Which Area Rug Do You Like Best?

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Take a look at two area rugs: Both are 100% wool and made in India by established rug merchants. At full price one is 4 1/4 times more expensive then the other (and likely of slightly better quality). And yet, both are machine woven (as opposed to top of the heap hand looped rugs) -- so these two are more or less equivalent quality-wise.

As expected, hand weaved area rugs are thousands of dollars higher than machine weaved rugs ... costing about $8,000 - $15,000+ for an 8' by 10' versus about $1,500 - $5,000+ for machine weaved. A consumer must decide if s/he wants to put his/er money into home goods that get walked on daily. It's what I had to decide in replacing my area rug.

So as not to influence your choice I will only say: Of the 2-machine weaved area rugs above: 

Rug pads extend the life of your rug.

A) I loved one best upon sight in the store.

B) The other was a lovely online closeout find. It had the similar colors and warmth as the original that caught my eye ... for less.

I had 3 criteria in choosing my rug. I desired something: 

1. Well-made for the money spent;

2. 100% wool, no synthetic fibers;

My old rug

3. Consisting of the color family of my old rug (so I wouldn't have to change everything else in my apartment to match). Moreover, my old rug had striking pops of color, yet still bestowed a warm cozy feel to the room. (In fact, I loved it a little too much but now must move on as my hookah smoking upstairs' neighbor's fire ruined it.)

Rugs can pull a room together as my old rug did. If you love certain colors, there is no need to change them. Begin with what you like, and go from there.

How do we decide when to pay a higher price for articles including area rugs? Here's how I decide: If something is 10 times more than the other, I ask myself if I like it 10 times more. When the answer is yes, pay the piper. When the answer is no, save.

I never lie to myself by pretending to like both equally, but sometimes I don't like them enough, or value them enough to pay the piper more. At times I decide to save the difference if a cheaper alternative fits the bill.

So now readers select your rug: Which rug do you like best? And ... do you spend thousands of dollars for hand spun rugs as some people do ... and why? This could be an interesting discussion. For what items will you pay up?


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