was recently restored down to the warp and weft threads, which were rewoven before carefully selected strands of wool in varying shades were knotted, two strands at a time, into the canvas to re-pile the rug.


Typically, repair work is hardly more modern than the tools and techniques originally used to make the rug.


In this case, the area being worked on lay over a section of pipe. Beeswax lubricated the curved needles or hooks going through the tight canvas. Knots were tied by hand. Simple pairs of scissors snipped the wool to the right height.


Success or failure lies in the hands of the person doing the repair.

“To do it right, you’ve got to have a sense of mix and match and of how to monkey around a little bit to get the wool right, the color right, the knots right. To be a good restorer, you have to be in tune with the rug,” Gonsenhauser said. “You’re always learning another trick. It’s ultimately in the eye and hands. Anybody can make wine, but certain people make great wines. It’s the same thing here.”


The cost of minor repairs can be small compared to the original cost of a rug.


Gonsenhauser pulled a machine-made Karastan out of a storage bin. A 1-inch-diameter hole had to be rewoven. It would cost the owner $120 to re-pile the spot and $99 to clean the 6-by-9-foot Karastan, a small investment for a rug that once sold for $1,800.


Some damage can’t be pinned on a single incident. It can come from a lack of regular care and can be prevented at home.


People think rugs wear out from frequent walking on them.
“In reality what goes wrong is that sand gets into the pile and acts as an emery board, cutting off the wool,” Gonsenhauser said.


He recommends that, besides regular vacuuming, every six months or so rug owners employ a simple trick. Flip the rug and vacuum the back. Dust and sand will fall out onto the floor, where it can be swept up and the rug’s pile freed of abrading debris.

Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore 
4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
757-486-6600 


Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/ 




Proudly providing you Professional, Expert Rug Repair and Restoration for the Hampton Roads cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News. Northeastern North Carolina and the Eastern shore.

Custom Cut Rug Pads

So you just purchased a beautiful new rug and are wondering if you really need a rug pad laid under it. The answer is, yes you do. All rugs should have a pad under them. Especially if you have a fine hand made Oriental rug. If properly cared for, your Oriental rug can last for many generations.

Contrary to popular belief, a rug pad is primarily to protect your rug. Although a good pad does protect your hard wood floors as well.

A premium quality pad under your rug is very important. A quality pad will help preserve your rug from wear and slippage for many years and will extend the life of your rug. Think of the beating a rug takes from foot traffic. A pad will lessen the effects of that by acting as a shock absorber, cushioning the impact of foot traffic.
A good pad also prevents slippage, helps the rug lay flat and makes vacuuming much easier.

There are all sorts of rug pad materials on the market for use over hard floors but we have chosen a material that we think is superior. We recommend a rug underlay called "Cushion Grip". Cushion Grip is a premium quality pad. The material is made of carpet fibers that have been fused together and then needle punched to a waffled rubberized backing material that is non slip. The fused fibers are also coated with a rough surface to help hold the rug to the pad.

Cushion grip is guaranteed to retain its non-slip, non-skid properties for at least 10 years with proper maintenance. The rubberized waffle texture backing holds very firmly. This makes for a slip free transition when walking from your hard surface floor onto the rug and visa versa. This pad also helps prevent ripples around the legs of your furniture.

Cushion Grip padding is about 1/4 inch thick. It is the most effective rug pad to use for hardwood, laminate wood, tile, vinyl and concrete. It will hold well to any hard surface floor.

The other major benefit of this pad is that we custom cut it to fit your rug's actual dimensions. This makes for a perfect fit with no trimming necessary. This is great for Oriental rugs that may be an odd or non generic size. For example if your Persian rug is slightly irregular in shape we cut the pad to its shape. We also cut the pad about two inches smaller overall therefore allowing the rug to completely cover the pad.

Protect your investment, put the proper rug pad under it!

In a future post we will be discussing the proper pad material to use over carpet.

Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug & Carpet Superstore
4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
757-486-6600

Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/

Proudly Providing Rug pads to the Hampton Roads cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, and parts of the Eastern Shore and North East North Carolina.

Rug Repair in Virginia Beach

Our trained rug repair artisans will make your rug look like new!

Mark Gonsenhauser's rug repair department handles all kinds of damaged rugs. Believe me when I say, we have seen it all. Chew holes from teething puppies, loose and worn binding, rips and tears and of course our favorite, the disappearing fringe syndrome thanks to a ravenous vacuum cleaner!

When your fine Oriental rug is in need of some TLC, be sure to bring it in to Mark Gonsenhauser's  where we professionally repair all types of rugs. Orientals, Persians, Machine made rugs, Antique rugs, Wool rugs, Hand Tufted rugs, Silk rugs and much more.

We offer a full range of rug repair and restoration services and our trained rug repair artisans are gifted and adept at performing all types of complex repairs. We do modifications such as adding false fringes or removing fringes. We re-bind by hand and machine the worn edges of your rug. We have a vast collection of wool in order to be able to match your rug's color!

Some of our rug repair wool.

The following types of repairs and modifications are available: 

Fringes:
Re-Fringing
Fringe removal by two methods:
Permanently removed and over sewn so that the rug does not fray
OR
Folded under and secured which can eventually be restored to the original state at any time
Addition of false fringe of various types and colors

Sides and Ends:
Rebind sides by hand and carefully match colors
Repair, straighten, and over sew worn edges
Reweaving
Patching
Re-latex tufted backing
Specialty Repairs such rug painting.


Here are some examples of rug repair projects we have just completed for our customers.


The rug below had the fringe completely removed and has been hand serged.
(Also known as rebinding of the sides and/or ends.)








This rug is being hand bound. The next picture is the completed look.
We matched the original binding colors.







The rug below had damaged ends. The end was transformed to
have a nice neat hand bound finished look. 




The rug below had loose, uneven and frayed fringes. We hand over-sewed the fringes and trimmed where they were uneven. It now looks like new!







Watch our Rug Repair Video below for more examples of the types of restoration techniques our rug repair experts can do to rejuvenate your rug!




Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore
4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
757-486-6600


Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/




Proudly providing you Expert Rug Repair and Restoration for the Hampton Roads cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Northeastern North Carolina and the Eastern shore.

Hand Made vs Machine Made Rugs

Hand knotted Rug in Ikat style design

How to tell the difference between a hand made and a machine made rug

To an untrained eye it may be difficult to tell the difference between hand knotted, hand made and machine made rugs. This guide will help you understand the differences.



Hand Knotted Rugs

Parts of a hand knotted rug

Hand knotted rugs are made on a specially designed loom and are knotted by hand. The rug weaver inserts the "knots" into the foundation of the rug and they are tied by hand, this makes up the "pile" of the rug. (Click here to read our post about the knot count of hand knotted rugs.) 

Hand knotted rugs can be made of wool, cotton, silk, jute and other natural materials. Silk is sometimes used in wool rugs for the outlines or highlights of the pattern to enhance the design. Hand knotted and hand woven rugs can last many generations if they are of good quality and properly maintained.


Flat Weave or Hand Woven Rugs

Flat Weave Rugs have no pile

There is also a category of hand made rugs called "flat weave." These rugs are hand woven in a flat weave pattern and there is no pile.

A typical small rug loom for hand knotted or flat woven rugs

Machine Made Rugs

Machine made rugs are made by large machines called power looms. A power loom is electrically automated and controlled by computers. Machine made rugs can be made quickly and are manufactured with materials including wool and synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, acrylic and art silk. Machine made rugs can offer a lower price alternative to hand knotted rugs. Machine made rugs usually have a life span of about 20 years. There are exceptions if the rug is high quality and well maintained, it can hold up for much longer. Machine made rugs are generally not of any value to a collector.

Back of a machine made rug. Note the uniformity of the stitching which is done by a machine

Hand Crafted Rugs or Hand Tufted Rugs

Hand tufted rugs are another type of rug that is considered hand made or hand-crafted. This particular type of rug is made using a modified hand held drill gun that inserts the pile into a cloth foundation which creates a loop pile. If the loop pile is sheared, it then becomes a cut pile. The loop pile rug, if not sheared, is called a "Hand-Hooked" rug. Some designs have both loop and cut pile combined to create a dimensional effect to the pattern. A latex coating is then applied to the back of the rug to hold the "tufts" in place. A canvas type fabric is then applied over the latex coating to finish the back of the rug. 

These rugs have a hand made look but they cost much less because using the gun speeds up the process dramatically. For example a good quality 8' x 10' hand knotted rug might take about 10 to 14 months, while the same size rug made in a hand-tufted method might take one day. 

Although Hand Tufted rugs can be just as beautiful as hand knotted rugs, they typically are not of value to a rug collector or someone who is looking to buy an Oriental rug as an investment. 

Back of a Hand Tufted Rug

Look at the Back of the Rug 

One of the best ways to tell the difference between hand knotted and machine made rugs is to look at the back of the rug. In hand knotted rugs the weaving and the knots will be slightly uneven and not perfectly uniform. On the other hand, a machine made rug will look very uniform and perfectly even. The more detail in the design when looking from the back, the better the quality of the rug. 

Back of a Hand Knotted Rug. Note the fringe is part of the rug.

Back of a Machine Made Rug. Note that the fringe is sewn on.

Look at the Fringes of the rug 

Another way to determine if a rug is hand knotted or machine made is to look at the fringes. As you can see from the picture above, the fringe of a Machine made rug is sewn on and is attached as a finishing touch. 

The fringe of a hand knotted rug is an extension of the rug foundation, as in the picture below.

The foundation of a Hand Knotted rug becomes the fringes.

We hope this has been helpful! Come by our showroom and we will be happy to help you find the perfect rug for your home or office!



Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore
4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Cleaning Dept: 757-333-1010
Store: 757-486-6600


Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/



Proudly providing you with Hand knotted, Hand crafted and Machine made rugs for the Hampton Roads cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News. 

What Size Rug Do I Need?

Rug size depends on furniture scale and placement

How to Measure Your Space for the Correct Rug Size


LIVING ROOM, FAMILY ROOM, DEN, GREAT ROOM:

Place your furniture where you think is best for the room. Measure the open space up to the legs of your sofa and chairs, making sure that when seated, both of your feet should be on the rug. Allow approximately 8-12 inches of exposed floor between baseboards and rug on all sides. More than one rug is acceptable.

DO anchor your rug to the furniture.

DON’T "float" a rug in a room. Scale is important. A too small rug under your coffee table will make the room look out of proportion.

DO use more than one rug if needed to divide the room into separate areas.



DINING ROOM:

DO use your dining room chairs to help you measure what size rug you’ll need. Pull the chairs away from the table, as you would to sit down, on both sides and the ends. Measure from the rear chair legs in width and length. Add 8 inches to this total measurement. This will give you the minimum size rug needed.

Your dining room rug should be large enough to
leave plenty of rug behind the chairs

BEDROOMS:

If the rug is under the bed, allow 3 feet of exposed rug on both sides of the bed. You can also place 2 smaller rugs on either side of the bed. A large rug can also be placed at the bottom of the bed. See picture below.

Large rug placed at the bottom of the bed

GENERAL:

DO try to allow about 8 inches of exposed floor around the baseboards on all sides when using a rug to cover most of the floor in a room. More than one rug is acceptable.

DON’T place a rug in a room so that it ends in the middle of the doors or archway openings.

Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore
4153 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Cleaning Dept: 757-333-1010
Store: 757-486-6600


Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/



Proudly providing you area rugs and rug pads for the Hampton Roads cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News. 

How to Choose an Oriental Rug

Believe it or not, handmade Oriental rugs fall into the category of art work. Unlike paintings and sculpture, Oriental rugs can be used throughout their lifetime and represent one of the best investments you can make. They can be enjoyed as an art form, useful in their utility as a floor covering and represent an investment that may appreciate in value over time. They can also be passed down from generation to generation as it is not uncommon to find hand knotted rugs over 100 years old that remain in usable condition.

At 50 years an Oriental rug is considered semi-antique.

At 100 years an Oriental rug is considered an antique.




The 3 fundamentals of an authentic Oriental rug are:



• It must be made of natural fibers. (Wool, cotton or silk).

• It must be woven or knotted completely by hand.

• It must be of "Asiatic" origin such as Iran, India, Russia, China, Tibet, Nepal, Morocco; hence the term, “Oriental rug”.

Machine made Oriental design rugs lack at least one of these requirements and usually only last about 15-20 years. Where-as a high quality hand made rug, if properly maintained, can last 3 or 4 generations. 


An Oriental rug may be genuinely hand made, but still not be of fine quality. The quality of an Oriental rug is dependent upon the use of the finest wools, the truest of color-fast dyes, and the most skillful hand-weaving techniques.


Some factors that determine the quality of Oriental rugs are:



• Consistent weave; are there flaws in the weave? Look on the back side of the rug to detect irregular weaving.
• The rug should lie smoothly on the floor; does it ripple, pucker or wrinkle?
• Consistent dyes; is the dye colorfast? Compare the colors on the front and back of the rug to determine if the rug has faded.
• Straight edges and ends; the selvedges or the sides of the rug should be straight and properly secured.
• Width dimensions should be the same at both ends.
• Well finished ends; is the fringe straight and neatly cut? Rugs with-out fringe should have ends that are finished in a neat and secure manner.
• Good long-staple, high elevation wool.
• High knot count; the tighter the knot, the higher the knot count and therefore the rug tends to be more valuable. 

• Has the carpet been washed; this should have been a light soap and water wash. (Once you have purchased your rug it is best to let a professional rug dealer clean it for you).






Mark Gonsenhauser's Rug and Carpet Superstore
4153 Virginia Beach Blvd. 
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Cleaning Dept: 757-333-1010
Store: 757-486-6600


Website: http://www.igotyourrug.com/




Proudly providing you Decorative Oriental rugs for the Hampton Roads cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News.