5 Tips to Buying Oriental Rugs
Without the best Oriental rug buying tips, you may face some hitches when shopping online. We are here to guide you.For many people, buying an Oriental rug in the USA can be a confusing and daunting experience. Browsing numerous retail stores online without real knowledge about how to judge the fiber, dye, or handiwork of the rug adds to the challenge.
The first question you would want to ask is, how do we find the best rug? It is simple: We empower you with our top Oriental rug buying tips so that you can get the best value for your money! We want you to appreciate the artisanship and finesse that goes into making every carpet. So, we are here to help!
The more you know about Oriental rugs, the better equipped you are to secure a good buy. One aspect to consider is the different types of Oriental rugs. Understanding the variations in types will enhance your ability to choose the perfect rug for your space.
1. Check if the Rug Has the Right Material
The best handmade Oriental rugs have piles typically made of wool, silk, or a blend of both. The base of the carpet could be cotton, wool, or silk. Whether you are looking to buy Persian rugs or Oriental rugs, both have similar materials. Pure silk rugs are lustrous and soft to touch. Wool, however, is the standard material of choice for most Oriental carpet weavers. The best weavers use New Zealand or Tibetan carpet wool. Synthetic fibers, often mistaken for wool or silk, have a glaringly obvious difference that distinguishes them from the authentic material of handmade rugs. Synthetic material is highly flammable and leaves specks of lint, whereas silk and wool have a flame-resistant quality. So, before you buy an Oriental rug, make sure the carpet has genuine material.
2. Check for the Fringe!
The fringe of the rug is the first thing the weaver makes. Cheap, mass-produced rugs tend to have a frayed and thin-looking fringe. In contrast, weavers knotting their rugs by hand are super meticulous about the fringe. They make hard-wearing, beautiful fringes. A handmade rug will have a neat, wide fringe that holds the pile well. So, our second Oriental rug buying tip is to look out for flimsy fringes!
3. Know What Knot Density You are Looking For
Oriental rug buying tips no.3 - When you visit a store to buy an Oriental rug, knot density, and design definition of the carpet are the ultimate authenticity indicators that you should check. The price of the rug also depends on the knot density, which is another quality indicator. RugKnots founder Naheed Mir shares her expertise on the subject, saying, “It’s like buying a diamond ring. If it is a three-carat ring, it is going to be more expensive. If it is a one-carat ring, it’s going to be less expensive.” The concept is pretty simple. To test the knot density of a rug, sift your fingers through the fibers to the base of the pile. Then make a tight fist and check for loose fibers. If the knots feel tight and compact, the rug is durable. Mir goes on to share one of her favorite Oriental rug buying tips about knot count, “Higher quality rugs are tightly knotted, so the front and the back of the rug will look kind of similar.” Pretty handy, huh? Moreover, if you check the back of the rug, you can take a ruler to measure the knot count. The best quality Pakistani handmade rugs have a knot count of 16/18 horizontally by vertically, whereas 5/5 is poor knot count. Similarly, if you decide to buy Persian rugs, the finest quality ones will have up to 400 knots per square inch.
4. Find Out If the Rug Has a Natural Dye
Here is the next of our Oriental rug buying tips: pick a rug with natural dye. Traditional Oriental rugs have natural dyes. The colors come from nature, such as cochineal insects for red, indigo plant for blue, avocado skins and seeds for pink, and blackberries for greyish-black, etc. Synthetic fibers have a fine, even infiltration capacity, but natural dyes only tint the surface. If you bend the carpet at different angles and isolate a few fibers, you will notice a lack of uniformity in color. Natural dyes last longer, look more beautiful, and let us not forget, they are eco-friendly, too! They give a vivid, antiquated definition to the rug that you will never find with artificial dyes. In recent years, they have made a comeback into rug fashion. Mass-produced rugs always have artificial dyes, whereas weavers prefer to use natural dyes for handmade rugs.
5. Trust Your Gut and Our Oriental Rug Buying Tips!
Our last Oriental rug buying tip is simple and easy to follow: trust us and your gut! If you like the design of the rug, the colors are vivid and pleasing to your eyes, and the size fits your floor space, then go for it! If the material of the carpet is soft to touch and the knot count satisfies you, do not overthink your purchase. Overthinking will confuse you, and you will be back to where you started. That is not what we want. We want you to go home with a beautiful Oriental rug that will personalize your living space and add a cozy, lived-in feel to your interior décor. This is why, if you are looking to buy an Oriental rug in the USA, we would recommend RugKnots Oriental rug collection for genuine, handmade carpets to last you a lifetime!
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And this is where we wrap things up for now! The best part of buying an Oriental rug is when you roll it out on the floor and see how its intricate design, vibrant colors, and rich texture have completely transformed your living space. You know you have picked the right rug when it brings out everything unique about your furniture. We hope our Oriental rug buying tips were all the help you needed to buy the perfect Oriental carpet for your home! But, when in doubt, always buy rugs from RugKnots!
