Homey Rugs, Putting on a Floor Show

A big contender for this year's hot-picks list has to be a Dash & Albert woven rug. They have been showing up in virtually every home magazine in the past few months as stair runners, in kids' rooms, by kitchen sinks and under dining tables. Affordable (less than $200 for a 6-by-9-foot) and cheery (plaids and stripes), the flat cotton rugs evoke the Eastern Shore, Nantucket and an old house near the beach.

"We've definitely had an impact on the rug business," said Annie Selke, the owner of four-year-old Dash & Albert. In the early days, the rugs got a publicity boost from Real Simple magazine, which featured them on its cover and inside pages. "They gave us a ton of exposure," Selke said, "and put us on the map."

This month, Dash & Albert began selling indoor-outdoor rugs made of polypropylene. They are more expensive than the cotton versions ($288 for a 6-by-9) and available in fewer patterns. But Selke said they pass any durability test -- inside or out.

The all-weather versions were tested for nine months by messy children and drooling dogs, and with gloppy substances such as peanut butter, yogurt and ketchup. If you get one for the dining room that won't fit in the washing machine, Selke recommends just taking it outside and hosing it down. She said she has put one in her mudroom and another in her daughter's bedroom in the family's house in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where her company is based.

Selke also owns Pine Cone Hill, a furniture and bedding company, and Potluck Studios, a tableware and furniture company.

The rugs have one clear downside: Dash&Albert does not offer shopping by catalogue or computer. In this area, the only place to buy them is at Urban Country in Bethesda. For more information, visit http://www.dashandalbertrugs.com or call 800-442-8157.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052300372.html

Modern area rugs let you lend your house a special touch

Does your house needs a desperate makeover? Well, there are many things that can be done to give a complete makeover to your house and you can choose any one means to make your living area more attractive. Have you ever imagined making a small change in your room? Putting up a brand new area rug can bring about a tremendous transformation in your house. You must try this out and put up a new modern area rug in your house and see the dramatic change at first hand. Modern area rugs are not the only thing that you can put up in your room; you can also keep area rugs of different kinds to liven up the interiors of your house.

Who does not like to come back in the evening to a home that is warm and inviting? Doing up the interiors of your house in the proper way can surely make it look very bright and inviting. Covering the floor of your house with carpets, tiles or area rugs surely makes your house look very good. Choosing the correct modern area rugs for your house is important. Surely, you would not like to pick up a modern area rug for your room that looks completely alien in your house.

The best thing that you can do is check out the various online stores that specialize in selling carpet, tiles and area rugs to customers. Paucity of time is one thing that is common almost among all people, and thus the option of searching out modern area rugs on the web can be a very good source for you to find out and buy the kind of modern area rug that you have been searching for. You can select modern area rug in different color, pattern and design for the different rooms in your house. In this way, you can lend a personal touch to each room in your house.

Well if you do put up modern area rug in your house, you must also be aware of how to keep your modern area rug clean. It is very normal that the area rug will get dirty and if you have small kids at home keeping your area rug clean becomes all the more difficult. If by accident anything spills on your area rug, the golden rule is to get it cleaned immediately. Otherwise it is very much possible that the stain may stick and may not go away after some time. Always go for colors and patterns in area rugs that add on to the personality of your home.

If you have children at home, it will be ideal for you to buy a modern area rug that is darker in color. It may not always be possible on your part to keep this clean all the time and the dark color will help you in masking out some of the stains in your modern area rug. Leading carpet dealers have in their collection modern areas rugs in different colors, make, texture and design. What you need to do is find out the area rug of your choice and use it in your home.

Autor: Stephen Robins
Stephen Robins loves doing up and designing house interiors. He has been involved with advising people in finding out and using the best carpets for decorating their house and workplaces. If you want more information about Modern Area Rugs, Nourison Area Rugs, Residential Carpet, commercial flooring,Vinyl flooring, residential flooring, commercial flooring in New York visit www.citycarpet.com

Choose a Wool Area Rug for Your Home

Renovating your rooms with new decor? Then you simply can't do without an area rug,and there is no better material than natural fiber, especially wool. It is durable, strong and adds an aesthetic value to your room.

The very nature of wool fiber enables it to recover well from crushing. These stretch sometimes up to 35% without rupturing and then come back to their original size. Wool is also resistant to soil and is easier to clean than synthetic fiber. The high moisture content of wool works as a natural flame resistant. Though synthetic fibers have evolved over the years, they still cannot match the quality of wool.

Important things to consider when buying a wool area rug are the size, design and grade of wool, handmade or machine-made. The size of your dining room, bedroom or study, hallway or stairs will determine the size of your rug. Next you have to decide the color and type of design you are looking for. Whether you want the color of your rug to match with your walls or are you looking for contrast. Whether you want a simple design or a more elaborate one. Wool comes in various grades. Wool may be from a dead animal or a live one, a young healthy one or an old one. Wool sheared from a live animal is called live wool. Dead wool is sheared chemically from dead animals and it contains no oils and is rough to touch.

Another important decision to make is whether you want to buy handmade wool area rugs or machine-made. Handmade rugs are not only more beautiful, but also durable, they hold their value, age beautifully and last for generations. With handmade wool rugs each strand is tied individually for greater strength and consistency.

The buying of wool rugs may be a complex issue and their uniqueness and originality is hard to judge unless you are an expert. It is advisable to take the help of an expert or deal with reputable dealers and direct importers of handmade wool rugs.

It is important to take proper care of your precious possession. Dry cleaning and steam cleaning are a strict 'NO' for your wool rug. Dry cleaning leaves a chemical in the fiber that is harmful for the longevity of your rug. Steam cleaning takes out the oil from the wool, converting live wool into dead wool. Regular vacuuming is recommended to remove dirt. Proper padding and moth-proofing are also recommended for a prolonged life.

Rory H. Hawkins writes about wool rugs and other interesting topics. Visit http://www.wool-rug-resources.info for more information.