Benefits

Beauty

Area rugs can set the character, mood or period of a space and provide the means to personalize an environment.

Contemporary area rugs are an excellent method to incorporate an artistic air into a home, and are a good technique to simply add color to a room.

Contemporary area rugs come in a variety of styles, including traditional patterns that have roots in Oriental, Persian and Native American designs.

Comfort

Area rugs provide comfort and warmth in addition to beauty.

Consider area rugs when designing a space around children or seniors.

Area rugs are a perfect method to soften hard surfaces and make them easier on the ears as well as the feet.

Safety

When used with an underlay or rug pad, area rugs provide a stable and non-slick surface to help prevent slips and falls and protect against impact.

Area rugs can minimize injuries from falls to children, seniors and other family members.

Sound Reduction

Hard surfaces within a space reverberate noise, especially with the introduction of stereos, televisions and telephones into the modern home or office. Area rugs help absorb and reduce noise. Traffic noise between house floors may be reduced with area rugs.

When used beneath tables and chairs, area rugs provide insulation against furniture movement in addition to providing warmth and decoration.

Durability

Area rug durability is generally determined by the material, construction, and amount of traffic in a space. By carefully considering where the area rug will be placed and how it will be used, you can anticipate its longevity. The chart below helps demonstrate the life you can expect from an area rug of various constructions placed in different spaces.

L = Low Traffic (bedroom, bathroom, formal areas, etc.)
M = Medium Traffic (dining room, office, etc.)
H = High Traffic (hallways, family room, entry, etc.)

Remember that the type of material used in area rug construction will also affect its longevity (i.e., a machine made area rug of tufted wool will last longer than a man-made hooked area rug in a medium traffic area).

Area Rug Construction

There is a variety of area rugs constructed from different materials and patterns. Your area rug should perform well in addition to looking great. To find the best area rug within your budget, consider the right combination of density, twist and fiber.

Density refers to the tightness of the tufts, or knots. The denser the weave, the better the area rug will wear.

Twist refers to the amount of yarn spirals. A yarn twist that is tighter provides added durability.

Fiber for area rugs may be from a variety of synthetic or natural materials, which will help determine performance and appearance. Natural fibers provide soft, low luster colors and long-term performance. Synthetic fibers provide brilliant colors, softness, easy maintenance and value.

Area rugs may be machine-made, hand-hooked, hand-tufted, hand-knotted, a flat weave or braided.

Hand-Made Area Rugs

In addition to traditional hand-made area rugs, Asia and other countries also produce many hand-made contemporary area rugs. There are different types of hand-made area rugs: knotted, tufted, hooked, looped and flat weave. Rug construction alone does not dictate area rug quality, factors such as density, material and weave should also be considered when selecting an area rug.

Hand-Knotted Area Rugs

Hand knotted area rugs are woven by hand; and depending on size, construction and density, one area rug could take a year or more to complete. Hand-knotted area rugs are secured to the foundation by knotting, versus gluing, producing exceptional density and quality.

Hand-Hooked Area Rugs

Using a pattern and a hooking device, yarn is punched through a canvas cloth creating a looped pile. The yarns are then glued in place in lieu of knotting, and a cloth is attached to the back.

Hand-Tufted Area Rugs

Hand-tufted area rugs are usually created by punching yarn in a cloth that is attached to a frame, and then gluing the backs with latex after hooking the yarn. The surface loop pile is then sheared to produce a flat surface. This process creates an area rug that is very plush, generally less expensive and easier to make than hand-knotted area rugs.

Flat Weave Area Rugs

Flat weave area rugs are less expensive, easier to make and are usually made of wool, cotton, bamboo, or nylon. Because they are looped, flat weave area rugs do not have a pile and are reversible. This category also includes Kilims, Dhurries and Soumaks.

Braided Area Rugs

Braided area rugs are constructed in several different ways, including tape, tubular, yarn and flat. In the tradition of early America from which braided area rugs were created, these area rugs may be woven with many different materials such as wool, clothing, old blankets, nylon and blends.

Machine-Made Area Rugs

These area rugs are made on power looms by hand, machine or computer. The loom is strung with a cotton or jute warp, and then woven using nylon, polypropylene, wool or other material. Computer operated machines produce a number of contemporary designs in various sizes and colors from a predetermined design. More than 40 shades can be achieved in a single area rug using a cross-weaving technique. Machine-made area rugs have become very popular due to the variety of sizes, colors, designs, lower pricing and availability. Machine-made area rugs are woven on Wilton, side-woven Wilton and Gripper Axminster looms.

Wilton Woven

Wilton looms are situated face-to-face and feature computerized electronic heads. The loom needles loop the yarns in two synthetic backings. Loom size and structure vary based on number of color capacities. Two identical area rugs emerge from the loom once the weaving process is complete and the rug is cut in half.

Wilton Side Woven

The Wilton side-woven area rugs are woven in a similar fashion, but at a 90 degree angle to the above area rugs. On occasion, cotton backing is to give these area rugs a softer feel.

Axminster

Axminster more commonly refers to a type of carpet rather than a type of loom, although the Gripper Axminster loom was created to mass produce carpet in 1927.

Materials and Fiber Facts

Each type of fiber used to create furniture and area rugs has different characteristics. There are six general types of fiber:

Natural Fibers:

Wool

Wool is soft and extremely resilient. Wool provides strength, versatility, and variety and is available in many colors.

Cotton

Cotton is available in many colors, provides softness and good performance.

Synthetic Fibers:

Nylon

Nylon is manufactured in an unlimited variety of colors, resists soil and is easily cleaned. The resilient nature of nylon withstands the weight of furniture and heavy traffic.

Olefin (Polypropylene)

Olefin is the predominant machine-woven synthetic fiber. Olefin has a soft wool-like feel, but resists wear and stains while being colorfast, strong and affordable.

Polyester

Polyester provides softness when constructed into thick, cut pile textures for area rugs and durability in furniture fabrics.

Acrylic

Acrylic can be blended with other fibers to provide the look of wool at a lower cost.

Blends

Any of the above natural and synthetic fibers may be blended. Synthetic fibers such as olefin and nylon are petroleum products, while rayon - a man-made alternative to silk - is synthesized from cellulose found in trees. Animal-derived natural fibers include wool spun from sheep, goats, llama and alpaca. Plants produce natural fibers such as sea grass, jute, flax and cotton.

Wool

Wool is a versatile fiber that dyes easily to create a limitless range of colors. Because of the natural scales on wool fiber surface, light is diffused and provides a soft appearance with less shine. The protein core of wool fibers are reactive, therefore they absorb dyes beautifully and hold the color well.

Wool has an elastic property that enables it to retain a dense pile through the weight of furniture, traffic and other uses for area rugs.

Wool is extremely durable and maintains a good appearance for longer periods. Wool fiber is naturally flexible and coiled, which means it is more likely to stretch rather than break. The scales on a wool fiber naturally repel water and other liquids. Although wool will absorb moisture, if liquid is spilled on a wool area rug or other wool fabric it may take time to penetrate. Wool is naturally fire resistant and will not melt when burned. This is not only a safety benefit, but also cosmetically beneficial. While wool will catch fire, it will not support a flame, which may make it a good choice for an area rug close to a hearth.

While area rugs of any material provide acoustic benefits, wool provides excellent insulation against sound and reduces noise levels. In addition, wool naturally resists static electricity by absorbing air moisture.

Wool stays cleaner longer and resists dirt. The same qualities of wool that prevent static electricity also protect against lint and dust attraction.

Polypropylene (Olefin)

Polypropylene is highly resistant to moisture, strong, colorfast, mildew and abrasion resistant and quick drying. Polypropylene fibers have a low density; therefore polypropylene area rugs are lightweight and inexpensive but not very resilient to wear in high traffic areas.

Polypropylene can be heat-set, which not only increases durability but also lowers the sheen of the fiber for a more affordable wool-like appearance.

Rayon

Rayon is naturally derived from wood, but is a man-made material that resembles silk. While similar to silk in look and feel, rayon will melt if exposed to open flame.

Nylon

Nylon was first commercially produced in 1939 by Du Pont® (then known as du Pont de Nemours) from water, air, petroleum and natural gas.

Nylon is very strong, abrasion resistant, and elastic. While nylon can simulate the look and feel of wool, its lustrous quality will create a relatively shiny appearance in area rugs.