Are Rugs Being Replaced?

In an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette there is an article about a thing called a “floor cloth”. Should we in the area rug industry be worried? Will the world be heaving out their rugs in favor of these new floor coverings? Here is a clip from the article.

“An alternative to area rugs, they are made of heavyweight cotton canvas painted with latex or acrylics and sealed with many coats of a clear protectant for substantial durability.” Colorado
Springs Gazette

Nothing like coming home, sitting in your favorite chain, kicking off you shows and running your toes though many hardened coats of durable clear protectant. They come up with a better solution for this product later in the article. “…some people don’t even put them on the floor, but hang them on the wall instead.” Now there you go. Leave the rug where it is and hang the art on the walls. And everything is right with the world again…

Taming Killer Rugs

Here are 5 tips from Forbes.com for “Keeping Seniors on Their Feet”...literally…

When an elderly person falls, it could cause life-threatening injury.

#1Keep the house well lit. Use bright lamps and overhead lighting, and keep night lights throughout the house.
#2 Fasten area rugs and carpeting well to the floor, and use nonskid rug pads.
#3 Keep electrical cords neat and out of areas where people walk.
#4 Install hand rails in bathrooms and stairways.
#5 In the kitchen, keep items within easy reach. Don't store things too high, where a stepladder is needed to reach them.

Link Added for your convenience (In case you don’t already own rugs you can slip on).

How a Rug Can Save Family Unity

In the “Ask Ellie” Column in the Toronto Star a women calling herself “Ungrateful Daughter-in-Law” describes a situation in which her father in law had problems putting in flooring. This has left an ugly section of floor and a possible rift in the family. Ellie’s advice “Put an area rug over it”. That’s the spirit Ellie…Area Rugs…is there anything you can’t do…

An Area Rug with a Color Selector Switch?

Thanks to a gentleman named Gregory A. Sotzing one day we may be able to change the color of our area rugs and other décor with the flip of a switch. In fact it seems it would be possible to have patterns or even pictures appear on cloth furnishings.

Sotzing, an associate professor of chemistry and polymer science at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, has developed a flexible electrochromic polymer that can change colors--and that will probably soon be able to produce images--in any fabric. The Free Lance-Star

Besides the obvious decorating applications of this product I can think of a few practical joke applications for images appearing on your area rug...

The Most Expensive Rug Ever

The Reading Eagle of Reading, PA is reporting that a Chelaberd Kazak rug sold at Freeman's Auction in Philadelphia for a world record price of $341,625. This came as a bit of a surprise in that the rug was estimated to sell for between $15,000 and $25,000. OK Maybe “a bit” of a surprise is an understatement since it sold for almost 14 times its estimated worth. This also garnered the auction house over $40,000 in “buyer's fee(s)”. Once again “a bit” of a surprise in that they should have been expecting less than $5,000. So it looks like everyone is happy. Or we hope everyone is…If the buyer doesn’t really love area rugs they could be suffering from “a bit” of buyers remorse.

Update: 1/24/07 I found a picture of the rug in the Maine Antique Digest.

Witches Need Rugs Too…

In a story from the Concord Monitor Online the description of “a rug with a pentacle” caught my eye. It is a story of the mixed success of a store opened and run by a “Wiccan”…that’s a witch to you and me. The store “cater(s) to a pagan or Wiccan clientele”. I haven’t lived in the NH area for a long time but I don’t remember many of my neighbors practicing pagan ceremonies. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. We here at RugSale will have to follow the progress of this store, but for now, you won’t find any rugs with pentacles in our store.

The Political Expense of Cutting a Rug

Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick is not only fighting for his political life, he is fighting for the right to use a 2,000-square-foot apartment in that states Capitol. It is an apartment that he and his wife spent more than $1 million renovating. It is the only living quarters in a state capitol in the nation and will probably stay that way.

From our perspective just what he did to the New Zealand carpet would be enough to run him out of office on a rail. The Austin American-Statesman reported that “the $36,000 New Zealand wool carpets (were) cut up for area rugs after it was decided hardwood floors would look better”.

Any other politician who is planning to spend tax payer money furnishing his personal apartment may want to visit us for his area rugs. As a matter of fact he may want to see what we have in clearance.