A decorative hand-woven rug may be the largest and most expensive piece of artwork someone will ever own. It must fit the space as well as the users sense of touch, sight and personal style. Its most important jobs are to ground the space, to bring the look together without overwhelming and to enrich the users life. A carefully selected area rug will add value to the artwork, furniture and various accessories in the room.
Most area rugs fit into one of three categories:
1. Hand Woven – This type of rug has an actual knot with wool, silk, or cotton foundation. Contents are natural and sometimes the colors are natural as well. Hand woven rugs tend to last a long time and keep their value as well as maintaining good resale value. You can feel the personality and character of the design.
2. Hand Tufted – This type of rug has a cloth backing (typically canvas) and is made with synthetic glues to hold the loops together. Weavers use a special gun to weave this type of rug, which can be wool or silk, and the colors are usually synthetic. Hand tufted rigs are lower in price, and they tend to last for fewer years because the glue dissolves over time. Almost all of the hand tufted rugs are from China and India. These hold no resale vale and show their age and wear after only a few years.
3. Machine Made – This type of rug is made on what is sometimes called a power loom. Like the hand tufted rug, this one doesn’t have a foundation. It is typically made of wool or synthetic fibers. Power loom rugs tend to have a better durability and last longer than hand tufted rugs. But, again, there is no resale value unless they are one-of-a-kind and antique.
In hand woven rugs, regardless of their country of origin, they come with a personality and sense of heritage. They are truly pieces of history and humanity, a true marriage of art and craft.
Information comes from SFDesign, Summer 2010