Flooring, Carpets and Rugs

You will find many beautiful wool rugs in local stores and online however there are so many types of wool rug and they come in so many designs, shapes and colors that you may have difficulty picking out just one that will be perfect for your home. This guide aims to help you do just that.

Why Buy a Wool Rug?

• Wool is a natural material which has stood the test of time for centuries. It takes dye very well and therefore you can find wool rugs in every color of the rainbow with every shade of every color so you are sure to find a color to match every interior.
• Wool is a very resilient material which is very hard wearing. It also resists soiling and this gives wool an advantage over synthetic fibers which absorb stains all too readily. You’ll find a wool area rug easier to keep clean than a rug made of other materials. You can usually get rid of spills and stains with a little warm water and a damp cloth. My wool rug has had a whole glass of red wine spilled on it and after blotting up the wine and wiping with warm water and a little upholstery cleaner it looks like new.
• Wool is reasonably priced in comparison to other fibers. You will find most cheap rugs are not made of wool and they will look cheap compared to a medium priced wool rug. Try to get a better deal by buying a genuine discount wool rug rather than a cheap synthetic rug.
• Wool rugs are available to suit all kinds of rooms. Online and in store you’ll find everything from a modern wool rug that would quite happily grace the pages of an interior design magazine to a Chinese wool rug that would look fantastic in a traditional interior.
• Wool rugs are safer in a fire as they have natural fire retardant properties and don’t give off such hazardous fumes in a fire as synthetic rugs. They are less prone to static electricity too.

Types of Wool Rug

Wool rugs may be either woven (often hand made) or tufted (usually made by machine). You can also buy a wool shag rug with longer pile and a luxurious appearance. There are natural flokati wool rugs as well as those dyed in all kinds of colors. There are also hand made wool rugs which are made either by hooking strands of wool through a canvas using a special tool (hooked wool rugs) or by braiding long strands of wool and fixing the braids in a circle or oval shape (a wool braided rug). You can make these yourself or buy them from craftspeople who produce truly beautiful works of art in wool.

As far as interior design goes, you can generally divide wool rugs into two types – the contemporary wool rug and the traditional. That’s the main choice to make as far as style is concerned. You will be able to tell which rugs fit with which interior. Contemporary rugs have bold patterns and colors and often large geometric shapes or stylized giant flowers. Traditional rugs use small scale patterns and more subtle colors as a rule. Just think “Would this rug look better in a loft style penthouse, a stately home or a country cottage?” and you’ll get the idea about the type of room and interior where the rug would be best used.

How to Care for Wool Area Rugs

Wool rugs just need a little light vacuuming once a week or so to look their best. Make sure that you mop up spills right away to prevent stains being absorbed, But if you don’t get to a stain on time use a little carpet cleaner and warm water to clean the rug. Rinse with a little warm water and leave to dry naturally. If you prefer you can get the rug specialist cleaned by a carpet cleaning company or by using a carpet cleaning machine. Wool reacts very well to cleaning.

Where to Buy a Wool Rug

Wool rugs are available everywhere. You’ll find them in home decorating stores and carpet centers. But I would start by browsing around online to get an idea of the kind of rugs you like and which will go with your room and chances are you will find exactly what you want without leaving your home. There is really no need to traipse around carpet stores and in many cases they have only a small selection in any case. You will have much more choice online. You are more likely to find cheap wool rugs online where is is easy to do comparison shopping than in the stores but you can get every type of rug from the most exclusive Persian rug to the cheap and cheerful at the touch of a mouse. You’ll find many wool rugs at sale prices HERE