With that in mind, we asked a handful of interior designers and a carpet professional to share their tips on how they shop for value for money carpet. Whether you’re planning a quick style refresh or a bigger investment, here’s how to spend wisely.
All the designers interviewed for this story said wool is the best material for a rug anywhere in the home. With the exception of silk, wool tends to be more expensive than other materials, but it also has a much longer lifespan, so the extra expense is worth it, in their opinion. “It’s one of the oldest and most durable materials you can use for a rug,” says interior designer Krista Nye Nicholas of Cloth & Kind in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
After wool, natural fibers, such as seagrass, and indoor-outdoor performance carpets made from polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate (commonly known as PET) have all been recommended by designers, particularly for areas likely to experience high wear and tear, such as changing rooms or laundry rooms. pieces. Another option is to opt for a wool blend. To make some rugs more affordable, companies will blend wool with a semi-synthetic material such as viscose, a form of rayon that approximates the softness of silk. “If budget is an issue and you’re going for something with viscose, then I would recommend the lowest percentage – for example, 80 percent wool and 20 percent viscose,” says the architect. interior Stacey Dobrovolny of 2 Navy Lane in Culpeper, Virginia.
Know what’s in your budget
We divided retailers into three tiers to distinguish between cheap, moderately priced, and what some designers considered good value. Because 8′ x 10′ is a common size many homeowners look for, we used it as our pricing standard.
Inexpensive ($200 to $500): There aren’t really any surprises for buyers working on a modest budget. Dobrovolny likes online destinations like Wayfair or Amazon for their wide selection, low prices, and the fact that they deliver — a real bargain when you’re thinking about hauling a rug around town. However, if you need to return it, you may have to pay return shipping and restocking fees, depending on the supplier. If you prefer to see products in person, she recommends browsing big box stores HomeGoods, At Home and Homesense. “Home Depot, Lowe’s and Target are also good because it’s easy to take it back if you get it home and decide you don’t like it,” she says.
Mimi Meacham of Houston-based Marian Louise Design favors both Ikea and Urban Outfitters for young, affordable styles. While it may be tempting to buy an 8′ x 10′ rug for less than $200 (they exist), she cautions, “If you go below that price, you’re really sacrificing quality and I don’t think not that it will. last a long time or look great.
Moderate price ($500 to $1,500): Once you exceed $500, the field of choices expands exponentially. Nye Nicholas and Dobrovolny nominated Revival, Lulu and Georgia, and Loloi for their range of options and on-trend designer collaborations. Rejuvenation also gets high marks for its affordable, well-made updates of traditional Turkish and Persian designs. “They make really good reproductions in great colorways,” says Nye Nicholas.
New Orleans designer Hattie Collins of Hattie Sparks Interiors loves both Annie Selke’s Dash & Albert line and Anthropologie’s whimsical designs for children’s rooms. She’s also a fan of West Elm’s custom measuring program for large seagrass rugs, although the company also offers the service (which lets you specify unusual dimensions) for some sisal, hemp, and wool options . “Even if you can’t reach it within a few inches, you can reach it in the foot,” she says. “It’s a good economical choice when you want something that looks more made to order.”
If new isn’t your thing, you can find plenty of affordable vintage wool rugs in the mid-price range, as well as newer reproductions on Etsy. Every designer we spoke to loves the online marketplace for its dense selection and access to suppliers around the world. Without the benefit of evaluating the quality of a rug in person, you’ll need to read supplier reviews and study provided photos, which can give a good idea of the pile, colors, and any areas of wear. Collins also pays close attention to customer reviews, especially those where buyers have posted photos of the rugs in their own homes.
Expensive, but good value ($1,500 to $4,000): Although spending $2,000 on a rug would be an absurd splurge for most people, in the world of fine rugs, it’s considered a bargain. Here’s a little background: “If you’re looking for an 8×10′ rug that’s either an antique, something unique, or a custom rug, you can easily exceed $10,000,” says Nye Nicholas.
For well-designed rugs at this price point, Meacham likes Milagro Collective for the new hand-knotted wool Oushak styles, while Nye Nicholas recommends Nordic Knots, whose designs favor a modern Scandinavian sensibility. She’s a big fan of their collaboration with London design studio Campbell-Rey. “All are hand-knotted New Zealand wool and retail for about $2,000 for an 8′ x 10′,” she says.
She also likes Beni Rugs, a Moroccan company known for its flat weaves and more shaggy, hand-knotted styles. “They let you choose the size and colors, which is close to the experience of getting something custom-made,” she says.
Every designer we spoke to recommended Chairish and 1stDibs for antique and vintage collectible rugs. While we’ve found plenty of rugs in this price bracket, depending on what you’re looking for, prices can range from a few hundred dollars to well into the five-figure range.
For reference, vintage rugs are typically between 30 and 50 years old; semi-antique, 50 to 75 or 80; and antique rugs are something older than that. “Some people consider antiques to be only 100 years old or older, but in the rug world, they tend to be a little younger,” says Hemad Fadaifar of Loom House in Milwaukee. “If you ask 10 antique rug dealers, you’ll get 10 answers, but they’ll all start between 75 and 100 years ago.”
Fadaifar warns that buying a vintage rug has become even more confusing because of the practice of acid washing, shaving or burning wool fibers to give a newer or younger vintage rug a looking much older than it is in the quest for a toned down and bleached look. a look so popular with today’s buyers. All this abuse leads to weaker fibers and easier staining for these faded impostors. “Ask your dealer how old the carpet is and if it was made with chemicals,” he says. “Plus, if a vintage rug seems like too much of a deal, it very well may be.”
Michelle Brunner is a writer in DC who covers interior design and culture.
