When a professional decorator wants to enhance a room with an attractive area rug, one option that appears more than any other is the Oriental rug. Part of the appeal is the surprising variety, style, sophistication and design you find with Oriental rugs. There is always something out of the ordinary, something you’ve never seen before. One has a slightly different use of color, another rotates the design in a different way, while still another adds a unique flourish that other rugs have not included and it makes your room distinctly your own.

By definition, authentic Oriental Rugs are man-made hand-knotted or hand tufted with designs originating from the Orient. The process that the craftsmen and women normally use involves stretching silk, wool or cotton threads on a loom while knotting the piles to the warped threads. After the entire rug is hand knotted, the pile is shorn. A 9′ x 12′ is referred to as a carpet, due to it’s size and it will take two craftsmen a year and 1/2 working six days a week, full time to complete this one rug. This is reflective of why an Oriental rug may cost a bit more than another area rug choice.

The countries that are known to produce the highest quality of these rugs are generally said to be Persia, Turkey, Turkestan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Caucasus, Nepal, China, and India. And while not strictly Oriental, Spain has produced some rugs considered Oriental due to the Arab influence.

Originally, these Orient countries made rugs for practical reasons: to provide warmth and a clean floor, to serve as wall hangings, curtains and saddlebags, and of course, to sell for money. Archaeologists have traced the history of the Oriental carpets back to the 5th century B.C. However, it’s discussed and felt that the history actually goes back much further.

It was before 1949 that the oldest rug was discovered in East Turkmenistan (Tarim Basin). Then in 1949 a Archaeologist from Russia made a find the likes of which our modern world had not seen and it made an enormous impact on rug history. He discovered the Pazyryk rug, Persian Rugs (Tree of Life) and had been frozen solid for 2,500 years in a tomb in Outer Mongolia, dating way back to the 5th Century BC.

During the past 100 years or so, Oriental rugs have come to be recognized as a true work of art and for their power to turn a common room into an extraordinary one. There are so many styles and designs to consider: Serapi Oriental Rugs, Oriental Rugs, Kazak, Chinese Silk Rugs, Silk Peking Oriental Rugs, Persian, Tribal Rugs made by the Nomadic tribes, and the list goes on and on. To see some of these fabulous floor covering is to fall in love with this art form, which as you know by now, is one of the oldest art forms known to man.

If there is one rug that has emerged as the most prized, it’s probably the Turkish rug. These have a rich history, and have appeared in many paintings of famous artists. Also, the Italian explorer Marco Polo described Turkey’s rugs in his writing, describing their strange designs and animal figures, he says he felt the rugs were the most beautiful he had ever seen. Many were wool rugs, made from all natural fibers.

Buying a truly quality Oriental rug can be a task. If you’re in the market, remember to shop from a store that you know has been operating for several years. Businesses that last for a while do so because they have built a good reputation. Remember that a reputable dealer will be glad to show you a sampling of everything that’s available today, and they will be happy to recommend the best rug for your room, your goals, and your budget. Also, be careful of extravagant mark-downs at going-out-of-business sales. The old cliché holds true here as anywhere else: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Finally, ask your friends, family and co-workers if they have bought one of these floor coverings, and if so, what dealer they would recommend. Word-of-mouth will often be the best advice you’ll get.

Shopping online can be challenging when taking into account purchasing your authentic Oriental Rugs. Decor4u.com offers only the highest quality area rugs and home decor furnishings. You can trust in knowing you will get what you pay for with Decor4u, and then some.