Explaining the Cost of Rugs
Rugs have become an essential in-home living space as they fill an empty space, without really taking away from the walking space that furniture, such as sofas and cabinets, often do. Rugs can be a very interesting décor piece as they can either complement the surrounding aesthetic or become the centerpiece and immediately draw attention to its way. Even though they don’t take away from the room, these rugs can be a pricey purchase. There are different reasons why there are some expensive rugs, going from the materials used to the method of construction and how the rug appears to the eye.
Villa Nova X Kyra Cane Fusion Sienna RG2034 Handtufted Rug
Material
There are many different materials used in the textile industry and the same applies to rugs as well. Different materials are used in production because the different materials determine the quality of the rug and can directly impact its longevity. As always, there are three different types of materials used in production, as in every other textile, which are natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetics. Depending on what your usage of the rug will be and how often it will experience foot traffic, you would want a rug that can be able to handle it and maintain its appearance while still being easy to clean and maintain. Because of all these desirable factors wanted in a rug, it can raise the price as there aren’t many affordable materials that can do it all.
Wool
Wool is a natural fiber that is sheared from the coats of sheep, goats, and rabbits. It is grown to be very fluffy and an insulating fiber which leads it to create very soft and durable yarn threads. It is a very luxurious fiber and when used in rugs and carpets, it can maintain its form even under heavy foot traffic. It is very durable and would last a lot of years while maintaining its soft appearance. This makes it a desirable fiber to be used in textiles. While there are many advantages to wool fibers being used in rugs, wool fibers do shed a lot. Shorter lengths of wool are spun in between longer lengths and these come out through usage. This is inevitable with wool rugs and the shedding cannot be stopped unless all the shorter fibers come out of the yarn threads. The fibers can be pulled out to maintain a smooth look by vacuuming or allowing the rug to naturally shed over time. The shedding causes no damage to the look or state of the rug and is expected to happen during the first few months of usage.
Cotton
Cotton is another natural fiber but it is rather obtained from flowering plants. It grows as a soft, fluffy ball, with its natural coloring being white or slightly yellow. Cotton fiber is very porous and can absorb water and liquids with ease, which is actually a downside when it comes to rug maintenance. You would want your rug to absorb less water as possible so it can maintain its longevity without the rug fibers being ruined by water and other fallen liquids. However, cotton is strong and durable meaning, when used in rugs and carpets, it can be placed in areas of high foot traffic without it ruining its appearance and color. The reason why cotton can be expensive is that there is often a short yield of it available. It grows in certain climates and many cotton plants have to be harvested in order for a kilogram of cotton to be obtained. This makes it less available and more expensive to purchase. Organic cotton can be even more expensive to buy as it's made with more sustainable and ethically-approved methods compared to ordinary cotton.
Polypropylene
Theko Flomi Florentina 200 Red Classic Rug
Polypropylene is less expensive than nylon and polyester but has decreased durability as well. Like polyesters, rugs made from polypropylene won’t maintain their integrity and form in high usage areas; it is better for areas that are more for decoration and less traffic. It does, however, have a good fade and heat resistance so it will be able to retain its’ color and not fade with cleaning and exposure to sunlight.
Construction
Hand-knotted
Bokhara Red Hand Knotted Traditional Rug by HMC
Rugs have been around for centuries and the earliest rugs were made with hand-knotting construction. This method is the oldest form of constructing a rug and has its roots embedded in ancient Persia. These rugs are formed with thousands and thousands of handmade knots knotted onto a thread frame. Because it is hand-made, there can be several mistakes made with the knots but this adds to the uniqueness of each rug and makes it more special than a set of uniform rugs. Each rug is expected to have a few out-of-place knots, which add to the character of each rug being different from one another. Everything is done by hand, from dying the yarn threads to the knots. This is a very labor-intensive method and requires a lot of attention and patience. Due to this and depending on the size and shape of the rug, the construction of the rug can take a few months to a few years. Well-loved examples of hand-knotted rugs would be Persian Rugs.
Tufted
Hummingbird 37808 Blue Nature Print Hand Tufted Wool Rug by Wedgwood
Tufted rugs have recently become a very popular form of rugs. They produce soft rugs that are warm and comfortable to have in all places and are a hit with kids and pets. Compared to hand-knotted rugs, tufting is more of a modern concept of rug construction. It can produce everyday rugs as well as produce rugs on a large scale in both size and quantity. It essentially involves a gun shooting yarn threads through a large burlap frame. The side that the yarn is shot from, is covered with a backing to prevent the threads from escaping, while the other side is trimmed to produce the pile height and face of the rug. While this can be done on a large industrial machine, there are hand-held tufting guns that can do the same job. This means that tufted rugs can also be made by hand - they do take a lot more time and can’t mass produce rugs like industrial machines.
Industrial Machine
Mad Men Griff 8956 Copperfield Rug by Louis De Poortere
What separates this method from hand-knotting and tufting is that this can construct rugs very quickly and in high quantities. It uses large-scale mechanical looms that follow a tufting construction or a weave motion to create the many rugs; varying or all shapes, sizes, and colors. These rugs are made perfectly, as there are no human errors made, making them all identical to one another. Because of this method, rugs made mechanically are often cheaper than rugs made by hand, as it removes the cost of labor. They still create the intricate design and detailed patterns that hand-knotted and tufted construction beautifully create.
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