Rugs remain a timeless, traditional design element
Oriental rugs are being taken out of storage and snapped up from rug shops as millennials and those who love good design rediscover their intricate patterns.
Rugs are no longer associated solely with grandma's living room. Instead, the bright colors and floral patterns grandma may have favored have been usurped by lighter colors and smaller scale, more geometric and tribal patterns, said Kate Marker of Kate Marker Interiors in Barrington.
"Oriental rugs are timeless and classic so I often pair them with modern furniture, depending upon my clients' wishes and style," Marker said.
Such rugs bring a sense of tradition to a room but can also make a huge statement, depending upon how they are used.
"Most of my clients prefer the washed-out looking Oushak rugs, which have a vintage appearance. Even those who choose the brighter colors want the rug to look worn, not brand new. I even had one client who chose to flip her rug over and use the back in her four-season room," she said.
Rugs are great for pulling a room together and creating conversation areas within an open floor plan, Marker believes. Some clients even choose to use them over their wall-to-wall carpet or bland sisals for this reason.
"They give a comfortable, cozy look to a room," Marker said, "and make it look more finished and intimate."
They are also great for bringing a touch of rich color to a hallway and bringing personality to any space.
"Our clients are looking for rugs in cool colors today - like gray, blue, beige and ivory," said Alex Torabi, co-owner of Rugport, 23 S. Northwest Hwy., Palatine, a direct importer and manufacturer of rugs since 1979.
"Our more modern, younger customers want something that is airy, open and welcoming. But they also want a rug that is elegant without being so busy that it drains your energy," he said.
"Most don't show a definite preference for geometric over floral patterns, but they want any pattern in the rug to be so toned-down that it is almost vague-looking. They don't want anything sharp and new looking. They want, instead, the aged, distressed look," the longtime rug expert explained.
"They want simple and elegant. It is just like buying a diamond. A diamond is white but it is still elegant because of its character. They are buying these rugs for the same reason - for their character," he said.
Buying an Oriental rug is an investment, experts say. The quality and price varies widely. And if you buy a good one, you can expect it to last approximately 100 years and become a cherished family heirloom for generations to come.
Rug experts advise that the things to look for when judging a rug's quality include the intricacy of the pattern, the quality of the wool or silk used, the tightness of the weave and whether or not it is an antique. The biggest mistake a buyer can make, they say, is not understanding the difference between a handmade rug and a machine-made rug. You also need to learn the difference between hand-hooked, hand-tufted and hand-knotted.
Oriental rugs come in both silk and wool. The silk rugs are more luxurious and high maintenance while the wool rugs are more practical for high-traffic areas.
When it comes to price, the range is wide. A 9-by-12-foot rug, for instance, can range in price from $1,500 to $200,000.
When looking at these prices, remember that it takes a weaver between one and four years to create an average room-sized rug, depending on the weaving density. So you are paying for between one and four years of a person's work.
When it comes to what size rug to buy for a particular room, Marker, a 14-year interior design veteran, said that there is no rule, but she generally designs her rooms so the rug is placed under the seating area but not completely under the furniture. Instead, she tries to have the rug extend halfway under the sofa, for instance, and does something similar with any chairs in a conversation grouping.
It is worth noting that Palatine's Rugport has rug factories in both India and Pakistan that have the ability to design and produce custom rugs to fit discerning clients' personal tastes. In addition, according to Marker, Rugport has a local rug artist who can adjust the size of rugs by reweaving them and rebinding the edges. He is even able to split a large rug into two runners, if that is what someone wishes.
Rugport also has foreign designers who can create a custom rug to match a piece of fabric, a paint sample or even a drawn design. Clients approve the drawn design, then a small sample piece and then finally get the finished rug in six to nine months, depending upon the size ordered.
"We can create a fine rug in any shape, size, color, style or texture," Torabi said.
Once you invest in a fine rug, experts say, you should have it professionally cleaned at least once every five years. Dirt eats away at the yarn and damages the rug so you should also vacuum it regularly. If you spill something on the rug, immediate use of a regular carpet cleaner is fine.
For more information about Kate Marker Interiors, visit www.katemarkerinteriors.com. To learn more about Rugport, call (847) 202-0600 or visit www.rugportonline.com.