Soon after moving into your newly constructed home, you will realize that, as beautiful as your oak or walnut wood flooring is, you need some area rugs. Not only will they help pull the color scheme of your décor together, they can go a long way in protecting heavily trafficked areas.
Unless you have your heart set on something like an oriental carpet, one of the most popular choices to pair with hardwood flooring is a braided rug. During colonial times, these attractive and durable rugs were used by our ancestors to take the chill off cold cabin floors, and many have been passed down as family heirlooms.
Past generations were far less prone to waste than we are today. Old, worn-out clothing and bedding was either cut into small squares and used to make quilts or into long strips and woven into rugs. They were the original recyclers.
If you have one of these treasures, then count yourself lucky. It’s possible to find individuals making these rugs the same way that they were made hundreds of years ago, but the majority are now mass produced by machines.
Today, yarn, rather than cloth is used almost exclusively by manufacturers of braided rugs. Even cloth braided rugs are no longer entirely made of wool or cotton. To reduce costs, they are constructed with an inner core of a filler material that is then wrapped with cloth. Yarn braided rugs use the same method, wrapping yarn around a core of pre-shrunk, natural cotton or synthetic fiber, in the better made rugs. The cheaper brands will often use a core of paper or reprocessed materials.
If your family didn’t pass along a braided rug, flea markets and second-hand stores are good sources to check out. While those are your best bet for hand-made, rugs from more high-end manufacturers are really quite beautiful and well-constructed. There are huge selections of styles, colors, sizes and materials. With just a little research you should be able to find one perfect for your home.
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