The buying guide
How to choosea handmade rug.
Seven short chapters: what we tell customers on the showroom floor, in the order we tell it.
Start with the room.
At least the front legs of the sofa and chairs on the rug, with 12 to 18 inches of floor showing at the walls. Big rooms take 10 × 14 or larger.
See rugs in this size
Measuring, in four steps
- i.Measure the roomWall to wall, both ways, and note doors, vents and fireplaces.
- ii.Mark the rugLay painter’s tape on the floor where the rug would sit, and live with the outline for a day.
- iii.Check the furnitureMake sure the front legs of the seating, or the whole dining table and its chairs, land inside the tape.
- iv.Bring it inBring the measurements and a few photographs of the room. We will bring out rugs that fit.
What you are paying for.
One rug from our floor, and what it is made of. Choose a part, or separate the layers.
- Rug
- Agra Burgundy
- Number
- 10048
- Size
- 4′1″ × 5′8″
A simplified construction study: the pile you walk on, the knots that hold it, the foundation they are tied to.
The centre of this rug, up close. The pile is clipped level once every row of knots is tied. Move the lens to look closer.
Drag the lens, or focus it and use the arrow keys.
Turn the rug over and its whole design is there again, reversed, as a grid of individual knots. The back is where hand knotting shows most plainly.
Every knot is tied by hand around the foundation threads, one at a time, row after row, and the design grows upward from them. One way of tying it, the asymmetric knot, is known as the Senneh knot, after the town now called Sanandaj, in western Iran. It is where our name comes from.
Six things that set the price
- i.SizeA bigger rug takes more material and more knots.
- ii.How it is madeHand-knotted rugs take the longest to weave, Tibetan weave next; flatweaves and braided rugs are quicker.
- iii.The knotsHow many and which kind: more knots per square inch allow finer detail, and the Persian, or Senneh, knot finer curves than the Turkish.
- iv.The fibresGood wool is springy and lustrous; silk is fine, glows, and costs more.
- v.The designFine curves and intricate detail take more skill and more hours at the loom.
- vi.The dyesRich colour with the gentle shifts of hand-dyed yarn.
For your home.
Children and pets
Wool, with a busy pattern
Wool shrugs off spills and cleans well; an all-over pattern hides everyday marks.
A busy hallway
A wool runner, hand-knotted or flatweave
Wool is the most hard-wearing fibre; a flatweave is thin enough that doors pass over it.
Under a dining table
Low pile or flatweave, sized generously
Chairs slide more easily on a low or flat surface; size it 24 inches past the table.
A sunny room
Wool, in softer colours
Wool softens gently in light; silk and bamboo silk fade and weaken faster in strong sun.
A quiet bedroom
Silk, wool and silk, or Tibetan weave
Low traffic lets you enjoy softer, finer fibres underfoot.
A kitchen or entry
A wool flatweave
Easy to shake out and clean; avoid natural fibres and bamboo silk where it gets wet.
Handmade,or not?
- i.Turn it overThe back of a hand-knotted rug shows the design almost as clearly as the front, knot by knot. A machine-made back looks like a uniform grid; a tufted rug has a cloth backing glued on.
- ii.Look at the fringeOn a hand-knotted rug the fringe is the end of the warp threads that run through the whole rug. A sewn-on fringe is a sign of machine weaving or tufting.
- iii.Look for lifeSlight irregularities in the knots and gentle shifts in colour (abrash) are signs of hand-spun, hand-dyed wool, not faults.
Made to be handed down.
- i.
Vacuum
Regularly, along the pile, off the fringe.
- ii.
Blot
Lift spills straight away; never rub.
- iii.
Turn
Every so often, so it wears evenly.
- iv.
Pad
Stops slipping, protects the knots.
- v.
Clean
Professionally, every two to three years.
Questions
What people ask
Wool. It is resilient, naturally resistant to stains and easy to clean, which makes it the best choice for busy rooms.
Usually a rug that is too small is the more common mistake: it makes a room feel smaller. Leave 12 to 18 inches of floor at the walls and choose the largest rug that allows it.
Yes. Choose a pad made for rugs on carpet, which stops the rug creeping and wrinkling.
Yes. You can take a rug home on approval and see it in your own light before you decide.
Timonium & Maple Lawn
Bring your measurements in.
We will bring out the right rugs, in the right sizes, and you can take the one you love home on approval.
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