Rugs Buying Guidelines and Tips

Rugs are the most versatile floor covering you can purchase, unlike fitted carpeting, which is a wall-to-wall, permanent installation, rugs can be relocated. Walton Rugs are renowned for having a huge selection of rug styles and colours in traditional tribal or modern contemporary patterns. These Rugs, from many leading manufacturers and traders, are either hand or machine produced and in a multitude of colours, patterns and fibres such as wool, silk, cotton and synthetic.

Woven rugs include both flat rugs (for example kilims) and pile rugs, their quality being mainly determined by fibre content and Knot density, a traditional measure of number of knots per unit of surface area. An Oriental Rug with fewer than 30 knots per sq cm is generally considered an average to low-quality carpet, while over 50 indicates a fine piece of work. Hand-tying of knots is a very labour-intensive task with an average weaver completing almost 10,000 knots per day [equating to about 200 sq cms].

Emotional Consideration

There is always something emotional about a rug be it mysterious, foreign or romantic they are not just floor coverings but sometimes an island or a garden. Hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn and textures in a finished rug gives each piece a subtle variation in colour tone. This quality is known as abrash and it often creates a kind of wave effect to the eye and enhances the charm of a rug. Without this inherent colour variation, the piece can look stiff or have a contrived appearance.

Factors to look for when buying a hand made rug;
1. When you look at a rug, does it come to life?
2. Does it have richness and depth?
3. Is the texture appealing?
4. Do the colours emanate a delightful variation?
5. Art for the floor - make your own design statement!

Practical Consideration

How well a rug stands up to wear, and how tolerant it is to cleaning and maintenance, is an important indicator of quality. Inferior lowland bred wool will wear faster than high altitude breeds and may not hold up in cleaning. You'll most likely want to have your rug cleaned by a professional every two to three year, therefore your selection should be capable of standing up to constant use and regular cleaning. You should not have to worry about colours running or changing when you have a high-quality rug cleaned or need to remove a stain.

Theories vary on the use of underlay with rugs but research shows that all rugs and carpets last longer with a pad under them. An underlay for a rug should be approximately one inch less in length and width than the rug size so no pad shows. Flat weaves should have flat pads (1/4 inch or 40-ounce-weight) rather than bulky pads.

Getting Started

On a room-by-room basis, determine the look you want to create on your budget. There is a wide variety of rugs at Walton Rugs to choose from and at many price points.

Design & Colour

1. First determine the mood you want for a room, e.g. formal or casual.
2. The design personality and colour of the rug selected will create the desired feeling for the room.
3. Formal rugs can anchor a room with a calming effect.
4. Casual and fun elements are great for a family room
5. Bold medallions make a dramatic statement
6. Elegant fine lines and subdues colours have a quite pleasing effect
7. Vintage patters are a traditional way to reminisce about their time and place
8. Pure colours are more formal and elegant
9. Abrash (blending of two or more colours) creates a broader colour pallet and can be easier to decorate with
10. Rug patterns can complement the existing designs and fabrics in your room
11. Light colours make spaces appear larger; dark designs and patterns show up best on light backgrounds; light designs and patterns best on dark backgrounds
12. When emphasizing a particular segment of a pattern or design, use the colour of that segment as the background colour
13. Lighting alters colour, so be sure to examine colours under all light sources (daylight and artificial light)
14. Colours and patterns may limit other design development in a space, so select carefully
15. Pattern and colour blends do not show soiling and footprints as much as solid colours do
16. Neutral colours show the least fading when exposed to sunlight. Solution-dyed synthetic fibers or vat-dyed natural fibers resist fading
17. Please bring along your colour swatches and fabrics with you when shopping. Also include wood stains, ceramic tiles & counter top samples. Having these samples will help us guide you in making your selection.

Rug Size

1. Buy big rugs first.Prioritize your rug purchases according to room size and importance since each rug acquired will lessen your choices for future rug selections. Accent rugs and runners are easier to co-ordinate with the main rug than vice-versa.
2. Room-size rugs or room-fit rugs are available in prefinished, standard sizes such as 9 feet × 12 feet, 12 feet × 15 feet, or cut to a desired size from a roll of carpet and finished on the cut edges. A room-fit rug covers the entire floor, just like carpeting, but is not permanently fastened down. Three to 12 inches of floor usually are exposed between the wall and outer edges of a room-size rug. Up to 18 inches of floor can be exposed around the periphery of large rooms. Selecting a rug that is too small produces an unattractive space. The rug looks lost and the furnishings in the room do not appear unified. The less exposed the floor is around the edge of the room, the larger the room looks.
3. Area or accent rugs comprise a rather unstructured group of rugs from 3 feet × 5 feet up to 12 feet × 15 feet or larger. Area or accent rugs can be used effectively to divide spaces within an area, focus attention on a furniture grouping, direct traffic, or provide a focal point (visual accent or interest area) for some portion of the room through their texture, pattern or shape. These rugs may be used on the floor, on the wall or on top of a piece of furniture. Several area or accent rugs might be used within a space, but be careful not to produce a cluttered appearance.
4. Throw or scatter rugs are small, often machine washable, 3 feet × 5 feet or less in size. These rugs should have non-skid backings if they will be used on top of wood, hard or resilient floors. Non-skid backings are not necessary, however, if the rugs will be used on top of carpeting or a larger rug.
5. Use a tarp or sheet folded to size to determine your preferred rug sizes or mark the rug size on the floor with masking tape. Some areas can use a room size rug or an assortment of smaller rugs.

Room and Furniture Size

A rug can anchor your furniture within your room creating either a tete-a-tete salon or spectacular formal dining. Furniture spacings suggest the minimum size rug that will create an island effect to visually hold the pieces together There are no rules about on or off the edges. Simply, what feels right and functions best.

Traffic

Consider how much footfall your rug will be subjected to and discuss with our sales assistant wearability of the rugs you are considering. Check existing foot pathways through your room and around furniture and avoid pivot points at the edges of rugs. Are you looking for a piece of art for your floor that will last for a lifetime or a decorating accessory for the short term?

Certificates Of Authenticity and Free from Child Labour Production

Antique Quality rugs are often accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, attesting to the genuine construction and materials for every rug. The information on the Certificate of Authenticity will match any identifying signature or emblematic information on the piece itself, and certifies that you are the original owner. Should you wish to sell your rug, a Certificate of Authenticity will enhance its value.

Modern rug suppliers and Governments are endeavouring to eradicate the use of child labor in the production of their rugs. They have introduced a number of certification schemes, for example RugMark.

Guide and Tips to Maintaining your Rugs

Owning a good rug is a matter of pride and hidden pleasure. We are sure you want to maintain your rugs in their best possible condition so that they complement your tasteful home surroundings. This page lists a few rug specific care tips useful in protecting your investment.
1. Check to see if there is a manufacturer’s care label on back of your rug or ask our advice on how to look after your rug.
2. New rugs invariably shed fibres, these being the loose excess fibres in the spun pile not captured by the knot. Use a suction vacuum only to remove these, never one with a beater bar since these can break off more fibres.
3. Be careful with fringes! If your rug has long fringe, put them under the rug when you are vacuuming.
4. A good underlay is a prerequisite: not only does it reduce wear by taking up the unevenness of the floor, it also stops any movement on bare floors.
5. Ever so often vacuum reverse of your rug, the underlay and the surface it sits on. Consider taking rug outside, draping over washing line and gently beating it with broom handle to loosen dust, vacuum again before replacing.
6. Regularly either rotate or repositioning your rug; this changes the pattern of traffic and keeps one area from becoming too worn.
7. Curling rugs is caused by extra tension in the outer warps during production, this can be rectified by having cotton or jute webbing sewn under the selvedges.
8. Never place your rug on a damp or wet floor, this will create a breeding environment for mould and mildew. Never stand a living potted plant on a rug.
9. Never store a rug that is damp or dirty. Always roll the rug with the pile outermost to relieve tension on the warp and weft threads.
10. Dry-cleaning is detrimental to wool rugs as the chemicals remove too much of the natural oil from the fibres. It is best to wash them in relatively cool softened water with a mild liquid soap, your bath is ideal for majority of manageable sizes. Leave them to dry of their own accord, without applying heat, ideally draping them over something outside in clement breezy weather.
11. Have silk rugs expertly dry cleaned by a specialist company, we can provide you with recommended companies in your area.
12. When wall hanging rugs use velcro-mesh as follows; Two-inch (five centimeter) wide velcro sewing across the top edge can take the weight of a large and heavy rug. It is advisable to ensure that the rug is hanging with the warp vertical and the pile laying downwards, discover this by running your hand over pile. The matching velcro is tacked onto a flat length of wood that is fixed to the wall.

Repairing Rugs

Poorly maintained rugs will eventually show wear. If the rug is a valuable hand made example you may consider getting it restored. Walton Rugs can offer expert repair services to reweave holes, restore moth damage, repair seams and sides, reweave fringe, and patch holes.