Designers find perfect rugs in Palatine

Interior designers from the North Shore and Chicago have discovered a well-kept secret in Palatine.

As oriental rugs gain in popularity again, these savvy designers are making the trip to the Northwest suburbs to shop for their clients at Rugport, 23 S. Northwest Hwy., because Rugport is a direct importer and manufacturer with rug factories in both India and Pakistan.

The business has the ability to design and produce custom rugs to fit the designers' discerning clients' personal tastes.

Rugport is about three to five years ahead of our competitors in terms of color combinations and designs with our stock rugs because it has some young rug designers who are helping produce exciting new designs to meet modern tastes, the owner said.

They are also the 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.

Rugport can create a fine rug in any shape, size, color, style or texture, the company says. And if you choose to buy one of its in-stock rugs, representatives can bring it to your home for an in-home consultation because every room has different lighting, so colors can vary their appearance, depending on the room.

Buying an Oriental rug is like buying a diamond. The quality and price varies widely. And if you buy a good one, you can expect it to last about 100 years and become a cherished family heirloom for generations to come.

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, a Rugport employee explained.

The biggest mistake a buyer can make is not knowing 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.

Just because you are buying a Persian Tabriz-design rug does not mean you are buying a Persian Tabriz rug. They are different. Some of the most expensive oriental rugs in the world are the antique Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan rugs made in Iran about 110 years ago, Rugport's owner said.

Virtually all of the handmade oriental rugs on the market now come from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Turkey.

Rugport has been a direct importer and a manufacturer since 1979, supplying many rug dealers and furniture stores across the United States, as well as selling handmade oriental rugs and tapestries from its Palatine showroom. It also has long-standing relationships with other manufacturers. These factors combine to make them it first in the market to get rugs featuring new colors and designs.

The business has the upper hand in getting the best prices from its Middle East dealers because they want to deal with someone like Rugport who sells both retail and wholesale, he said.

Rugport also carries the best selection of oversized rugs including 12-by-15, 14-by-20 and 24-by-35 feet.

Many people in this area have large homes with large rooms so they need large rugs and we carry them, the company said.

Oriental rugs come in both silk and wool. Silk rugs are more luxurious and high maintenance while the wool rugs are more practical for high traffic areas.

A 9-by-12 foot rug can range in price from $1,500 to $200,000. But if you are looking for a decent rug, you should expect to pay at least $3,000. A rug costing less is probably outdated or of lesser quality.

"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," Rugport's owner said.

And tastes in rugs are constantly evolving.

Today's buyers are looking for rugs in contemporary, simpler patterns instead of the traditional, floral patterns, he said. The geometric patterns that are currently in high demand are the cultural pieces that are usually made by nomads who have a design in their mind and they make it, like the Navajos make their blankets. You see them in toned down, lighter colors made from vegetable dyes.

The more traditional pieces are generally made in cities. The weavers are given a design to follow and they follow it, he said. Those traditional designs are the ones that often involve medallions and floral patterns and are most often copied by the companies that produce machine-made oriental rugs.

Finally, he cautions, you should have your Oriental rug 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, he added.

Rugport not only sells oriental rugs but also buys them, appraises them, repairs and restores them and professionally cleans them.

For more information, call (847) 202-0600 or visit www.rugportonline.com.