Persian & Oriental Fine Rugs Make A Bold Statement In Your Home Decor

When planning the decor theme for a new home, don't forget to consider your floor coverings. Fine rugs can add a wonderful accent to your home decor, whether as an accent or a major impact on the overall appearance of your room.

Other times you may want to redecorate your home, to enhance a favorite room or achieve a fresh look. While most people may think of adding new curtains, paintings or wall hangings, or slipcovers to embellish their home decor, another option is to add some beautiful fine rugs.
Persian rugs or oriental rugs are excellent choices to add touches of elegance to your home. Whether your want a small accent rug or a large area rug, you are sure to find the size, color, and design to suit your taste among the many fine rugs available.

What are Fine rugs?
According to home decor dealers, fine rugs are typically those made with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship, of Asian origin. Top quality wool fiber with significant pile comprises the main composition of these rugs, which often feature thick hand-knotted fringe. Fine rugs usually inclue Persian rugs and Oriental rugs, often constructed with a luxurious blend of wool and silk.
Difference Between Persian and Oriental rugs

Is there a difference between Persian rugs and Oriental rugs? According to knowledgeable people known as "rugophiles," the terms are not interchangeable, and a distinct difference exists between Persian and Oriental rugs. The primary difference between the two is related to the country of origin of the rugs. Persian rugs derive exclusively from Iran, after its former name of Persia. Oriental rugs derive from several countries in Asia, including Iran, as well as China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tibet, and Turkey. Therefore, Persian rugs are in fact of Oriental rugs, but the reverse is not necessarily true.

Oriental rugs as a whole have provided inspiration for art, literature, and music since the first story of Aladdin and his flying carpet. Harkening back to about 3000 BC, people have created rugs, initially for warmth as they covered earthern floors in early homes. Many centuries later, as rug-making evolved, artisans began weaving designs into their rugs. rug-making even found its way into palaces, as royalty began commissioning spectacular Oriental rugs with intricate designs depicting crests, coats of arms, and floral motifs. The 19th century saw the beginning of machine-made rugs, although hand-knotting continued for the fringe. Mass production, worldwide, in the 20th century, opened up the opportunity for nearly anyone to purchase beautiful Oriental rugs.

Persian rugs share some of the extensive historical background of Oriental rugs, with some notable differences. Created exclusively in Iran - formerly Persia - Persian rugs feature exceptionally thick pile, hand-knotted fringe, elegant rich colors, and intricate designs. Another distinction between the rugs is that Persian rug designs typically bear the name of the Iranian city in which they originated. Some of the most popular designs are Dubba, Gabbeh, Hamadan, Heriz, and Tabriz. Another significant development with Persian rugs is their increased presence in the marketplace since the embargo against Iran lifted in 2003.

Features of Oriental and Persian rugs
While fine rugs are available in virtually every color and color combination of the rainbow, they are typically rich, elegant shades. The classic features of Oriental rugs and Persian rugs include the following:
• Shapes: Available in octagon, oval, round, runner, and square shapes.
• Sizes: Available in numerous sizes, dependent on the shapes; for instance, octagonal sizes may vary from 4'11" x 4'11" to 9'10" x 9'10"; oval sizes may vary from 2'3" x 4'5" to 8'2" x 9'10"; round sizes may vary from 4'11" in diameter to 11'6" in diameter; runners may vary from 2' x 8' to 2'7" x 65'; and square sizes may vary from 4'11" sq. to 11'6" sq.
• Styles/Quality: Available in hand-knotted, hand-tufted, wool, silk, wool and silk, machine-made, and flat weave styles and various piles.
• Prices: Avaiable in a wide range of prices, depending on all the previous details, potentially from under $100 to $1500 or more.

Whether you are planning your decor for a new home, or redecorating your present home, don't forget your floor coverings can include fine rugs. Consider purchasing the Oriental rug or Persian rug that best accentuates your home decor. Beautiful Oriental rugs At Great Prices

Classroom Rugs - Children's Inspiration To Learning

Children today are easily distracted when it comes to learning and teaching children is tough. Teachers and childcare providers need all the help they can get when it comes to educating children. A classroom rug is a teaching aid that is invaluable in the classroom. These bright and fun classroom carpets come in many shapes, sizes, and themes. All geared to help the classroom teacher or daycare provider educate and inspire children.

Who uses classroom rugs?
Many classroom rugs on the market today have been designed with the preschool or elementary school teacher in mind. Also, faith based rugs have made a big impact in private schools and churches. Educators that teach preschool to elementary age children use alphabet rugs and number rugs to teach the early learning basics. Plus, there are childrens rugs available to teach color and shape recognition. Librarians use library rugs at circle time to organize children for maximum quietness and order. There are even map rugs, Spanish rugs, and music rugs to teach kids social studies, foreign languages, and music. Finally, we know kids are energetic and need play time to be healthy and develop social skills and to meet this need there are many play rugs available.

Classroom Carpets that Teach and Organize
Above we discussed who uses classroom rugs and briefly touched on how they are used, but let's take a closer look. Below is list of some of the common themes of classroom rugs currently available.

Alphabet rugs - Available with uppercase, lowercase, combination, and with images and letters. An alphabet rug will aid in letter recognition and phonics. Children's rugs with letters and images aid in letter association with a word --- for example, the letter "D" and a picture of a dinosaur. Teachers can use an alphabet carpet to teach preschool and elementary school students the alphabet and spelling. Learning this way is fun, exciting, & interactive!

Number rugs - With a number rug children will learn to recognize numbers and learn to count. Some children's rugs come with both the alphabet and numbers.

Seating rugs - Seating classroom carpets usually come with colored squares or circles arranged in a grid or pattern and are designed to seat a certain number of children. Depending classroom size you can seat up to 20 to 30 kids on one classroom carpet. The larger the carpet the more children you can seat. Seating rugs are great for sharing at circle time or reading at story time. A seating rug organizes children which translates into a calmer and more peaceful classroom. Teachers and librarians will love seating rugs!

Shape and Color rugs - Teach geometric shapes and color recognition. Elements of this theme of rugs is often found in some of the other classroom carpet themes, but if you need to teach color and what a square, circle, triangle, oval, etc. look like then pick one of these kids rugs.

Faith Based rugs - A faith based rug usually includes elements of the above carpets, but also includes a religious teaching. If you teach in a Catholic school, Christian school, Jewish school, or church you will find a large selection of religious rugs to choose.

Bilingual rugs - Today teaching another language is critical as different cultures come together. A bilingual rug in Spanish-English or French-English are available to teach either ESL kids English or English speaking children Spanish or French. Look for bilingual rugs that teach numbers, letters, colors, shapes, and word association. Some bilingual rugs teach several of these on the same carpet. What a fun way to learn another language & teach cultural diversity!

Map rugs - A great teacher's aid for teaching geography or social studies. Look for carpets that include all 50 U.S. States or a world map rug that includes all the continents and their names. With a map rug children will learn U.S and world geography in a snap!

Play rugs - When kids need to be inside look to a play rug as a fun alternative to board games. Hopscotch rugs are a fun activity that most kids will love. Road rugs that have city streets can be used for playing with toy cars, etc. These carpets help kids learn fine motor skills, coordination, and balance.

As teachers look for new, exciting, and fun ways to grab the attention of children and inspire them to learn, one alternative is to include classroom rugs as a teaching aide. There are many shapes, sizes, colors, and themes available today that preschool and elementary teachers, daycare centers, and churches can find that will fit their needs. Adding one of these children's rugs will also brightened up a dull classroom!