Posted on February 12, 2019 by Behnam Rugs

Rug Shopping Guide for Dallas Residents

What Should I Know Before Shopping for a New Rug?

Posted on February 12, 2019

Behnam Rugs’ customers enjoy the many rug designs and rug colors that are at our showroom. It is not easy to select one rug, many times customers bought two or even three different sized and designed rugs. We have over a thousand unique rugs to choose from.  When there are thousands of rugs in front of you, it’s so easy to give up on the search for a dream rug before you even begin. We’ve put together this handy guide to make things a little easier.

When you’re shopping for a new rug, the first question you should ask yourself is, “What do I want this rug to do for my room?” Once you have a general idea of what you’re looking for, looking for a new rug will be much easier. There are four main factors to keep in mind when rug shopping: size, color, design, and quality.

Rug Sizes

Size is one of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a rug. When you are deciding on the size of your new rug, you’ll want to consider a few things.

First, think about the total size of your room. Then, think about how much of the room you want covered by the rug. Are you looking for an accent rug or an area rug? If you’re shopping for a runner, do you know both the length and the width of your hallways? If the rug is covered by anything, make sure you account for that when measuring. For example, if you are shopping for a rug underneath a dining table, make sure that the rug is large enough to go underneath the legs of the chairs as well, not just your dining table.

The best way to know what size rug you need is simply to measure beforehand. Many rug retailers will let you check rugs out to get a better idea of the type of rug that would look best in your room. In these cases, you can select a few rugs that you like in different sizes to see what size would work best for you.

Rug Colors

In the past, hand-knotted rugs were synonymous with Persian and Oriental rugs, which often came in colors that, while beautiful, were often a bit overpowering for most homes. Traditional Persian rug colors include red, burgundy, rust, navy blue, black, ivory, and gold. These days, there are many more colors available, and the rug industry is moving faster than ever before to keep up with the hottest trends in furniture, paint, and home decor.

When shopping for color, the main question you’ll want to ask yourself is if you want your new rug to be a statement piece or a subtle way to tie the room together. Look through home magazines and pay attention to the types of rugs used in the rooms featured in these magazines.

You can even bring some photos of your favorite rugs with you to the showroom you visit. Even if the showroom you visit does not have that specific rug, they are sure to have a similar selection. Modern colors do not necessarily mean modern designs, and the rise of transitional rugs has made it simple to have a Tabriz or Kazak inspired rug, for example, with chic, new colors.

Rug Design

Rugs come in thousands of designs. Traditional designs include tribal geometric, French Aubusson styles, and traditional, Persian floral among many other designs. There are also transitional rugs, which are traditional inspired with modern twists, such as an erased pattern or the removal of borders. Finally, you have modern rugs, which may feature designs such as organic, paint splatter inspired looks and even animal print designs.

Design is all up to you! Don’t be afraid to take risks. We’ve seen many modern rooms using traditional rugs. Mixing a tribal rug into a room full of contemporary furniture creates a surprisingly stylish look, for example.

If you’re not sure what kind of rug you’re interested in, bring some room inspiration with you and let the staff at the rug store you visit know what sort of look you’re going for. They will be able to help you find the perfect rug for your perfect room. Remember- a good retailer will let you check out a few different styles to help you get a better idea of what you want. You should never feel pressured to make a purchasing decision.

Rug Quality

Quality is the last factor to consider. The highest quality rugs are hand-knotted. From there, you have hand-loomed, tufted, braided, hand-woven, machine made, power loomed, and many other types of rug constructions. Do you need a hand-knotted rug?

That depends. If you plan on changing your rug out every few months to a year, we actually recommend going for a machine made rug, as hand-knotted rugs can be quite costly. If you want a rug that will last you many years (and perhaps even outlive you!), we suggest purchasing a hand-knotted rug.

High quality does not necessarily mean high price, however, and likewise, a high price does not necessarily mean high quality. Rug retailers can only store so many rugs in their showrooms, and it is not uncommon for rugs to have huge markdowns on them when it is time to purchase new inventory. If you are indifferent to things such as what colors are trendy each season, these overstock and inventory reduction sales are perfect ways to find an amazing rug for an amazing price. We hold quite a few sales ourselves!

You will want to make sure you are purchasing a rug from an honest dealer, however, as it is not uncommon for retailers to mark up their prices and then mark them down. This results in the “sale” price actually being the same as the original price!

You also want to take care to make sure that your “handmade” rug is not simply just “hand tufted”. Look for terms such as glue back when shopping online. When shopping in person, flip the rug’s corner so that you can see the backside. A hand-knotted rug’s design will be visible from the back just as clearly as it is from the front. A tufted rug will have a canvas backing.

Rug Services

We hope this guide made shopping for rugs a little bit easier. We also provide many rug services such as rug washing, rug restoration, rug stain removal, rug pads, custom rugs, rug alterations, fringe repair, and many more services.  Remember, you can reach out to us at behnam@behnamrugs.com or call us at 972.733.0400 if you have any questions. Ask for our upcoming events.