Antique rugs/ Vintage rugs make every space lively. Their vibrant patterns and colors make them famously celebrated statement pieces. You can also use them to complement any sort of aesthetics at home.
While any home could benefit from such beautiful pieces, purchasing the right one can be daunting. It’s quite tough to differentiate poorly made rugs from quality ones. What should you look for?
Check The Edges
Checking the edges is a simple but easily forgettable task. If you notice frayed edges, the rug is bound to unravel quickly. It’s pretty expensive to repair your rug edges. While shopping, inspect the rug edges thoroughly and ensure they are well integrated. If the edges are poorly bound together, you risk your investment.
On the other hand, if you decide to repair frayed edges, you are bound to spend more. So before closing the deal, remember to recheck the edges.
Check Whether the Rug is Handmade
To guarantee that the rug is of good quality, check whether it has signs of machine making. Experts suggest asking the dealer for permission to inspect the back. Then, flip the rug and check whether the front and back look identical. In this case, the front should be almost identical to the back for a handmade rug. This is the quickest way to differentiate a machine-made from a handmade rug, according to professionals.
On top of choosing a hand-woven rug, ensure the yarn is handspun. Although you’ll find many hand-woven rugs in marketplaces, quality ones are made from hand-spun yarn. You’ll note the difference in thickness, texture, and consistency. When lifting the rug, the hand-spun ones are more substantial. In addition, they have many irregularities that impact the dyeing process. On the contrary, machine-spun rugs have a uniform width and texture and are very thin.
Is the Rug Painted?
Most often, inexperienced dealers tend to take advantage of buyers. First, you have to know whether the rug’s dye is fabricated. Gently rub the rug’s surface with a slightly damp cloth during the purchase. Then, check if the damp cloth has captured any dye. If so, politely leave the dealer.
Everything Is Not Perfect
Antique rugs are normally hand-woven. This alters their size, making them less than perfect. They also differ from modern rugs, given their bigger length and narrowness. They are basically made with the width of the loom in mind.
This makes it hard to find the right dimension when shopping for a vintage or antique rug. But you have an option–rug layering. The rug layering technique helps create texture, movement, and dimension underfoot. For instance, If you prefer a smaller rug, place it on a jute rug.
Find a Reputable Source
Antique rugs are pretty costly. Considering this factor, you want to find the best dealer. Rug dealers may pop up in your village, claiming to sell quality vintage and antique rugs and disappear shortly after collecting money from unsuspecting customers.
Transact with trustworthy individuals who have a long-serving record in the business. In addition, you can consult friends and neighbors for leads on legitimate rug dealers. Your neighbors are remarkable assets, too, in this pursuit. On the other hand, the store you choose should be willing to give a detailed explanation. That includes citing differences between rug types. And besides helping you choose a befitting rug type, they should suggest how to best care for the rug.
Test the Rug
Before purchasing the rug, a good dealer should let you take the rug with you for home testing. You can capture the vibe by temporarily installing the rug in your preferred room. If the rug doesn’t fit the space–even after repositioning the rest of the furniture– return to the rug center for a different size.
You can also minimize the hassle of walking to and fro the rug center by bringing with you a photo of your rooms. Then, let the experts suggest what they think will work for your interior design.
Understand the Lingo
Like shopping for a new item, certain terms are hard to comprehend. When visiting a rug store, you will hear certain words that only those acquainted with the industry can understand.
To understand better the description written on the rug and the explanation by the salesman, learn the industry vocabulary. Some of the terms you should be accustomed to include but are not limited to the following: Aniline Dyes, All-Over design, Antique Wash, Brocade, Handle, and Motifs.
Does the Rug Have Signs of Faux Aging?
When compared with a brand new rug, an original vintage rug should look older. Acid washing is the commonly used method when determining faux aging. This method results in a washed-out tone.
