Rugs 101

• Rug is a piece of art on the floor and becomes the visual point in a room. 
• Adds life to solid furniture & Adds warmth in a hard surface room. 
• Can create an additional sound barrier 
• Protects furniture and flooring. (Always use a rug pad under a rug).

• A Rug often sets the tone and is the focal point of a room. An incredible add-on sale as it completes the “look”. 
• Color and design fit personality and style. There is also seasonality. 
• Styles include: Traditional, Transitional, Solids, Geometric, Contemporary, and Casual

• We encourage people to lay out with tape or create newspaper templates on their floor to get a size visual. 
• A good rule of thumb in a room is to leave 15” -18” of bare floor exposed when considering a large size rug. 
• Popular dining room sizes include: 5’x 8’ (4 chairs), 8’ x 10’ (6 chairs), 9’ x 12’ (8 chairs). A good rule of thumb is to leave 20” on each end of table to allow chairs to be pulled out. 
• Popular living room sizes include: 5’x 8’ (in front of grouping), 8’ x 10’ (front feet from furniture on rug) or 9’ x 12’ (all furniture on rug). 
• Bedroom considerations: 
  
  • Frame Your Bed When laying down an area rug in your bedroom, it should extend 36″ or so all around the bed. Alternatively, it could extend just on the sides, leaving the foot of the bed directly on the floor. 
  • Another option is to angle the bed on the rug to accommodate a smaller rug space. Standard sizes: 8′ x 10′ (queen), 9′ x 12′ (king). Runners are also a good idea and can be used on either side and/or at the foot of the bed. 
• Remember larger rugs give the illusion of a bigger room, whereas a smaller rug in a large room will get lost.

• Hand Knotted Rugs are most expensive. This is where “one of a kind” and antiques are found. 
• Rugs with added textures, space dying, finer wools, special washing, etc. will all add to the price. 
• Silk is the most expensive fiber used, followed by wool. Synthetics are often the least expensive.

• Determine how the product will be used. 
• Don’t forget that Indoor/Outdoor products can also be used inside and are perfect for busy families/kitchen areas/ etc. as they are easy to clean. 
• High Traffic areas require different fibers/constructions than less traffic areas. Also keep in mind textures, colors etc. Many rugs must be professionally cleaned. 
• Although Wool extremely durable, if allergies exist, a synthetic fiber may be a better option.

The most expensive & oldest form of rug construction, Hand knotted rugs are made on a specially designed loom and are knotted by hand. The making of hand knotted rugs is a very ancient art that deserves a lot of admiration! The size of the loom depends on the size of the rug and the weaving is done from the bottom to the top. The rug weaver inserts the “knots” into the foundation of the rug and they are tied by hand, this makes up the “pile” of the rug. You can see these “knots” by turning over the rug.

These are the most popular constructions used today and are more reasonably priced than hand-knot. Hand tufted rugs are a type of rug that is considered handmade or hand-crafted. Tufted rugs are made using a modified hand held drill gun that inserts the pile into a cloth foundation which creates a loop pile. If the loop pile is sheared, it then becomes a cut pile. The loop pile rug, if not sheared, is called a Hand-Hooked rug. These rugs have a handmade look but they cost much less because using the gun speeds up the process dramatically. A latex coating is then applied to the back of the rug to hold the “tufts” in place. A canvas type fabric is then applied over the latex coating to finish the back of the rug.

Flatweaves are another category of handmade rugs. These rugs are hand-woven in a flat weave pattern and there is no pile. There is virtually no height to the rug. Soumak, Dhurrie, Kilim and Braided are all types of flatweave rugs. With a flatweave, you will definitely want to put a rug pad under it to help it stay in place and provide a little more cushion to the rug. Natural fibers, wool, and cotton, all make good materials for flatweave rugs. Playa, Natura, Bahama, and Horizon (Indoor/Outdoor) are good examples of KAS’ flat weave collections.

Machine-made rugs are made by large machines called power looms. A power loom is electrically automated and controlled by computers. Machine-made rugs can be made quickly and are manufactured with materials including wool and synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, polyester, acrylic and art silk. Machine-made rugs lack the flexibility of a handmade rug in that pre-determined patterns and colors are used and others cannot be added in process. There are two types of looms used to create three different categories of Oriental reproductions: Wilton, Cross-woven Wilton, and Axminster. Each of these can be designed to achieve various pile heights, densities, finishes and qualities.

Shag rugs are one of the more popular trends today. They are fun and easy to decorate with. Shag rugs can be handmade or machine made using a variety of constructions. The distinctive feature of this quality is the longer length of the fibers. The fibers may be fine and silky or thick and soft.