Written by |
After spending hundreds of dollars on your bestloved Picasso print, the idea of buying it online, anticipating it is delivery, tossing it on the floor and going for a stroll seems unimaginable. But there is a form of art that you may walk all over: the area rug. Sure, the comparison may seem a bit far-fetched, but area rugs are the art underfoot. Whether it’s oriental or Persian, braided or contemporary, the area rug is a reflectivity of our style and character, much like a picture or painting. And with the progress in online buying goods technology, buying your area rug has never been easier. Interior architect John Kurtz of Wilmington, Del., says the most necessary thing when buying a rug is that it has a “beating heart and is going to please you each time you look at it.” The area rug gives a room structure, flavor and design, permitting room colors to be accentuated and drawn out merely by adding this one piece of decor. Unlike wall-to-wall carpet, area rugs fetch a pattern into a room without being permanent fixtures. The skillfulness of an area rug means it may be moved from outstanding room, to dining room, to bedroom and in the end find a home in the garage. Like with any piece of art, you can’t just visualize an area rug. You have to see it first. Like standing in front of the wall at an art gallery, your eyes wander from place to place before an effigy catches your eye. At a store where you may flip through the hanging rugs like posters, the indispensable option of sentiment the rug is available, but selection is at times limited. This is another area where the buying goods engineering of the Internet may compensate off. Cutting a Rug While Surfing the Net Shopping for merchandise online proceeds to increase each year, with a jump of 19% expected for the 2004 holiday season, according to the ClickZ Network, which monitors online sales. In hard numbers, $21.6 billion is projected to be expended online in November and December. Area rugs have joined the ranks of merchandise available at the click of a mouse. Before choosing an area rug online, it’s primary to exercise all of the same proficiencies and precautions that would be applied if you were buying from a store. Because you likely won’t be dealing with a salesperson online, you have to ask and answer the questions yourself with research. What is my budget? What room do I want to put my new rug in? What is the right size? What style best reflects my taste? First and foremost, start out with a budget. Like with a piece of furniture or appliance, you ought to buy the best area rug you may afford. Quality will compensate off over time, so natural materials like wool and silk are your best bet. A high quality wool rug even has the capacity to look better over time through exposure to light and air. Some number of things from which only one can be chosen to wool and silk are sisal, jute and grass rugs. The upside is these rugs are less expensive. The downside is they are hard to clean and likely to ware out quicker. A good rule of thumb employed all around the industry when determining how much to spend is called the couch factor. The price of the rug ought to equivalent that of a sofa. Set a price and add 10 percent to give yourself some buying goods flexibility. There’s a good road map when determining size as well. When choosing a rug, pick one that is two feet shorter than the smallest wall in the room. For a room that’s 14 x 20, consider a rug that’s no more than 12 feet wide. Many of the high-end online web sites offer tips on buying, caring and selecting the right area rug. The biggest merchandising point, however, is selection. With hundreds of selections from the ease of your computer chair, it might take days going from store to store to view the same amount of rugs. Most quality web sites break down buying goods for area rugs into assorted categories, including color, weave, shape, design and brands. Since sight is so important when choosing a rug, it’s of the utmost importance that the Web website offers huge pictures with high-end solution of it is images. Information on each rug will have to include the manufacturer, the origin and a brief outline on the construction. For example, a brief synopsis might include the type and percentage of material, whether it has a built-in gripper or not, and if it’s machine washable. After making a style decision, size, shape and price ought to be listed with your choice. Rug Refresher: Tips, Tricks and Taxes A simple game plan will have to be followed in order to make a smooth online buy of an area rug:
|
