Not “William Shatner” type rugs; the kind you toss on the floor.
I’m going shopping tonight for area rugs (remnants, not wall-to-wall) for my bedroom and living room. I know NOTHING about such matters. Is there anything I should look for (or beware of) in the way of fabrics, backings, etc.? I am hoping to get one six-by-six-foot rug and one six-by-seven-foot. Are these fairly standard sizes, or will I have to compromise?
You’ll probably have to compromise if you are looking for ready-made rugs. Six-by-six I’d guess is an odd size. It’s hard to find rugs that are square. Six-by-seven you might have more luck with. If you went up to six-by-eight, I think you’ll have more luck.
If you go to a carpet store, you can get any size you want. Sometimes, pretty cheap off the remnant rolls, too. Then have the edges of the carpet bound (stiching is best, but sometimes they’ll sorta “hem” it, or take a piece of fabric and fold it over the edge and sew it down- cheaper but less good.) and voilá: a rug.
Wool is just bitchin’ as a rug, if you can afford it and don’t have allergies (or kids, or pets). Don’t get it wet though, you’ll have a felt rug in no time. (But REALLY good ones stand up to moisture.)
Scotch-guard™ can be your best friend. Other versions of it can be good too. Just something to keep the dirt from penetrating the fibers. (Or if it’s an English rug: fibres)
Olefon. I think that’s the name. It’s a pretty good fiber for rugs. It’s pretty standard. All one fiber is better than a mix of fibers in the same rug. I forget why, but that’s what everyone said when we were looking for carpet. (The rug in my living room is 100% Undetermined Fiber- see? all one fiber type. And boy does it look good. You can get some swank stuff at Sam’s Club.)
If you’re looking for Oriental rugs… no idea. A little too spendy for me. And the cheap ones are ugly. If you do want an Oriental rug, talk to the owner of the store. Get as much info out of them as you can. Then talk to the owner of another Oriental rug store. Repeat untill you can’t take it anymore, then buy the first one you see that ain’t too ugly.
Rug pads are a good idea. A rug on a hard floor needs one so it won’t slide. Even with furniture on it a rug can slide. The pad also keep the rug nice longer. The tufts of yarn don’t get all mashed down so fast. A rug on carpet needs a pad too. You wouldn’t think so, but they can slip around like crazy. A waterproof pad can be a good investment too. It helps to protect the floor.
And get a nice burgandy berber rug. With hunter green edging. The color will bring out your eyes, and compliment all those stunning antiques you have littered about the place. Nothing too busy. You don’t want to over do.
-Rue.
Thanks, Rue, dear—I will print this out and take it along!
I would probably have to go smaller (five-by-six?) rather than larger; and I need to get what I need tonight, as it’s a one-time ride deal (my cat-sitter has a Connecticut-sized SUV and is giving me a ride).
As for the colors complementing my antique furniture and my antique eyes . . . I am thinking more along the lines of getting something in “Cat-Puke Beige,” so clean-ups won’t be as hard . . .
Common sizes in the small rug department are 3x5, 4x6, 6x8, 6x9 and 8x12. I just so happened to be looking there last night.
So Eve, Sweety, Sugar, Dearheart, Lamb Chop, how did the rug shopping go?
Re-reading your OP, I got a visual. You buy up all of Bill Shatner’s old rugs and sew them all together. You just cover the floor with 'em. Now THAT would be a conversation piece.
-Rue.
“So Eve, Sweety, Sugar, Dearheart, Lamb Chop, how did the rug shopping go?”
—Swell, dear, and thanks, all for the advice. I did make sure to get “all-one-fiber” rugs. Got a beige 8 x 10 for the living room and an aqua 10 x 9 for the bedroom. Living room rug has already been christened by one of the cats, and I am sore as a pup from moving furniture and laying rugs [leave space here for jokes about SOMETHING getting laid in Eve’s apartment this weekend].