Purchasing Oriental area rugs, antique or new machine made or a beautiful hand knotted still requires a degree of knowledge and awareness on the person that is purchasing the area rug. If you plan on buying a high-quality rug for a serious investment you should first study the type of area rug you are looking for in great detail and what is available from different retail sources before you make a final decision on a rug. True quality is usually apparent more or it might be less self-evident. A fine area rug will contain a particular luminous look and the design should have a crisp and clear look and not have a blurred appearance. The rugs color will be rich and vibrant and will not be muddy and dull in appearance.

The production and creation of area rugs

Area rugs that have been produced in regions of the world that have strong natural light will quite often be bright to people in the Western world but in time the colors will soften and take on a more mature appearance. Area rugs that are made with wool and a vegetable dye has been used for coloring will tend to age gracefully and in sync with ones colors. Chemically dyed area rugs will retain some certain harshness. Trusted sources would be dealers who have been around awhile with a good track record with the area rug business. At all costs stay away from the bankruptcy sales or going out of business sales. Even if you purchase an area rug in the country of origin it is still no guarantee of any savings or the quality of the rugs, as most of the best examples of the rugs will be saved and used in the export trade leaving less quality rugs for you to purchase in the local markets. Prices are decided by quality, which are pattern, material, density, age and the condition of the rug. If you do not care about some signs of wear like a ragged edge or a little fraying you would be able to find an essentially fine carpet at discount area rug price. When you are looking for your new area rug you should be aware of a rug that is artificially aged, that is when the rug is distressed by bleaching or other chemicals to give the appearance of an antique area rug but in turn actually reduces the life of the rug. A good dealer will gladly provide evidence that will give the rugs provenance.

Laying and protecting your area rug

All area rugs that are placed on hardwood floors or laminate floors should be laid over top of a good non-slip underlayment, which can prevent accidents. Having that extra underlayment under the carpet will also help in the protection of the underside of the area rug from the day to day wear and tare and will help to make it more soft and resilient. If you have a light area rug you can secure it by means of a special mesh backing or with the use of bonding strips. Another benefit of the area rug underlayment pad is it is useful if you are placing the area rug over an existing carpet. This will stop the area rug from creeping and wrinkling and it will also give you protection for the carpet if the area rug is prone not to be colorfast. Cleaning your area rugs should be done, especially antique and Oriental, with special care by laying an nylon screen over the rug and weighing down the screen so as to protect the rug from the vacuum. If you have high traffic then you should have the rug professionally cleaned. Rotating your area rugs will allow even wear. If there is a direct sunlight exposure then you should consider the proper window treatment that will protect the area rug from the harsh UV rays and the fading that can happen to your rugs.