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Are Handmade Rugs More Expensive than Machine-Made Rugs?

Handmade rugs are always more expensive than factory-made ones, right? The short answer: No! Hand-knotted area rug prices can be about the same as machine-made rugs, even in the same size, when you shop in the right rug store.

You don’t need to mortgage your house to be able to afford handmade rugs for your home. But handmade rugs being more expensives seems like it would make sense, doesn’t it? How can a rug that takes several weavers months to create cost about the same as machine-made rugs?

Basics on Handmade Rugs

First of all, let’s clarify what we mean when we say “handmade rugs.” There are several types of handmade area rugs. Hand-tufted, hand-hooked, and hand-loomed are the most inexpensive handmade types, but we wouldn’t recommend getting these types. For a beautiful design and lasting value, hand-knotted rugs are the best choice. The other three types are less expensive because they take less time, but quality is sacrificed for the sake of speed.

Price Comparisons

Even hand-knotted rugs, the finest type of handmade rugs, can compare with some machine-made rug prices. Of course, rugs churned out by a factory come in many varieties, too. You could pick up a cheap rug made completely of synthetic materials with poor construction, (and you’ll have to replace it in a few months) — these types of rugs are indeed much cheaper than hand-knotted rugs, but you would have to replace these types of factory rugs several times over during the lifespan of a handmade one.

Other machine-made rugs don’t fair much better over time. Hand-knotted rugs come in several levels of quality, just like any industry, but even the higher quality machine-made rugs don’t come close to hand-knotted quality. Depending on the individual rugs, the prices may not be much different either.

How Alyshaan Does it Differently

At Alyshaan Fine Rugs in Scottsdale, we help customers find the hand-knotted rugs perfect for the look they want and their budget. We search the world over to find beautiful works of art you can walk on, and we deal directly with the weavers. By cutting out intermediaries that many other rug stores go through, we reduce the final cost to you while still providing high quality area rugs.

Machine-made rugs are sometimes cheaper than handmade rugs. The quality of machine-made rugs is so abysmal, however, that you will likely end up replacing it within a year (no matter how much you loved the design!). If you absolutely love a design you’ve seen on a machine-made rug, bring in a picture of it. Our designers can create one that is similar but it will instead be handmade — so you can enjoy its beauty for decades to come.

If you have any questions about handmade or machine-made rugs, come talk to our staff. We’re the experts on rugs in the Phoenix, Arizona, area!

By Allison Edrington.

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