As celebrity Oprah Winfrey once said, “It’s easier for me to make a big life, multi-million dollar decision than to put a carpet on my porch. This is the fact.”
It can be seen that buying carpets is not easy. Usually it is not cheap. After spending all our time and energy on purchasing “The One”, we naturally want to make sure it’s a carefully made choice. However, in this day and age there are many choices. There is a wide variety of designs and carpets from all over the world. How do we know how to buy carpets?
Before you decide to buy, keep the following points in mind:
1. Think about the big picture (your home’s color theme)
The color of the carpet should match the color theme of your home. If you already know your home’s color theme, this is relatively easy. However, if you haven’t made up your mind yet, consider using a neutral-toned rug that’s compatible with most colors.
2. Dollars and Cents (Budget)
How far are you willing to pay for the ideal carpet (in your wallet)? You can buy carpets for less than 20 dollars or thousands of dollars. If you have a fixed budget, you can consider carpets within a fixed price range. There are different “grades” of carpets. Carpets range from rough to very fine, and they are made in different ways. Whether the carpet is handmade or machine-made also affects the price.
3. The Purpose Of Carpet:
What should the carpet do for you? Is it purely for decoration? Does it mean more functional, like a children’s playground? Or is it for deeper purposes, such as showing a professional image of taste and elegance, or is it for religious purposes? Different purposes will affect the type or quality of design you want on the carpet.
4. The quality of the carpet
Are you looking for high quality handmade oushak carpets, or are ordinary machine carpets sufficient to meet your needs? Some factors that you may need to consider when evaluating carpets may include:
i) stack length:
In general, the longer the pile, the worse the quality of the carpet. This is because a long pile will reduce the sharpness of complex design contours. Long pile also makes the carpet or rug more prone to wear patterns over time, which affects durability. However, keep in mind that there are exceptions to this rule. For example, some beautiful handmade oushak rugs have longer piles to increase their toughness.
ii) Handmade, hand tufted or artificial
Compared to machine-made carpets, handmade carpets require more intensive labor and therefore have a higher value. Pay attention to the different descriptions of the carpet, especially when you buy it online. For example, note whether the carpet is hand-made, hand-woven, man-made, machine-made, or hand-tufted. Hand-tufted carpets are different from handmade or hand-woven carpets. This is another form of weaving technique. Before gluing the materials together, people use a tool called a “tuft gun” to push wool through a substrate (such as a canvas backing). Therefore, the labor intensity is much lower and the value is also lower.
iii) Number of knots/Number of knots per square inch
One of the indicators of carpet quality is its density, which is determined by the number of knots. In general, the higher the number of knots, the better the quality. For example, a very fine Persian carpet can reach 400 knots per square inch. However, keep in mind that there are exceptions to this rule. For example, high-quality handmade oushak rugs are often woven loosely. It is common for an authentic oushak carpet to be less than 30 knots per square inch, but the value will be much higher than many other carpets.
iv) Dyes and materials
The types of dyes and materials used affect the quality of the carpet. For example, natural plant dyes are often better than chemical dyes. High-quality silk wool or silk is often more popular than other inferior materials.
5. Risk Factors
What could “endanger the safety of your new carpet”? For example, do you have pets? Be aware of such “risks” before deciding what type of carpet to buy.
Sometimes choosing a rug is almost like choosing a partner. It’s not about choosing the best, because there will always be better things. This is actually based on our basic needs and preferences to choose the most suitable product for us.