Introduction to Area Rugs

Welcome to area rug knowledge.

If you think carpet or ceramic tile offers a lot of flooring selection, welcome to the world of area rugs and a universe of virtually unlimited choices.

It’s true. From braided to cotton, exciting Oriental to exquisite Persian, area rugs are plentiful and beautiful, affordable and expensive, classic and exotic.

Frankly, unless you know exactly what you want, shopping for area rugs can be challenging at best, overwhelming at worst.

Our objective with this website, and in our store, is to share valuable information with you.

We want you to know.

We want you to know all about area rugs, to understand, learn and experience this incredibly versatile flooring product, so you can choose the best rug or rugs for your home decor and lifestyle.

In this section we’ll share with you the beauties and bonuses, the dynamics and dimensions, the care and construction – all the area rug basics to help make you a smarter shopper.

And believe us, there are area rugs for every style, need and budget.

So there’s bound to be one, or several, that are the perfect answer to your decorating needs.

Like the “Magic Carpet” of myth.

A fabulous area rug can make a unique foundation or starting point around which your entire room’s décor can be coordinated. The rug becomes your design centerpiece.

Or, the right area rug can deliver a colorful finishing touch; complete your room’s décor as a flooring punctuation point. An exclamation point!

You can also use area rugs to define a space.

For the now popular open floor plans, an area rug can create a conversation area, designate an eating space, welcome one into a foyer or usher your guests down a hallway.

Area rugs also offer you other unique capabilities.

They are the only flooring product that you can install, then pick up and move. Change them season to season or as your style changes.

Area rugs offer you softness, warmth and sound absorption on hard flooring surfaces such as stone and wood.

They add another layer of design, luxury and warmth when laid on top of wall-to-wall carpeting.

And the cost spectrum of area rugs is just as wide and varied as the rugs.

Area rugs can be very inexpensive (cotton and synthetic) or phenomenally expensive (ancient weaves) depending on the material used, how they were made and the degree of artistry or intricacy in their design.

Handmade wool, 100% silk or wool and silk Oriental or Persian rugs have been known to last hundreds of years and just seem to increase in value.

Relatively new are the "machine made" rugs, made with sophisticated design patterns on computerized looms that can mimic more intricate and labor intense handmade rugs at greatly reduced costs.

Because they are made by machines it opens up these types of rugs to the mass market. And that’s good for everyone.

Area rugs are generally made out of wool, silk, (or a blend of wool/silk), olefin (polypropylene), or nylon, with some applications, particularly bath mats, made of cotton.

Wool and silk rugs dominate the high end of the market.

Heat-set olefin rugs look much like wool, are easy to clean, and are moderately priced in comparison to wool. They’re a great compromise.

The bottom line is that there are braided rugs, cotton rugs, natural rugs, exquisite wool and silk Oriental rugs and magnificent Persian rugs.

They can be an investment that becomes your family heirloom and is passed down from one generation to the next, or they can be practical and fun design elements that move around to suit your mood.

We want you to know as much as you need to about this popular and unique flooring category.

So we invite you to check out all our other areas on area rugs. See if you don’t agree that area rugs can be a simple, beautiful, fast and effective answer to many of your flooring needs.