Rugs for the UK

We have had a number of recent requests from customers regarding the thickness of our rugs although we do already provide quality specification details on our rugs Information page. We provide details such as the pile density, the tuft points per square metre and also the weight of our individual rug qualities.

What we had not provided however is the thickness of the rugs which to most customers means the overall height of the rug from the back to the top of the pile. Our customers have pointed out that this information is important as it clearly conveys the expectation of sitting comfort for the rug.

One lady explained that her young child would be sitting and playing on the rug and she wanted to be sure that the rug offered comfort and support.

Another customer said that the overall rug height was very important as she needed to know that there was sufficient clearance when she opened the door into the room to avoid contact with the rug.

These are very practical and understandable reasons to provide this information and therefore we have listed the overall rug heights as follows:

• Palace - 15mm or 3/5ths”
• Kazakhstan - 13.5mm or 5/9ths”
• Regency- 14.5mm or 4/7ths”
• Horizon - 14mm or 4/7ths”
• Shaggy - 50mm or 2.0″ (it is wonderfully deep and thick)
• Royal Wilton - 16mm or 5/8ths”
• Exellan Modern - 16mm or 5/8ths”
• Exellan Traditional - 16mm or 5/8ths”
• Simply Black - 14mm or 4/7ths”
• Mayfair - 17mm or 7/10ths”

The first of the new rugs for 2008 have now been added to the website.

Two new colours in the shaggy rugs range - a sumpuous grey and a gorgeous black.

As well as these, now you can buy round shaggy rugs in the ivory, red, chocolate, natural mix, and the new black and grey!

I asked Des about the difference between some of the types of rugs:

“There are two distinct types of woven rugs, but both may exhibit similar design styles which customers may loosely refer to as Oriental or Persian designs. These designs are commonly known as - Kazak, Herati, Agra, Sarouk, Bidjar, Gulturk, Belouch, Hamadan, Tehran, Shiraz, Kashan, Afghan and indeed many more.

The original woven products were, and still are hand-made products and some of these can be extremely expensive depending on the weave concentration, the design complication and also the finished size of the rug. I would strongly advise all customers who are considering a purchase of a hand-made rug to inspect the product before purchase. The reason that I say this is because many such rugs may have weaving faults which are not obvious on an online image. If the retailer does not have a returns policy that is sympathetic then a customer could be stuck with an expensive problem. The argument from some retailers of such rugs, that weaving faults are an enhancing feature, is absolute nonsense. A wise buyer of hand-made rugs will always inspect first, and I have seen many rugs rejected by such buyers - I have seen a whole stack of perhaps thirty pieces deliver only four or five good rugs. The Internet is a great way to get rid of problem hand-made rugs to an unsuspecting consumer. The hand-made rug industry is also known to involve children in the production process although some will never admit this.

Machine Made woven rugs, which are the only type that we sell, can be made to exacting specification consistency. When made in this manner there is in fact little room for error and the end product is reliable and regular. In fact, you get what you see and what you pay for, time after time. These rugs are woven on modern, sophisticated computer-controlled weaving machines that dictate reliable finish and product control. This method can reproduce any of the original designs formerly associated with the hand-made industry.”

When you’ve bought your lovely new rugs, what then for your old one? There are a surprising number of options:

1. If your rug is in good condition, you could offer it to your local, reputable charity shop, or on your local Freecycle - it may suit someone else, and certainly with the latter they’re likely to collect.
2. For rugs in not-so-good condition - perhaps a local animal shelter, kennels or cattery could make use of it.
3. How about cutting a piece for foot mats in your car or to line the boot?
4. Campers and caravanners - would the rug be useful for you - cut to suit your tent/caravan?
5. Rugs can be useful in the garden - as a mulch to suppress weeds, between rows of plants too, and on top of a compost heap a rug can help to maintain balanced moisture levels. If you cannot use your old rug in this way, perhaps your local allotment group could.
6. Use your old rug in the loft as additional heat insulation, and in this way it will continue to provide warmth and comfort in your home.
7. If you are building a garden pond area, then an old rug is absolutely ideal as an underlay for your pond liner and may prevent sharp objects from piercing the liner.

Taking a rug or carpet to your local recycling centre is not likely to be welcomed; being made of a variety of fibres makes it difficult to separate for recycling.

Hopefully the above offers you some options for your old rug, once your new rugs have been delivered.

Chatting with a customer recently, Des discussed the following issue for cat owners with rugs.

Fringed rugs - irresistable to a cat; be aware that if you buy a fringed rug, your cat is going to be very pleased with you for providing this length of toy for them to play with.

Also having a loop-piled rug is not a good idea. It can be absolutely heartbreaking to buy a beautiful new rug and to find that it has been severely damaged by your cat within just a few days of purchase.

All cats will sharpen or stretch their claws, and all healthy cats will find a fringe an irresistible target.

This advice would also apply to furniture and to other textile materials in the home such as curtains and cushions.

So we suggest cat owners you avoid fringes and loop-pile rugs

My mother-in-law has this problem with her living room rug - it rucks up and gradually moves about the room through the day.

Mind you, having a rug on a wooden floor must be much more of an issue.

I asked Des at Majestic Rugs for his suggestions:

Smaller rugs are the more likely to cause slipping on a smooth floor, or to creep on the surface of a carpeted floor. There are a number of products available on the market to prevent this, but the most practical and easy to use, is probably the Anti-Creep/Slip spray methods which are now available.

I know that there are underlay products available, but you have to buy the correct underlay for the sub surface of the floor, and you must then cut this to size or buy multiple pieces for larger rug sizes.

The Anti-Creep/Slip spray method is easy to apply by following the manufacturer’s guidelines, and will allow you to uplift and to reposition the rug as required. This method is also suitable for other home products such as doormats, kitchen mats and bathroom mats. I would recommend customers to visit CYBERGOLD UK LTD – they have a nationwide product distribution network and can recommend local retail stockists to customers.

Any other ideas welcome…

Many of us do this, however understandably some are very cautious - being aware that a computer screen image may look different to the real thing.

But many hundreds of people do just that. From the rug seller’s point of view, the larger and clearer the image can be, the more likelihood of happy customers.

We spend a good deal of time getting the rug image right - by the end of putting the new season rugs online we’d be happy not to see another for, oh, at least a year!

This is the largest size we display, however if a customer wants to see a larger rug image, we email that through, or even post a printed copy. Do you think this is big enough to display on line?

Large rug image for the Regency Cameo Blue wool rug

Having worked with Majestic Rugs for a number of years now, I do have the odd (!) thought about rugs. And this is perhaps the ideal way to build a useful resource about anything to do with rugs. Let’s give it a go…

Perhaps the most topical, for those of us in the northern hemisphere at least, is what to do about fire sparks landing on the rug. And I know just the person to ask…