Real Estate, Finance and Home Articles of Interest

So you want to purchase a nice work of art, but you want it functional as well. Perhaps you should consider an oriental rug. High quality Turkish rugs are both functional and exceptionally beautiful works of art that really hold their value well. The best thing about them is that there are rugs in just about any price range, ranging from large handmade carpets that can run more than several thousand dollars, to smaller machine made rugs that can be as inexpensive as forty dollars. For those with a large budget, antique oriental rugs are a great investment.

Even though Turkish rugs got their name because they were popular in Turkey, they are actually made in many areas of the Middle East and Africa. If you decide to travel to this region to shop for rugs, be sure to enlist the assistance of a reputable expert to help you make your purchase. Many shop owners actually work with local guides to sell their rugs and give a percentage of the sale price to these guides. This means their prices are somewhat inflated.

To be certain you select the right rug, you will need to do a bit of investigating. Look closely at the rug's weave. If it appears perfect, then it is probably machine made. A true hand woven oriental rug will have an irregular weave, meaning that there may be slight gaps between some of the knots. Cheap rugs that are mass produced usually have edges that are not finished properly or have skimpy fringe.

Turkish area rugs of the highest quality are luxurious and thick, and are one hundred percent wool. Among the better rugs some are made from a silk and wool blend. The low end of the quality spectrum in these rugs are made from cotton. These will have visible wear much quicker, and they do not retain their resale value well. One way to be certain whether or not a rug that you are looking at is a high quality wool rug, or one of the cheap cotton imitations, take a good look at the fringes. The high quality wool rugs are wool one hundred percent, so a cotton fringe indicates that the rug is not made of wool.

Lastly, do not hesitate to check out the various items on sale slowly and carefully. The seller will take this to mean that you are showing the proper respect for his merchandise. After you have made your choice, you can feel free to politely reject the merchant's opening offer. Customers are actually expected to begin the buying process by bargaining. However, the broadest array and the finest deals in Turkish and other oriental rugs are offered to buyers on the Internet.