May 26, 2009
Basics For Choosing The Right Area Rug For Your Home
Rugs are a diverse bunch of decorative and functional items. From the variations in materials and range of colors to the collections of designs and assortment of shapes, rugs are indeed versatile decors you should never do without when beautifying your home. This article is for you to find out more about these amazing decors.
The idea of picking out one or a just a few can be frustrating. It would be best to know helpful facts about area rugs, so you can better make a choice of a rug that will fit best your home.
Natural rugs - these rugs are made of wool, cotton, bamboo, jute and other renewable materials and natural fibers. If you're an eco-friendly consumer, these rugs are perfect for you. Wool is a popular material from sheep's hair, which explains the lush and soft fabric. Cotton is an incredibly soft fiber and bamboo is very durable, great for high-traffic areas. Jute is not commonly used as it can get easily damaged if exposed too much to direct sunlight and moisture. However, it is softer than cotton so just imagine how amazing this fabric feels.
Area rugs made of natural fibers - Wool is highly recognized as a quality fiber because of its soft texture. Cotton is another natural fiber that may not be as durable as wool but is sought after because of its easy wash and dry quality. Cotton rugs are best for bathroom and kitchen use where with its light material, the susceptibility to wetness and dirt will make it easier to clean. Jute is like cotton in its softness and lightness but can be sensitive to sunlight exposure causing its color to fade and its material to deteriorate fast. Hence, only use a jute rug as an indoor decoration.
Knowing the different materials used for making rugs is an important factor in determining what kind of rugs to use for specific areas in your house. This will also give you an idea on how to better care for your rugs so they can last longer. In this effect, you will get to save more from not constantly buying replacements. This time, let's take a look at some important vocabulary for more information about area rugs:
Stitches and needle counts - this means the number of loops of yarn. When the rug has a higher needle or stitch count, it becomes thicker and richer in fabric. This is preferred by many because the rug lasts longer as it doesn't easily succumb to wear and tear compared to a loosely-woven rug, the result of fewer needle and stitch counts.
Line Count refers to the process that the polypropylene goes through in order to put twists into the yarn. When yarn has been set with heat, it ends up having a wool-like appearance.
Hand-carved - this is a design made from hand shears.
Stitches and needle counts are the number of loops of yarn. Whenever the rug has a high needle or stitch count, it's denser. A higher density rug will last much longer and wear better than even more loosely woven rugs.
Warp yard is stationary threads. This are the strongest fibers used in rug making. They are intersected with wefts, which is the filling material. These are woven through the warps.
The border refers to the composition of the decorative designs that are repeated in one direction all around the outside of the rug.
These information will prove useful in your rug hunting. Knowing some of the most important things about area rugs will assure you of making the right choice, especially with the materials used.
Filed under Interior Design by Ray Braxton