Alyshaan Fine Rugs shares excerpts from the best fine area rugs Buying Guide (2016 edition), available as a free service to all our customers and those interested in learning from the experts. We have included advice and insight from our area rug experts and professionals to guide you when you are choosing area rugs for your home.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT RUG STORE:

Choosing the right store is the single most important factor in your rug buying decision. No matter how much you know about rugs, you have to depend on the dealer you choose for information, advice, and guarantees. You should get a feeling of honesty, integrity, experience, and excellent customer service. We are confident that at Alyshaan Fine Rugs, you will have a tremendous buying experience and will also see the appreciation that we have for the products we specialize in. Deal only with a store that you “FEEL” comfortable with.

GIMMICKS – PRICES: 

Most rug stores will have a “perpetual” sale on every rug, every day of 50% to even 80% off. Don’t fall for these gimmicks. At Alyshaan Fine Rugs WE WILL NEVER insult your intelligence with such gimmicks. We quote you our price which is always our price and that saves all of us the hassle of haggling. A great feature of handcrafted rugs is that you can find a rug to fit almost any budget. Even a large room size rug, made entirely by our weavers on our own looms with natural fibers like wool or cotton, can be acquired from Alyshaan for a very reasonable price. We also have palace size masterpieces. No matter what your budget, Alyshaan has the right rug to fit you.

INFORMATION: 

This should be a very significant aspect in choosing a rug store. If the store does not have a knowledgeable staff, and are unwilling to convey enough information about the rugs, like their fiber content, country of origin, quality, and clear comparisons between different types, then you don’t want to deal with them. Alyshaan has a very friendly, experienced staff that is tremendous at explaining different rugs and helping you make an informed decision. One visit to Alyshaan and you will feel very well informed on the subject of handcrafted rugs, no matter where you make your final purchase.

The Family room, living room, bedrooms, entry way and kitchen are all easier to work with than the hallways and dining rooms. Just make sure that there is a nice border around the rug of the floor that the rug is placed on rather than having a rug go from wall to wall. The feet placement on the rug, while walking or sitting, should be “entirely on or off” the rug rather than partially on. For example if the rug is in a walkway, you would rather place it to where you would walk entirely on the rug, or totally off the rug, and never one foot on and one off, or partial foot on. In case of a rug near a couch or chair, the rug should either end more than a foot away so that the feet can be entirely off the rug, or the rug should come to the couch / chair or under them so that the feet are entirely on the rug.

Types of Area Rugs

Sizes Of Area Rugs

GREAT ROOM:

In case of a big room like a “great room”, try to do different areas, rather than one huge rug for the whole room. For example, if you have a huge great room, a good way is to have a large rug in the main seating area, and then accent it with other rugs in other areas with runners and smaller rugs like the entry area to the great room, in front of the fire place or entertainment center, etc. Or for a great room with two main areas, you can do two large rugs that are different but yet complimenting.

Always choose the big rug first and let it dictate the smaller ones. Alyshaan has expert staff that can evaluate the size requirements and options with you and make expert recommendations. The entry way is sometimes ignored because of the high traffic it gets. This is the first impression of your home and the durability of a good handmade rugis so incredible that it will outlast the house if you take care of it. Our suggestion is to find a rug that represents you and let it make that ever so desirable first impression. The bedrooms and bathrooms should have rugs that are cheerful and feel soft to the bare feet. People dread having handmade rugs in bathrooms and kitchens, they shouldn’t. A little water or spill should not hurt your fine rug. If your rug happens to become extremely wet, make sure you dry it properly. Detailed care instructions are available here.

MATERIAL:

The key materials used in rugs are silk, wool and cotton. Most tribal or nomadic rugs are wool pile and wool base. Natural fibers have the durability, beauty and value that synthetic materials can never match. The most durable, easy to clean fiber is wool. Silk rugs are luxurious and beautiful but are not ideal for high traffic areas. The fine handcrafted rugs at Alyshaan are of highest grade of natural fibers like wool, cotton and silk.

WOOL: There are many grades of wool. Commonly wool from sheep that are raised in higher altitude areas is finer, the neck and belly area also have finer wool. The wool from younger healthy animals is better. Live wool, the only kind used in our rugs, is sheared from a live animal, while dead wool is chemically removed from deceased animals. The dead wool has no oils and is rough to the touch. WARNING – DO NOT STEAM CLEAN or DRYCLEAN handmade wool rugs. Steam Cleaning takes out the oils from the wool and converts good live wool into dead wool. It is misleading because the rug looks extremely spotless when cleaned by steam, but the damage is permanent and shows after a few cleanings when it is too late. Dry Cleaning leaves a substance in the fiber that is damaging to the longevity of a fine handmade wool rug. Please pick a free copy of “CARE INSTRUCTIONS” from Alyshaan on how to treat for your fine handmade rug. WARNING – The principal misrepresentations of materials are acrylic sold as wool and mercerized cotton or rayon sold as silk. Any merchandise description can be written to sound like the product is wonderful. Look for explicit information and ask the right questions when purchasing your fine rug. If the material is omitted, or a synthetic material is used it will not have the durability or value of natural fibers. TIP – To make sure a silk rug is definitely a silk rug, take a little piece and burn it. It should leave a little stem if it is silk. If it disintegrates, it is rayon. The most common way that rayon is worded in the rug industry is “artificial silk” or worse “art silk”, in either case, it is not real silk. Many of Silk rugs from India, China, and Pakistan are not real silk so make sure you are familiar with what you are purchasing. Any reputable dealer will always tell you clearly what material a rug is made with.

TYPES OF RUGS:

Rugs are either machine produced or handmade.

MACHINE MADE RUGS:

These are power loomed on machines and are mass produced. Best way to tell whether a rug is machine made or handmade is to look at the fringe. On a rug that is machine made, the fringe is usually just simply attached or sewn at the back, while a handcrafted rug is made with the fringe as its groundwork and it is a part of the rug. Secondly, machine made rugs will have zero imperfections, while the handmade rug might show many flaws including slight crookedness, a design that may be inconsistent and other mistakes. Machine made rugs are generally made of man-made materials, but there are wool rugs also available.

HANDMADE RUGS:

The different categories of handmade rugs are, knotted (also known as tied), hooked, needlepoint, Soumak, tufted and chain-stitched rugs. The best rugs are hand knotted, or hand tied.

ADVANTAGES OF HANDMADE RUGS:

No furnishing or décor can match the value, functionality, durability, and beauty that fine handmade rugs give their owners. A good handmade rug will last for generations, age gracefully, appreciate over time, become an heirloom, and be a magnificent combination of function, beauty and value. They are true works of art that you live on.

COMMON MYTHS & MISREPRESENTATION ABOUT RUGS: There are many myths and misrepresentations about rugs.

MYTH: “Buy rugs at auctions, liquidations and Going out of Business sales for the best deals”.
TRUTH: Auctions, Liquidations, and so called “Going out of Business sales” are the worst place to buy rugs. Such events usually are outlets for the left over junk of the industry and you don’t get any better value than most rug dealers in your area can give you on much finer rugs. Also, you have no guarantees.

MYTH: “The most expensive rug is guaranteed to be the best ones”.
TRUTH: A lot of dealers have preposterous markups on rugs because they are a hard product for consumers to compare. So just because the dealer has “expensive” rugs does not in essence mean he has the best rugs. Compare and ask questions. Know what type of rug you are considering and make comparisons with similar rugs. A dealer that tells you about a rug in “Non Specific” terms only and not in information that you can compare is trying to rationalize the price.

MYTH: “Buy this rug today and you can double your money in 5 to 10 years”
TRUTH: Absolutely wrong. Fine rugs are a great investment, because they last you for generations, give you great service in function and beauty, let you pass them on to the next generation, and chances are that once they are between 50 to 100 years old, they may be worth a lot more than what they cost you new. These factors make them a good investment, but they should not be looked at as a vehicle for making money for consumers. All information given here is strictly the opinion of Alyshaan Fine Rugs to the best of our knowledge and ability. Other rug experts may differ with this information or have a different point of view.

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