by submitting a photo of a room with a rug from NW Rugs!
It's Easy....
1. LIKE the NW Rugs Facebook Page by clicking the LIKE button on our Welcome page
2. Email the photo of your room with an NW Rugs carpet to contest@nwrugs.com OR bring a photo to any NW Rugs Showroom. Make sure to include the rug name/design, purchase date and city, along with your name in the email. We will add the photos to the "Show Your Style" photo album.
If you do not have an NW Rugs carpet to enter into the contest,
you can still be entered into a random drawing to win a $500 Gift Certificate at NW Rugs by voting for one of the photos.
Two easy steps...
1. LIKE the NW Rugs Facebook Page by clicking the LIKE button on our Welcome page
2. To VOTE, Click the LIKE button on your favorite photo.
Leave a comment too if you would like. Tell us why you chose that photo.
People who enter photos can also enter the random drawing by voting - TWO CHANCES to WIN!
Photo entries accepted starting March 3rd, 2012
Start voting March 21st, 2012
You don't want to vote too early in case another fabulous room gets posted after you vote for one already posted.
Show Us Your Style - Enter now and don't forget to cast your vote starting March 21st.
TIPS FOR A WINNING PHOTO
• Photos will be cropped to 576 pixels wide X 432 pixels tall (8" wide x 6" tall). Make sure your photo will display nicely in "landscape" (wider than tall) rather than "portrait" (taller than wide).*Submit a photo up to 2 MB in file size, but not less than 300 KB file size.
•Show the rug. After all, this contest is about how your NW Rugs' carpet enhances your room's overall décor-- Show your style!
Bring new life to your home by adding an accent like a cheetah, tiger, or zebra print rug. These prints normally come in neutral colors because they are the colors of these animals in the wild. Therefore, it is easy to match them to any color scheme or style you already have in place.
However, nowadays it isn't that hard to find animal prints in a full range of colors outside the neutral zone.
The Serengeti Collection by Momeni: Serengeti is an elegant collection of hand-tufted rugs that resemble the beautiful animal prints found in the African outback. Gorgeous giraffe, tiger and zebra prints in distinctive color combinations make this group of rugs irresistible. Hand-tufted of 100% wool.
Animal print decorating items look great in a modern or a traditional décor. You don't need to make big changes to incorporate these designs into your home. For example, a set of animal print tableware will liven up your dining room at meal time or when entertaining, but will otherwise have little or no effect on your decorating scheme. You can choose to use table linens in animal prints for a more permanent change in your décor.
But still, the surest way to spice up your dining room, a place for ferocious appetites, is with an animal print area rug.
New Wave Collection by Momeni: Hand-tufted by expert artisans using a special blend of the highest quality wools, these rugs have the softest of hands and a shine that is unsurpassed. Many New Wave designs feature hand carving for added depth and a Tibetan-like weave, mostly found in hand-knotted rugs, but expertly achieved in these hand-tufted pieces.
The Dimensions Collection by Nourison: Modern abstract designs are expertly handmade from 100% premium quality wool, and then hand carved for added dimension. Bold geometrics and rich modern colors make an artistic statement in any area. Handmade & 100% Wool.
Whichever collection you choose from, you will bring a new thrill to your living space that you and your family and friends can enjoy for years to come - AND, you never have to worry about the look going out of style - Animal prints are timeless!
Visit any one of our showrooms to view these rugs and many others in stock. And don't forget our price guarantee - We match all printed and internet advertised prices on like merchandise.
In a hand-knotted rug, colored yarns are wrapped by hand onto individual warp threads. They are secured by one or more rows of weft. The long pile yarns, which create the design, are sheared to uniform length. Persian and oriental rugs are hand-knotted. All hand-knotted carpets may be generically referred to as “oriental” rugs, regardless of design, because the technique of hand-knotted originated in Asia.
The type of structure familiar to most people is the flat-weave. In a flat-woven rug, colored weft yarns are woven through the warps to create the design. These rugs have no pile. Remember those potholder looms you had as a child? Those potholders were flatweaves. Flatweaves are available at all price points in many different materials - wool, cotton, hemp, etc. Kilims, dhurries, and tapestries are flat-woven.
Tufted or “hand-tufted” rugs are increasingly common. A tufting gun, which works like an oversized needle, is used to punch the yarns through a pre-woven grid foundation. When the rug is finished the back is given a coat of latex to secure the yarns, then covered with cloth or canvas. This is a much faster, less labor-intensive process which does not require any particular skill. These rugs may appear like hand-knotted rugs from the pile side, but are much less durable than hand-knotted rugs.
Another type of rug is the machine-made, in which rugs are woven on mechanical looms. Many of these are made from synthetic yarns such as olefin or nylon. There are some better-quality machine-made rugs that are serviceable in certain applications. Again, they may appear similar to genuine hand-knotted rugs on the pile side, but are not as durable, nor are they unique as they are mass produced.
The short answer is: Quality. An oriental rug is more akin to a work of art than a commodity, and making a hand-knotted rug is an extremely labor-intensive process. (All hand-knotted carpets may be generically referred to as “oriental” rugs, regardless of design, because the technique of hand-knotting originated in Asia, and that is where most of them are made.)
Once a rug’s design and specifications are determined, the design is graphed out on paper (known as a “cartoon”) for the weavers to follow. Yarn is carded and spun, often by hand, and then plied to the appropriate thickness. Next comes the dyeing of the yarn in as many colors as required. Dyeing and drying of the yarn can take ten days or more, depending upon the weather; rain and/or high humidity extends the dyeing and drying times.
The most common material used in creating the pile of an oriental rug is wool. Some are made of silk, or a mixture of wool and silk, and sometimes other fibers as well. While the type of wool used varies from region to region in the rug-weaving countries, it is all derived from descendants of the same ancient breed of fat-tailed Asiatic sheep. Most of these sheep live at high altitudes and/or under extreme conditions, which produces some of the strongest and most resilient wool in the world.
Most carpets are produced on vertical looms, with the weavers sitting in front of the warp threads with the cartoon tucked behind or pinned above. The actual knotting of the carpet consists of tightly wrapping the dyed yarns around a pair of warps, cutting the yarn, then repeating this process horizontally, knot by knot, for the entire width of the foundation. After a row of knots is completed, a weft is passed in and out over the warps and tamped down to secure the knots. As a general rule, one weaver works on a portion of carpet 24”-30” wide; knotting of the carpet occurs at the rate of a few square inches to about 2/3 square foot per weaver per day, depending upon the fineness of the knotting.
When the carpet is completed, it is cut from the loom and sheared to an even pile length, then given a gentle wash to remove loose fibers and any dye residue. Washing and finishing is integral to the process of making a carpet, is again dependent upon weather conditions for the drying of the carpet.
The quality and durability of the hand-knotting process remains technically unsurpassed, which is part of the reason why there are surviving carpet fragments that are many hundreds of years old. The hand-knotting process results in a much denser pile than even the best quality machine-made rug, since the pile is actually knotted to the warp and secured by the weft, not simply interlocked through the foundation. Hand-knotted rugs wear much longer, are more soil- and stain-resistant, and will clean up better than any rug made by machine. When machine-made pile wears down, the visible result is a threadbare foundation. When oriental carpet pile wears down, over many decades, the color and pattern remain distinct because the “collars” of the knots, which form the base of the pile, are still secured to the foundation and conceal the warp and weft.
Oriental rugs have a pleasing imperfection, with each piece varying slightly from the next. Sizes are not exact, and borders may not be perfectly straight. These are not flaws, but important indicators of a handcrafted product. A typical 8×10 rug contains 500,000 to 700,000 hand-tied knots.
A quality oriental rug will never be made by children. Regardless of the “small fingers” myth, children do not have the advanced skills necessary to produce finer-quality carpets. However, many inexpensive orientals are being imported in bulk and sold in warehouse-style furniture stores. There is always a correlation between the cost of labor and materials, and the cost of the finished carpet. If a new carpet is being sold at an unbelievably low price, it is likely that it is either made with inferior materials, perhaps with child labor, or both.
In summary, the labor costs of skilled weavers, and the quality of the materials used, is what makes hand-knotted carpets more expensive than their machined or tufted counterparts. Hand-knotted carpets are simply the best available.
Many thanks to GuildCraftRugs for this informative article.
New Zealand wool is a sustainable natural fiber with outstanding beauty, performance, maintenance and health benefits.
Today’s discerning consumers are looking for more than superior quality. Increasingly, they are seeking authentic, natural products imbued with integrity and sustainability.
NW Rugs offers several collections created using New Zealand wool, which is universally considered one of the finest in the world. We believe our clients appreciate our commitment to bringing the best products available to the market.
Integrity: New Zealand wool is grown in open pastureland following sustainable land use and animal friendly practices, resulting in fiber that is natural, renewable and biodegradable.
Health:New Zealand wool is non-allergenic and its natural properties provide inherent fire resistance, air purification and moisture control, creating an exceptionally safe and healthy indoor environment.
Comfort:New Zealand wool’s natural insulating properties result from wool’s unique biological structure, thereby reducing heat loss, condensation and noise levels to create a welcoming and comfortable ambiance.
Beauty:New Zealand wool’s superior quality enables extensive design, color and pattern flexibility, while wool’s natural ability to shrug off dirt and spring back into shape after crushing ensures long lasting good looks to complement and enhance any room setting.
Two of many NW Rugs vendors are -
Nourison: Nourison is one of the largest and most diversified producers and importers of handmade and machine made rugs. They found that New Zealand wool presented the best quality, so it began using it almost exclusively in its signature products.”
Iintroducing the wash series, a mini collection of four rugs added to the luster wash group. Inspired by nature using a watercolor-like technique, each rug is imbued with a subtle and uniquely elegant patina. luxuriously textured, our luster wash rug collection is produced with 100% New Zealand wool pile and reflects the highest standards of craftsmanship and attention to detail. offered in beryl, citrine, amber and chrome.
Sphinx by Oriental Weavers: “Always a fashion leader, the first Sphinx wool rug that carried the Wools of New Zealand brand was Patina, launched in 1998. Since then, Sphinx has expanded its use.”
Andy Warhol was known for breaking the rules, harnessing the latest technology to express his ideas, and creating a new movement in Twentieth Century art to be studied and imitated for years to come. The Andy Warhol Home Collection is divided into design categories that span the different themes of his portfolio Factory, Pop Abstracts, Pure, Revolution, Signature, and Simply Andy. The Factory designs were influenced by the early textures and shading of Warhol's "Factory" period.
a What makes hand-woven Indian Rugs
as affordable as they are beautiful?
Whether the centerpiece of an elegantly furnished living room or adding style to a high traffic area, a hand-woven rug from India enhances any space. For centuries, all the rugs woven by hand in India and the other rug-making countries were one-of-a-kind. These “unique creations” were priced like paintings and other original works of art, which made them unaffordable to all but the most affluent.
To adapt to changing decorative tastes and trends – and accommodate a broader range of budgets – a few innovative area rug manufacturers began modifying traditional Persian and other classic designs in the early 1980’s. The enthusiastic response to these new interpretations led to the production of an array of designs in a range of sizes, and in a variety of designer-influenced color combinations. However, unlike machine-made floor coverings, these new hand-woven rugs were produced in limited quantities, and in the same painstaking way as the one-of-a-kind carpets, helping maintain their value.
The new production process also offered the option of customizing rugs to meet special size requirements and individual design and/or color preferences. In short, this revolutionary development, along with the emergence of new weaving techniques and materials, not only made hand-woven Indian rugs much more affordable, it also opened up a host of new and exciting ways to incorporate area rugs into homes, apartments, and commercial spaces.
Presented by CARPET EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL in cooperation with the Oriental Rug Importers Association. For the complete .pdf of “A Shopper’s Guide to Hand-Woven Rugs from India” click here.
Wool has been used for centuries to create many useful items, including rugs.
Wool is very resilient and its texture allows it to very quickly recover from crushing or indenting caused by footsteps or furniture. This natural resilience also keeps the rug looking new and fresh for longer periods of time.
Wool has a natural ability to resist staining and soiling. In fact it has more than a 30% higher rate of stain resistance than even the best synthetic fibers. It’s so good at resisting stains because of the natural light lanolin that coats the surface of the wool. This coating helps stop dirt and stains from actually penetrating the wool leaving any soiling on or near the surface. That’s why spills on wool is very easy to clean.
Wool fiber is also flame resistant providing natural flame retardant without the addition of chemicals. Because of this wool is an excellent choice for any room in your home and especially for children’s rooms.
Wool is also very durable and will last for many years without showing signs of wear. While wool rugs cost slightly more than synthetic rugs, because of its exceptional long life it can be a better choice than other types of rugs because you will quickly recoup the extra cost in the additional years of wear.
Sheep produce wool to protect themselves from a variety of climates and natural elements. Of course when man uses wool these natural capabilities remain intact. Natural wool actually has two different types of wool cells – the orthcortex and the paracortex.
Each lies on the opposite side of the fiber and grow at different rates. This causes a coil spring that makes the wool very elastic. The natural shock absorber allows the wool to quickly spring back to its original form. In fact wool fiber can be stretched more than 35% and still easily return back to its natural shape.
This protective barrier also stops water from easily penetrating the wool fiber making wool water resistant. But more than being water resistant wool is able to absorb about 1/3 of its weight in moisture and yet still not feel damp. This natural quality of wool allows it to remain warm and recover from pressure points quickly.
Wool rugs are available in a wide selection of styles, patterns, and designs. Because of the process used to dye wool rugs the colors are fade resistant and unless they are exposed to direct sunlight on a continuous basis you should experience very little fading.
Wool has the ability to provide a long lasting functional product that exhibits outstanding beauty. There are a variety of patterns and styles available in wool rugs and these days old world craftsmanship is being combined with new world technologies to produce outstanding results. A wool rug will provide you with years of enjoyment and durability.
NW RUGS - So Much More... Service, Selection, Style! We are thrilled that you have taken time to visit today & we look forward to hearing your comments and/or questions.
This is our promise for every customer, everyday. Come and let us impress you with our service, selection and style. We are confident we can make your in-store experience enjoyable and worth your time. Being a 1-stop decor destination, we will save you time because of our vast and varied selection. Many choices made easy, fast and economical.
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NW RUGS - The West Coast Leader in Rugs
NW Rugs has been a leading supplier of area rugs to homeowners, businesses, and designers and their clients for over 17 years. With 25,000+ rugs in stock from many different countries, finding the perfect rug is easy. Our tenured staff of customer service oriented professionals is commited to providing superior service and competitive pricing. NW Rugs stands above the rest as a resource for rugs.
