This will be a long post for everything you need to do about wool area rugs.  I like to put down everything I like in one place so that it is easy for readers to get everything they need to know from just one post. The drawback is that these posts are typically very long and most people will not make it past the first paragraph. However, if you want to know a bit more about the types of area rugs, what are their benefits and how to place your rugs, read on to find out more.

What are wool area rugs

There are many different types of rugs that are available in the market. Most of these rugs varies in terms of softness and other durability. Wool rugs just happen to be one of the most expensive type of rugs you can find on the market. That is its drawback. However, you can what you pay for so if you are willing to spend the cash, wool area rugs will be a great addition. Below talking more about them, I will like to introduce other types of rugs that you might fancy.

Types of wool rugs

There are three basic ways to differentiate rugs. The first way is through the type of materials that the area rugs are made of.  For natural materials, you can get things like wool, cotton, jute and sisal. There is also the non natural type that includes materials such as polypropylene/olefin and nylon.Let me go through each of these materials one by one:

Wool: This is definitely one of the high end materials for rugs. They come from animals such as sheep, goats, llamas or alpaca. This material is naturally resilient which makes it more durable than synthetic materials. Not only that, wool can take in and retain color dyes quite nicely, hence making it easy to color and design with. Finally, wool possess natural resistance to things like stains, fire, water as well as insects such as the dust mites.  As a result, rugs made of wool are the most ideal for people with allergies.

Cotton:  cotton is a widely used materials and is known for its strength and durability.  Rugs that are made of cotton can take in quite a bit of water. This also makes them great candidates for coloring and styling since they can retain the color dyes well. It is common to see wool being mixed with cotton during rug making. Using this combination can result in soft area rugs that feels nice on your feet. In addition, they are not as costly as pure wool rugs, which is something that most consumers are worry about.

Sisal: Many people will not know this terms but sisal comes from a plant called the Agave Sisalana. More specifically, the fiber from these plants are what is used to make the rugs. Initially, the Agave Sisal is only found in the central part of US but is now commonly grown across different part of the world.  However, when we refer to Sisal plants, we are not only talking about rugs that were made from Sisalana. Nowadays, we used this terms to refer to all rugs whose raw materials come from plants. Other types of plants that are used for rug making includes jute, seagrass and bamboo. These type of rugs offer benefits such as sound absorbent, flame resistant and highly durable. Their only drawback is that they can be coarse and are quite vulnerable to spillage stains. Hence, manufacturers have became to developp rugs that are a mixed between plants and synthetic materials to overcome these weakness. As a result of these qualities, people are fond of such rugs when making their purchase decisions.

Of these plant type rugs, I found bamboo to be the most durable. In case you are not aware of what bamboo is, they are think woollen plats that are found mostly in China. Their fiber have great strength which explains why bamboo area rugs are such durable products. They are best used in area where there is high traffic such as your bathroom or your living room because they can withstand the wear and tear.

Silk: this is an expensive materials that are often found in Persian or Oriental rugs. Typically, it is used in combination with other materials. Silk can add plenty of shine and luster to your rugs but they are fairly expensive. In fact, the more silk is used during the rug making, the higher the price will be be. Because these are so costly, they are normally used in low traffic areas such as your bedroom and they should be very well cleaned to extend their usage.

If real silk is too expensive, there is now what I called ‘fake’ silk’. It is essentially a synthetic materials that uses rayon and polyester fiber to produce. These materials gives the illusions of silk although the texture is not quite the same. They are comonly used in small accents.

Besides the above natural rugs, there are synthetic rugs that becoming popular as well. The materials are usually a combination of viscose, nylon, rayon and acrylic. These synthetic rugs have the advantage of being soil and stain resistant while being strong and durable as well. Most people placed them under furniture or in high traffic area. However, compared to wool or silk rugs, they don’t hold their value well and will depreciate over time.

You can also differentiate them by size. Small beautiful wool rugs are a favourite of mine because they are easy to place and cost less as well. However, some might prefer large wool rugs to be placed as a centerpiece. It all depends on how you want to use them.

Types of styles for rugs

The second way to differentiate the types of rugs is through the kind of rug styles.

Braided rugs: these are made by first braiding the fabric into strips which are subsequently sewn together to form the rugs. These rugs usually comes in round or oval shape. Because of the way they are sewn together, these rugs are tough and durable, making them ideal for high traffic areas.  In terms of matching your home decor, braided rugs are normally used for homes with country-style, or American colonial themes.  Recently, designers have also successfully integrating them with modern homes, which is why you are starting to see them appearing in many offices and houses.

Contemporary rugs: They are the art pieces for rugs.  Their common characteristics is having bright colors and comes in many varied and interesting shapes.  If you look around the Web, you can find any style that can match whatever unique decor you are thinking of for your home. Many artists have become famous from creating these type of contemporary rugs that some have considered to be art.

Oriental rugs: The name comes from the fact that these rugs originated from Asia and China in particular. However, oriental rugs are now being manufactured beyond China, in countries such as India,Iran etc. The charactertistic of this style is the kind of warmth that they bring to a room due to the way it is designed. In terms of qualitites, oriental rugs are withstand high traffic and resistant to a variety of things including stains, fire, dust etc. The most high quality and expensive oriental rugs are those that make from silk while wool oriental rugs are much more affordable.

Persian rugs: This is perhaps the most famous style of rugs. They have quite fantastic designs that usually depict things like flowers, geometric shapes or images of humans and animals. The most distinct different between Persian and Oriental rugs are the styles. They have different looks and on closer inspection, you can actually tell the difference even though you might not be able to do so during your first glance. Persian rugs also have the advantage of getting better with age. In fact, some say that good Persian rugs need to be kept for more than 20 years before seeing their true potential.

Tibetan rugs: The origin of these rugs come of course from Tibet. They have a squarish design and will commonly feature geometric shapes that is reflective of their religion. Tibet has a long history of rug producing as they are being in the monasteries. It was only until the 60s that they become more commercial. Currently, tibetan rugs can be found in some specialized rug retailers.

Different methods of making rugs

The final method of differentiating rugs is from the way they are made.

Hand-knotted rugs: This is made purely from hand and is one of the reason why they are so expensive. The primary reason is that these type of rugs are the most difficult to make in terms of the amount of time needed to complete one. Basically, each rug is made by looping wool or silk around the wraps one at a time until a thick pile is formed. The weaver then weaves the cotton yarn throught he pile to hold the rug together. This whole process takes a long time, which is why we are paying so much for them.

Flat woven rugs: The reason for the name is because these rugs are very very flat due to the way they are made. Typically, the material is threaded through the warps. There are no piles or knots to weave through, which makes the whole rug very flat when compared to other types of rugs.

Hooked rugs: They are made by pushing loops of yarn through a canvas backing.  Compared to hand knotted rugs, they can be done fairly quickly. As such, they are much more affordable and are ideal if you are looking to buy an inexpensive piece of rug.

Benefit of wool rugs

Now that we are clear on the different types of rugs, we can better zoom in to wool area rugs. I like to first talk about their benefits.

The first obvious benefit is the comfort level. Wool rugs are extremely soft and stepping on one makes you feel nice and cosy. They definitely increase the coziness of your home. For example, it is common to see family gathering on a wool rug and interact as it is so comfortable to do so.

Second, these type of rugs add aesthetic beauty to any home or office. You can select contemporary designs that goes well with your modern home. Alternatively, there are also traditional styles that can complement an Amercian or European home decor style.  There are also a variety of colors to choose from. If you pick the right tone, rugs can personalize the way your home look.

Thirdly, wool rugs are great sound absorbers. They can significantly reduce the sound of your home, especially from wooden floors that creaked under pressure. Wool material is especially good for this. By placing them in strategic positions, you can bring the level of noise at your home or office.

Fourth, rugs can help to prevent slippage, especially in wet areas like the kitchen or bathrooms. This is important to prevent any accidents from happening. If you have old folks or young children, wool rugs can help to reduce such accidental falls. In addition, rugs can also be placed under moveable furniture such as chairs that have wheels. By putting a rug under these furniture, you can prevent them from moving when you sit on them which in turn will reduce the chances of you slipping off the seat.

What can good placement of rugs achieve

There are many benefits of having a good placement in your home. Firstly, it can achieve a sense of bigger space. By using rugs with minimal colors or less designs, you can make a tiny room appears to be bigger. Next, it can also more warmth and coziness in the home. People are nuturally attract to gathering around rugs and this definitely helps to bring the family closer.

How to decorate with wool area rugs

I will like to say on the onset that decorating is as much an art as it is a science. What I going to write is a general guideline but you need to find your own way of using them so that these rugs can fit into the style that you are gunning for your home. Remember, it is your own home and your own rugs. You need to browse through for ideas and look for inspirations on the best way to use them. I can only provide some broad guidelines. You need to find your own way to decorate your house.

Ok, let’s start with the tips.

First important thing is to know the size and placement of the rugs. When you are decorating a room, you need to know how big is the space, which in turn determines the size of the rugs you should buy. Don’t take this lightly. I have seen many cases of  people using rough estimates on the floor area of their homes and using that to make the purchase. Very often, they will find that what they purchase will not be the ideal fit. Here is why:

Your floor size estimates are always wrong. Unless you are a carpenter of sorts, what you perceive is often not what the actual size is. In addition, you might want the rug to cover, say only 30% of the floor space, rather than 50% and this requires exact measurement so that you will not regret your purchase. Hence the right way to do this is as follows:

Get a measuring tape and some pieces of paper that you can stick to the floor. First, visualise where you see the rug to be placed and how big it is. Then put the four pieces of paper on each corner of where you imagine the rug will be placed.  Take a step back and see if the size is what you are looking for. I strongly suggest that you play wrong with different combination to find the right size of your room. Once you are comfortable with the size, use the measuring tape to measure the length and width of the imaginary rug. That measurement will form the basis of what size of rugs do you need.

In the market, the most common sizes are in the following range: 6’X9’, 8’X10’, 9’X12’ and 12’X15’. and even as large as 15’X18’. However, do note that as the sizes get larger, the variety that you will find will shrink. This is because there isn’t enough demand to have a huge range of products.

One point I want to make about the size of the rug is this: you need to decide what is the focal point of your room. If you like the rug to be that focal point, you need to pick a slightly larger piece and one that has vibrant design and colors to attract the attention. So, when you visualise how it looks, imagine a more attractive piece that everyone can talk about.

Alternatively, if you want the furniture to be the centre piece, you can imagine the rug to be under the furniture. That are many types of rugs that are made for such purposes. The sizes of these wool rugs are typically in the range of 4’X6’ or 6’X9’ and they can be placed either under the coffee table or beneath the sofa. For the latter,  you might want to place it towards the front edges of the sofa. This is to make the rugs more visible.

The important point here is to have a focus. If you have too many competing objects, the room loses what it wants to showcase. In order words, the balance will not be correct. If you want that expensive sofa to be the focus, then don’t pick a loud and attention seeking rug. If you want to focus on that designer lamp, pick a rug that complements it by placing it under the lamp.

Where to place rugs for dinning room, bedrooms, stairways and open spaces

In these different settings, how you place the rugs will be different as well. Let’s start with the dinning room. Here, it is common to have a rug that covers the entire dining area, including the table and the chairs around it. When deciding on the size, remember to buy one that has at least 30 inches around dinning table. This is to allow people to get in and out of their seats with the chairs getting caught by the rugs. It is very common to see the back legs of the chairs hooking to the rugs and lifting them up whenever somebody moves. All this is becasuse the rug is too small. So to prevent that from happening, make sure you buy a rug that has 30 inches of spaces around the dinning table.

For the bedrooms, small rugs are usually used. It is uncommon to see a large rug that surrounds the entire bed. Not only is this going to be costly but most of the rug will be hidden by the bed anyway. Hence, it is sufficient to have a 1-2 small rugs at the front of the bed. You can also place one near the entrance or if you have a chair, somewhere under the chair will be great. Using these smaller rugs will keep your costs down. In addition, since bedroom is a private room, you might not want to get a expensive style like a Persian or Oriental rug.

Another potential place to put the rug is at the entrance of your home, or at the bottom of the stairways. These places are where you want to have the inviting feeling, either into your home or going upstairs. For these places, it is good to have a smaller wool rug but one where the colors and design are warmer.  You can also consider using rugs as a stair runner. This is beautiful way to enhance your entire stairways.

For open spaces, you can cleverly use the rug to define the space where you want people to gather. The trick is to pick areas where it is natural for people to gather. For example, if you have a fireplace or a bookshelf, you can place a rug in front of these areas so that people can gather around them.  Since you intend these rugs to attract people, make sure to get one that is slightly bigger as well as being able to stand the pressures of high traffic.

Things to watch out for in your placement

When placing your rugs, make sure to note for any special considerations in your flooring. For example, don’t cover any floor vents. Also, take note not to place the rugs to prevent tripping. The most common mistake is to place he middle of an opening into another room. Such a scenario is often what will causes the tripping to happen.

Using one or multiple rugs

As briefly mentioned above, there might be cases where you need more than one rugs. In this case, you need to note certain effects multiple rugs can bring about. One of the most obvious is to separate the spaces.  Large area rug has the ability to draw the spaces into one. The converse is true. Small, multiple rugs can separate the spaces into different areas. If that is what you what you want achieve then using multiple rugs is ok.

When using more than one rug, take note to ensure they complement each other in terms of colors and designs, instead of trying to compete with one another. These are some of the tips that can achieve this complementory effects:

• floral has a nice contrast with geometric patterns
• complex designs goes with more flat designs
• bigger rugs can match smaller rugs

Rugs as wall arts

Besides the floor, wool rugs can actually be used as wall arts as well. As mentioned, rugs like the Persian or Oriental rugs have beautiful patterns and designs. Contemproary wool rugs as well. Rather than placing them on the floor for people to step on, you can treat these as arts and hang them on the wall to be admired as a painting.

When using such an approach, you will need to be handy to be able to bring the rugs up on the wall. If you  don’t have this expertise, you can always find someone from the Yellow Pages or through the Internet.

Other tips and information about how to place wool rugs

These are the miscellaneous things that I could not fit into any of the above categories. One big tip is to buy some rug pads when you are purchasing your rugs.  These are good to maintain your rugs for longer periods of time. Typically, rugs wear out from the bottom due to the daily wear and tear. By placing these pad undereath the rugs, they can help to take the stress and reduce damage to the rugs themselves.  If you want to buy a good rug pad, look for one that has a non slip surface so that it keeps your rugs on top of them, instead of shifting around and losing the purpose of protecting the rugs.

If you are putting the rugs under the furniture, it is also good practice to buy furniture coasters. These will help to spread the weight of the furniture across the rugs. For this purpose, I recommend using glass coasters since they are the best material. You can buy them from antique or at Ebay if you want to venture online for your shopping.

I hope this post is ok for you. Hopefully you have learned how to place wool area rugs.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.