EXPERT GUIDE TO RUGS IN INTERIOR DESIGN – WITH LILLA RUGS

“My infatuation with rugs is all down to my upbringing. Every year, throughout my childhood, I’d go along on to Iran with my family on rug buying trips. We’d go from village to village and spend time with the weavers. I learnt from a young age the incredible craft and passion that goes into weaving Persian rugs.” 

Lilla Rugs London is the daughter company of the Ahwazian family business that has been building our incredible 10,000 sqft warehouse of stock for the past 27 years. I believe every space needs something unique, that nobody else in the world has. Something that belongs to that space only. Every Lilla Rug is one of a kind, and so hopefully, we can be that unique contribution to beautiful interiors across the country! 

Handmade rugs are notorious for being a little bit daunting to add to your home or project. Usually this is because there is a common assumption that all Persian rugs are unaffordable, or that you don’t really know whether to trust the authenticity or quality. It is also because they are not ‘uniform’ in terms of their size and being on-off pieces you can’t ‘have that design in that size’. There are some really easy steps you can take that will make your handmade rug journey much easier to start. Here goes…

3 things to work out:

1. Purpose: find the purpose of the rug first. This will guide you to taking the right measurements. What do I mean by this? It’s simply choosing the layout that works best for the furniture and set up you have. For example, do you want the rug to go slightly underneath the bed in your bedroom (my preferred option), or do you want it to sit nicely in the space in front of the bed? You can find more room by room examples here.
2. Measure: take down a MAXIMUM and MINIMUM size for the space. This will give you a little more flexibility and be especially helpful with handmade rugs – as they don’t come in strictly uniform sizes.

Tip: Don’t measure the entire room. You don’t want a rug that covers the entire floor. Especially if you have lovely floor boards! Why cover them up completely. Always keep at least 10cm between rug and wall.

3. Visualise: a great way to help you work out the right size for the space is to grab some  masking tape and create the border of the rug on the floor. You’ll be able to get a feel for how it will work.

Here are 3 quick tricks to help you identify a handmade rug over machine made:

1. Have a look at the back of the rug: look for slight imperfections in the knotting on the back. If the knots are too perfectly aligned, it could be machine made.
2. Have a look at the fringes: if the rug has a fringe, have a closer look at it. If it’s machine made, it will be falsely attached in some way (sewn or glued) but if it’s handmade you’ll see that it’s an extension of the material that has made up the weave.
3. Ask an expert. If you’re ever unsure, just ask someone that has the experience.

It is often a concern that handmade rugs are hard or harder to care for. The truth is, they are so incredibly hard wearing and should last a lifetime! Like anything, they should be cared for properly to ensure they last forever. 3 really simple tips:

1. Hoover them on a low setting. They can be hoovered once a week, just like you would most flooring. However, in order to ensure the pile isn’t ‘attacked’ just turn your hoover down to its lowest setting and ensure the brushes aren’t on.
2. If you spill something: the key is to act immediately. Blot (never rub) the spill as quickly as you can to remove moisture. If there is a lot of liquid, remove it with a spoon as gently as possible. Little trick: mix a small squirt of fairy liquid with warm water and let the soapy foam rise to the top. With a soft cloth (preferably without dye in), scoop up some of the foam and dab it onto the stain (again, don’t rub!). If you have no luck, you may need it professionally cleaned (next point).
3. Professional cleaning: We always recommend that you get your handmade rugs professionally cleaned every 3-5 years (dependent on how high traffic the area is. This is because there will always be a small amount of dirt that gets into the foundation of the rug. If you let this build up for too long the dirt can start to go hard. If it goes hard and you decide to fold the rug up at some point, you can risk a break in the foundation. Watch out: be sure that this is done mostly by hand and not with machines for handmade rugs.

Persian Overdyed Rugs. We are lucky enough to work with a very talented team in Iran that have mastered the art of Overdyed rugs. The Overdyed rugs are made from carefully selected Persian handmade rugs that undergo a unique process of colour neutralisation before being overdyed with wonderful new colours. They have been very popular with designers, as they are the perfect marriage between traditional and modern.

Some of our favourites:

AUSTEN

XENA

PEBBLES

Vintage & Antique Persian Rugs. They ooze character. The trouble is that many people don’t know how these can work in modern settings. See an example below. Focus on the colours, and you’ll be surprised how they can tie even a fairly modern room together. 

SKYE

 ALEXIA

LEIA

Moroccan Berber Beni Ourains. Whilst you might see these rugs everywhere, we’re so proud of how uniquely thick and luscious our range is. We’ve worked with weavers in the Atlas mountains for a few years now, and they get better and better with every round that we do. They are also designed by Lilla Rugs. This is one of our bestselling ranges.

ISABELLA

LEO

JAMILA

All photography credit: Joao Pedro Photography

Head over to Lilla Rugs Blog for more inspiring content and practical tips, including our guest post Unexpected Rugs in Unexpected interiors.

Text: Camilla Ahwazian

Images:  Lilla Rugs