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Northshore Living :
The Perfect Rug

by Stacey Paretti Rase

Adding an area rug to a room is an easy way to give your space instant color, warmth and appeal, but choosing the right rug for your space isn’t necessarily an easy decision. There’s the question of what type of rug it should be, to say nothing of its size, shape, color and placement. And the lingo surrounding the rug industry can be downright dizzying—everything from line count, pile, warps and wefts to hand hooked, hand tufted and hand knotted. Where do you even begin? But the northshore’s finest rug retailers say the process of choosing the perfect rug shouldn’t be intimidating.
Determine Your Style

First, you need to define your personal style and the overall look you wish to give the room with the addition of a rug. Consider the general style of the rest of your home to steer you in the right direction. Begin with the clean slate of an empty room and select your rug first, if possible, advises Cindy Gerald, owner of Simply Rugs in Mandeville. “There are so many fabric and paint swatches available that it only makes sense to start with the rug and build the room around it.” If you are adding a rug to an already furnished room, select one with colors to match or complement the furniture, keeping in mind that you can pick up elements of a rug design with accessories such as throw pillows, pottery or silk flowers in coordinating colors. Decorators recommend light-colored rugs to help a room look more spacious and darker colors for a cozy look.

The style chosen for your rug will ultimately dictate the feel of your room. Oriental, Persian and contemporary are just a few of the style choices available. “I like to specify all rugs as traditional, transitional or contemporary,” says Gerald. “When you get anymore technical than this, it gets confusing and can lead you away from what you may actually have in mind for your overall look.”

Calculate Your Budget

How much you plan to spend on your rug will dictate its material and the manner in which it is manufactured. Decide first if your goal is simply to cover the floor or if you are interested in investing in a rug as a work of art. If it’s the former, then a machine-made rug will suffice. “It will depreciate and has no value as a collectible, but the selection is plentiful at a fraction of the cost of a hand-woven rug,” says Mamal Motahari, owner of Woven Treasures of Mandeville. “On the other hand, if you want a work of art that you can pass down to your children, then you should look at investing in a hand-made rug.”

Motahari explains that rug prices generally vary based on quality, workmanship, authenticity and scarcity. “The industry grew over many centuries. Each region developed various ways to make rugs using locally available materials, and each household developed its own unique designs and colors. Over time, the most desirable of the styles gained popularity and became scarce, which raised their prices. Some antique rugs are no longer being produced or are rare in certain colors. A very extreme generalization in hierarchy would be rugs from Asia Minor at the top of the list with the prize being rugs made with silk from Persia (Iran). This group is generally followed by rugs made in India and then those made in China.”

Fine rugs are also defined by a dense weave, which gives it a greater durability. The difference between buying a traditional knotted rug as opposed to a hooked, tufted or a machine-made rug is like the difference between buying an original painting versus a print or a poster. Like most collectibles, you can start small and trade up over your lifetime. Motahari allows customers who properly care for the rugs they purchase from him to trade them in towards another rug within five years of purchase.

Select the Right Material

You should determine how your room will be used before selecting your rug’s material. The basic options in the synthetic fiber category are nylon, olefin and acrylic. Nylon rugs are durable, easy to clean and can withstand heavy foot traffic. Acrylic is highly resistant to sunlight, stains and mildew, making it a great choice for a rug in your bathroom. Olefin is the most stain-resistant synthetic, repels water and is generally less expensive than other fibers. Gerald says these types of rugs are “for those who want to swap rugs every few years and are not concerned with the investment.”

Natural fibers include silk, wool, cotton, jute and sisal. Wool is considered superior in this category, as it is extremely durable. “When I was a youngster in Iran, my father allowed me to pick out some door mats for my room when I insisted on picking out my own rug,” remembers Motahari. “Over forty years later, we are still using the pair of [wool] door mats.”

Rugs of pure natural silk, which are expensive and rare, generally should not be used in high-traffic areas. “It’s not practical to buy the most expensive pieces and then use them in these areas,” Motahari stresses. “It’s like passing around a fine painting for everyone to touch and feel.” These rugs are, indeed, considered works of art, and many buyers choose to display them on walls or thrown over the back of a favorite sofa.

Choose the Appropriate Size

As in all of the above categories, choosing what size rug is appropriate for your room depends mostly on personal taste. “Some people don’t like the rug to go under the legs of furniture; others like to use the front legs of furniture to hold the rug in place,” notes Motahari. However, there are some general guidelines to follow to maintain a balanced look in your home. If you do not want any of your furniture sitting on the rug, then you should look for rugs no larger than 8x10 feet.

The only room with real limitations is the dining room, says Sharon Schenck, owner of NOLA Rugs in New Orleans. “The dining room table dictates the size of the rug, which needs to be large enough for the chairs to be pulled out.” The chair legs shouldn’t fall off the rug when pulling the chairs away from the table to sit. To determine what size rug you need, measure the length and width of your table and add at least 4 feet to each measurement.

For area rugs in living rooms and dens, the most popular look is to leave an equal amount of flooring exposed as a border on all sides. Another interesting arrangement is to place two or three rugs in each room. “This is the European approach,” says Schenck, who travels frequently overseas to direct import her store’s rugs. “There is more freedom than you think—it’s really a matter of personal preference.”