Authentic Persian Rugs: How to Tell What You’re Buying

Hand Made Persian Rug Buying Guide

Persian rugs are considered the finest of all Oriental rugs, and as one of the most distinguished demonstrations of Persian heritage, they are an indispensable part of the Persian cultural history.

Carpet weaving has been a part of the Persian culture for centuries, and the practice actually dates back to the ancient Persia. These also account for a major portion of their export business.

The highest quality authentic Persian rugs are hand woven (also known as hand knotted). Although machine made rugs are cheaper, they lack the one-of-a-kind charm that authentic rugs provide and are consequently significantly less valuable.

Evaluating Your Persian Rug’s Authenticity

To test your Persian rug’s authenticity, you must determine whether it is handmade or not. Handmade Persian rugs are woven by skilled craftsmen, and each rug requires great talent and time to create.

A quality Persian rug will be hand-woven with quality silk or wool thread, and may have imperfections if it was in fact made with a wooden loom. Its design should also be unique; if your Persian rug’s design is completely identical to other rugs, chances are it was machine made.

The most genuine Persian rugs are made using Persian Senneh knot, a special knot made using two knots that combine to look like one. The Yazd Persian rugs from our collection are wonderful examples of fine hand-woven craftsmanship.

Yazd Persian area rugs are made with Senneh knots

Part of the specialty of these weaves is that passing one strand under another can create a wide range of knots and patterns. The unique artistry is what makes these rugs so valuable and unique. For instance, the Bakhtiar Persian rug is made using 100 knots per square inch in order to lend it the authentic luxurious feel.

Persian rugs come in many variants of materials such as silk, wool, jute and others. Their rich texture and bright colors brighten up any room and add glamour. Persian rugs have intricate designs, the central piece and the border being their most important parts. Some use imperial golds and crimson reds, and others use more neutral browns and blues.

Persian rugs can be pricier than other rugs due to the amount of skill, time and effort that goes into creating each one of them. This uniqueness is part of what makes them so sought-after around the world.

Find the perfect Persian rug to add a special design touch to your home.

5 Design Tips for Incorporating Area Rugs in Your Home

Leave a reply

Area Rug Design Ideas for Memorable Pieces

Unlike wall-to-wall floor carpets, rugs are available in numerous shapes and sizes. They offer a wide variety that can be complemented with a multitude of house décor themes. In fact, you can arrange your home decor to highlight a unique rug as the centerpiece of your room; you’ll find it easier to select furniture, curtains and other decor elements once you’ve established a design anchor for every room.

Rugs come in a variety of textures, patterns, colors and shapes. However, working with existing furniture, lightings, wall colors and upholstery can be a real challenge. Here are 5 area rug design ideas to highlight your favorite room:

1. Use rugs as visual partitions. Every room has its own practical demands. Keeping this in mind, you should first plan the complete layout of your room. For instance, large living rooms can be wisely separated with the help of small rugs at various points along with some memorable décor items.

2. Balance aesthetic between rug and furniture. The size of the furniture and the rugs need to be balanced perfectly. A small sofa set looks awkward when teamed with an over-sized area rug. All rugs in a room should have a common factor in order to maintain a proper balance. A natural coherence must be maintained through colors, patterns or shapes.

Round Turkish Cut & Loop rug

Patterned rugs like the Gabbeh area rugs or Turkish cut and loop rugs bring diversity to the décor. This splash of various colors and patterns can balance well with soft-colored furniture and other décor elements.

For a traditional setting, Persian and Oriental rugs are the best options, as they pair well with classic wooden furniture.

Modern style area rugs can help create a chic and trendy décor.

3. Work with lighting elements. Light fixtures can add an element of glamour to a room, and strategic use of diverse lighting options can help enhance the aesthetics of your rug. A small traditional chandelier placed over a Kerman round rug looks absolutely stunning.

Alternatively, a rectangular Persian rug on a corridor might best be complemented with a series of square spotlights. The downward light of spotlights helps to brighten up the area and augment the design and richness of the rugs.

4. Match colored walls with your rug. Single-toned rugs with soft color pallets allow you to play around with bright colored walls and furniture. Considering the intensity and loudness of boldly colored rugs, it is important to go for neutral interiors in order to tone down the brightness.

5. Last, but not least: don’t overdo it! Whatever the color and pattern of your household rugs, they should never overpower the interior of your space. Instead, they should work cohesively with all your other design elements to create a comfortable, welcoming, and beautiful space.

The room or the space should be a reflection of your taste and personality. Make sure that you choose an area rug for your home that can help you create a perfectly balanced and appealing space.

For more area rug design ideas, browse our entire selection of area rugs.

The Making of Oriental Rugs: From the Loom to Your Home

Leave a reply

As the name suggests, Oriental rugs come from ‘Orient’, a region stretching across Asian countries such as India, China, Tibet, Persia, Turkey, Vietnam, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cyprus, Iran, Morocco and Algeria. People with different skills and from different regions create these magnificent pieces of home décor.

How are Oriental Rugs Made and Designed?

Oriental Rugs can again be categorized into different types based on their origin. Persian rugs, Arabian rugs, Chinese rugs and Tibetan rugs are all examples of fine oriental rugs.

In order to make an Oriental rug, weavers use a loom to weave together threads of different colors into a complex pattern. A traditional Oriental rug design begins with a border, followed by a central design piece with some significance. Additional embellishments and patterns are then woven in, with the ultimate result being an elaborate pattern of with many design elements. Tabriz Oriental rugs are splendid examples of this sort of design.

A blue and red Mahal Oriental area rug.

Rug designers and weavers incorporate rich and bright colors such as red, orange, beige, navy blue and maroons as they make Oriental rugs to make them look opulent and glamorous. Authentic Oriental rugs are made using 100 percent pure natural wool and have 150 or more knots per square inch.

The designs are of Asian style and pattern which make them look very ethnic. Such beautiful oriental rugs were used by the Kings and other affluent classes in the ancient times. They reflect the buyer’s class, fine taste and grandeur. Purists believe that an authentic oriental rug is hand knotted or woven, rather than machine made. (Machine made rugs are often said to lack panache and authenticity.)

These beautiful rugs are also used as art forms and collected in museums. The Mahal-patterned Oriental area rugs can look as grand on the wall as it does on the floor. The Birjand-patterned Oriental area rug is also a beautiful example of such an excellent craft.

Cleaning Oriental Rugs: Care and Repair

These glorious pieces of décor need extra care to keep them looking as glamorous as they do, and different rugs are cleaned in different ways. Never wash an authentic oriental rug at home using shampoo or detergents. If you need to clean your Oriental rug, it’s always a good idea to send it to a professional cleaner. This helps increase longevity of the rug. Make sure you clean the rug regularly.

To repair your Oriental rug after any wear and tear, have the damaged areas rewoven by a professional before the damage is exaggerated. You need to take extra care if you have pets at home.

What’s your favorite Oriental rug pattern? Let us know in the comments!

How to Choose an Area Rug: Picking the Perfect Addition to Your Home

Leave a reply

With an almost limitless palette of patterns and colors, area rugs can be the perfect addition to your home decor. They not only help create the right ambience, but they can also help to accentuate the architecture, furniture and other accessories most effectively. They make any space unique, and can be the difference between “hmm” and “wow!”
But how do you choose the perfect area rug design accent? Here’s a hint: know what you like and what you need when it comes size, color, pattern, texture and theme. Below, we’ve created a roadmap to help you choose an area rug for your home.

5 Tips for Choosing an Area Rug

1. Consider the shape and size. Rugs are available in countless sizes and shapes, so narrow your choices based on room size and layout. A number of small-sized rugs, preferably of the same shape, placed at various areas like the staircase, space adjacent to the fire place, dining area, seating space or a small cozy corner, give a new dimension to a large living room.

A large rug can work well with huge furniture sets. A round or oval rug is best suited for the center of a room, whereas long rectangular shapes look appropriate in corridors, hallways or adjacent to wardrobes and bedsides.

A Turkish Gabbeh modern area rug in beige, brown, and blue.

2. Choose the right color. The color of the rug is crucial, as any mismatch can become jarringly distracting over time. Identify the dominant color in your interiors so as to select a rug that strikes a chord.

Dark-colored rugs create a cordial environment, and can really pop in interiors with soft or neutral color schemes. Rugs with abstract, geometric, floral or modern patterns can be elegant with similarly patterned upholstery, walls and furniture done in lighter shades.

3. Consider texture and material. Rugs can be made of natural as well as artificial elements that bring out diverse textures. Natural fibers include wool pile rugs, silk pile rugs, sea grass, jute, cotton and sisal, while the synthetic variants are nylon, polyester and polypropylene.

Rugs made of synthetic elements are durable and are easy to clean but lack the richness, softness and luster of wool and silk. Cotton and wool rugs are the most durable natural rug materials, a perfect compromise for high traffic areas. Jute and sea grass rugs are more delicate, and best suited for low traffic areas.

4. Choosing a pet-friendly rug. It’s understandable that pet-owners may hesitate to invest heavily in area rugs for the home. Pets can be hard on a delicate natural-fiber rug, and even synthetic fibers can take a beating. Pets love the warmth and softness of the rugs and roll around on them, not to mention the occasional pet-related messes.

But some rugs hold up to pets better than other. If you’re a pet owner, choose rugs that are resilient and easy to clean, such as synthetic polypropylene rugs. Darker colors or complex patterned rugs are also more pet-friendly, and can help conceal pet stains.

5. Maintain consistent interior design. In addition to all these factors, you should also try to adhere to the theme or the style of your existing décor. A Persian rug with intricate and elaborate detailing is the most appropriate for a traditional setting. Geometric patterns look great in contemporary interior styles.

For more design ideas, browse our entire online selection of area rugs and sort by shape, color, material, and pattern.

Antique Area Rugs for Your Modern Room Design

Leave a reply

If you’re hoping to make your modern room’s design last for years to come, consider including an antique area rug in your room. You may think contemporary and old-fashioned styles don’t harmonize well, but merging modern with vintage or antique goods—those that have already proven their definitive beauty for decades—is an excellent way to pull any modern room design together.

Modern Room Design Starts Around a Favorite Piece

If you’re a new home owner, renovator or interior designer, then you’re probably beginning the process of fostering ideas for your new décor project. Oftentimes, the beginning of a successful design project involves choosing one primary item that you are particularly fond of. Next, you’d collect different furnishings and décor that compliment your primary piece. Perhaps the best ornamentation to design a modern room around is an antique area rug.

It may seem counterintuitive to include an antique area rug in your modern room, but time is the precise reason why these rugs are so perfect. Why? Because our personalities tend to alter as we grow older, and our tastes in design inevitably change as well. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have an unlimited budget to revamp our spaces as often as we’d like. That’s why it’s helpful to make sure our modern room design projects can stand the test of time.

Antique Area Rug Designs and Patterns

Antique area rugs are particularly suitable for any room—yes, even contemporary ones—because of their age, diversity, and style. When purchasing antique area rugs for your home or workspace, you can be confident that it will continue to bring a classic and enduring elegance to your modern room’s design. If you’re seeking antique area rugs for your home, consider the following diverse rug styles:

At eSale Rugs we offer a wide selection of both classic, antique area rugs and contemporary carpet pieces from around the world. If you’re interested in adding a great rug to your design project, visit our online inventories.