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Why are rugs so expensive?

post #1 of 36
1/31/10 at 4:22pm
Thread Starter 
I don't get it. What makes rugs so pricey?

Just saw one online that was 12x16 and was $17k! on sale! And it looked like just one giant piece of carpet. Enlighten me, friends....
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post #2 of 36
1/31/10 at 7:27pm
I thinks its the way its made and the work that goes into them. I think its ridiculous to pay that much unless its made out of the pubes from the women in Maxims top 100 list.
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post #3 of 36
1/31/10 at 8:50pm
Depends on the rug. I've been on tour to Tourist beach*. On the way back we stopped at a tourist trap. Supposedly the weavers were working more than a year on the bigger rugs. 3-4m is fairly big.
















*Originally advertised as 'turtle beach'.
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post #4 of 36
2/1/10 at 2:34pm
A good rug can really tie a room together.
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post #5 of 36
2/1/10 at 4:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tangfastic View Post
A good rug can really tie a room together.

Not if it's pissed on.
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post #6 of 36
2/1/10 at 4:46pm
Handmade rugs take forever to make, can last for generations and be decent investments if picked right. Machine made rugs are poor imitations in comparison.

From:

http://www.chiefdodge.com/HowTo/navajorug.html

The creation of a Navajo rug is an extremely labor-intensive process. Many weavers raise their own sheep. They shear the sheep, clean, card, and spin the wool, and dye the yarn. If the dyes are vegetal (plant based) there is the additional time spent gathering the plants from the far corners of the reservation. Vegetal dyes all have unique recipes for the colors, and some colors require extended dyeing times of two or three weeks.

Before a weaver can begin weaving, the warp thread must be put in place. Once weaving begins, the weaver can average about 1 inch of length every 40 hours or so, depending on the complexity of the rug pattern. The patterns exist in the weaver's imagination, they are not written or drawn out before weaving begins.
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post #7 of 36
2/1/10 at 5:17pm
Just bought some cheap direct from the warehouse over the weekend.

I can't imagine paying over five hundred for a item I am going to walk on and wear out. How they can last generations I would really like to know. Please enlighten me.


I really can appreciate that someone would put months into making one by hand. But then I couldn't bring myself to use it.

Handmade furniture, flatware, etc I am down with. Plenty of antiques in my place to prove it. But I can keep these things my whole life.
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post #8 of 36
2/1/10 at 9:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by v0rtex View Post
Handmade rugs take forever to make, can last for generations and be decent investments if picked right. Machine made rugs are poor imitations in comparison.

From:

http://www.chiefdodge.com/HowTo/navajorug.html

The creation of a Navajo rug is an extremely labor-intensive process. Many weavers raise their own sheep. They shear the sheep, clean, card, and spin the wool, and dye the yarn. If the dyes are vegetal (plant based) there is the additional time spent gathering the plants from the far corners of the reservation. Vegetal dyes all have unique recipes for the colors, and some colors require extended dyeing times of two or three weeks.

Before a weaver can begin weaving, the warp thread must be put in place. Once weaving begins, the weaver can average about 1 inch of length every 40 hours or so, depending on the complexity of the rug pattern. The patterns exist in the weaver's imagination, they are not written or drawn out before weaving begins.

ehh just trade them 2 bottle of whisky for a rug boom done deal
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post #9 of 36
2/1/10 at 9:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spertia View Post
Not if it's pissed on.

the bums will always lose
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post #10 of 36
2/2/10 at 5:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by turboman808 View Post
Just bought some cheap direct from the warehouse over the weekend.

I can't imagine paying over five hundred for a item I am going to walk on and wear out. How they can last generations I would really like to know. Please enlighten me.


I really can appreciate that someone would put months into making one by hand. But then I couldn't bring myself to use it.

Handmade furniture, flatware, etc I am down with. Plenty of antiques in my place to prove it. But I can keep these things my whole life.

I also thought that really expensive, hand woven Persian/Arabic/Turkish/Afghan rugs are meant to be hung and displayed rather than used.
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post #11 of 36
2/2/10 at 6:11am
Definitely not for small timers. I wouldn't be scared to walk on it, I'd be scared of buying the wrong one.
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post #12 of 36
2/2/10 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Templar View Post
I also thought that really expensive, hand woven Persian/Arabic/Turkish/Afghan rugs are meant to be hung and displayed rather than used.

I can't really think of a time I have seen anyone do this in their home. I would have to see.

The only place I have seen this done is in opium dens and smoking rooms.

Also wouldn't hanging a heavy rug cause it to lose it's shape after a few weeks?
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post #13 of 36
2/2/10 at 3:01pm
Because they are hand knotted
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post #14 of 36
2/2/10 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tiecollector View Post
Definitely not for small timers. I wouldn't be scared to walk on it, I'd be scared of buying the wrong one.

Or of your cat scratching it up.
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post #15 of 36
2/2/10 at 3:29pm
Fine Oriental rugs are expensive because they take a long time to make, they are relatively scarce, and they are beautiful. In other words, they are like any other fine handmade furniture, art, etc. Some smaller rugs are silk and are made to be hung on the walls because they are comparatively fragile. They are also more expensive per area because of the finer material and because of the much higher knotcounts, which make the weaving process all the longer. Good wool Oriental rugs, when properly cared for and treated with some respect, will last for decades and decades and tend to hold their value well. To wit, many of the most expensive rugs today are antique or semi-antique and can still be used.
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