Wool Rugs
Wool rugs are some of the most popular in the entire industry, and if you’re looking specifically for wool area rugs online then you’re going to love our incredible selection and unbeatable sale prices. We take a lot of pride in our wool rug selection here at Rug Source, and we fully understand how both residential and commercial properties benefit greatly from the aesthetics and durability of wool.
Wool is known for its incredible combination of both softness and durability that simply has some of the best longevity. Wool is a completely natural material, which helps it so much when you compare it to synthetic counterparts in terms of its ability to stand up to moisture and cold temperatures.
As you’ll be able to see while scrolling through our online inventory of wool rugs, we offer much cheaper prices than all our big box competitors while never sacrificing quality. Our affordability is a big part of our past success, but our customer service is what has always helped fully set us apart from everyone else in the industry.
If you have any questions at all about a specific rug or a group of wool rugs, we’ll be able to get one of our expert team members to assist you and provide the information you’ll need to make a more informed purchasing decision. That’s why we’ve created this guide to purchasing wool rugs, and on this page you’ll learn the following:
By going through this guide you’ll undoubtedly have a more thorough understanding about how to go about finding your new wool rug. And as always feel free to contact us if you have any questions and would like to speak with one of our experts!
Where to Place Wool Rugs
One of the best features of wool rugs is their overall versatility and variety. They’re great within any room of a home, and they’re also very aesthetic and look great in professional settings. Here are some good options to consider when it comes to the placement of your wool rug:
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There are countless wool runner rugs within our online inventory, and these rugs are unique in that they are long and rectangular and are great for narrow entryways and hallways. But wool runners are very useful throughout the entirety of a home, including in the kitchen, bathroom and next to beds. You can essentially put a wool runner anywhere you’d like to have a warm, soft pathway.
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Some of the common sizes associated with oversized wool rugs include 9x12, 10x14, 12x15, 12x18 and sometimes even larger! At these larger sizes, home and apartment owners can place their rug over their carpeting and under all of their furniture within any given room with plenty of additional spatial coverage.
Common Benefits of Wool Rugs
Wool rugs are popular for a variety of reasons, and it goes much further than the softness of the material. The following are some of the most common benefits associated with wool rugs:
Popular Colors and Styles
Wool has been used within people’s homes for literally thousands of years, and it has stood the test of time as one of the most enduring, beautiful rug materials. Wool is now produced throughout the entire world, and our online selection reflects this truly international marketplace.
Wool rugs come in all shapes and sizes, and some of the common styles and colors to look into while shopping through our inventory include the following:
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Warm Neutrals: Some common examples of warm neutrals include colors like ivory, tan and brown. These rugs are typically very easy to incorporate into existing furniture setups, and these colors can also be a great base to build off of when you’re decorating any given space.
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Wool Blends: Wool can sometimes be out of some people’s price range, which is why a lot of our clients prefer getting a rug with a blend of wool and other synthetic fibers. A benefit of this type of rug is added stain resistance, and of course even better prices!
We’re Here To Help You Find Your Perfect Wool Rug
We understand that it can be confusing when going through such a large online selection like our wool rug inventory, which is why our team of experts is always here to answer any questions or concerns you have during the shopping process.
Always feel free to contact us online or call us at 980-422-4080 or 704-763-0979 so we can help you with any assistance you need!
Gabbeh Rugs are Part of a Rich Persian Tradition
The traditional Gabbeh Persian carpet – known as gava in Kurdish and Luri and called khersak in Bakhtiari – is a simple, hand-woven pile rug traditionally made by the nomadic Qashqai tribes who dwelled in the Zagros Mountains of southern Iran, near the city of Shiraz. Other tribes, such as the Lurs, the Kurds and the Bahktiari also weave these carpets.
In Persian, the word “Gabbeh” means “fringe” or “in the rough.” Gabbeh rugs are rough cut and long piled rugs of rich color and the best quality wool. Most Gabbeh carpets are medium size – up to 3’ x 5’ – and feature abstract designs where shapes and color dance playfully with one another.
Variations of the gabbeh rug – such as the “Loribaft”, “Amaleh”, “Kashkuli” – may reflect the heritage of the tribe by which they are woven or the name of the city in which they are most often traded, such as “a Shiraz Gabbeh.”
The 19th century gabbeh rugs were very coarsely knotted (40kpi or less), often with shaggy pile. The name of Gholam Reza Zollanvari is synonymous with modern Gabbeh rugs. Zollanvari learned the rug business from his grandfather, a merchant in the Shirazi rug bazaar. Zollanvari pioneered the construction of fine-weave gabbehs with knot counts of 200+ kpi. Today, Zollanvari rugs are among the most popular styles of Persian rugs.
The Making of a Gabbeh Rugs: A Craft Shared Across Generations
Most Gabbeh carpets are made by women, and many are one-of-a-kind works of art. Some patterns are passed down thru the generations as mothers and grandmothers teach their daughters the art of Persian rug making. Many patterns reflect the weaver’s observations of the environments through which the tribe has passed. Some rugs are even made by the hands of many weavers.
Traditional Gabbeh rugs were woven on makeshift ground looms. These looms are built with materials are carried long distances by the nomadic tribes, or materials found where the tribe settled. Since each loom is unique, each rug is unique; this is how Gabbeh rugs get their distinctive irregular in shape.
Woven with the Wool of Mountain Sheep
Gabbeh rugs are woven from high quality wool from the tribe’s own sheep. As the tribe herds its sheep over hundreds of miles, the nomads reach high altitudes. In the summers, they stay in the highland pastures north of Shiraz in the Zargos Mountains; by winter they sojourn to pasture lands near the Persian Gulf. Sheep grazed in high altitudes produce more lanolin, giving their wool a luxurious softness and resistance to stain.
Rich, Colorful Dyes Give Gabbeh Carpets a Remarkable Color
The Qashqai people find the dyes used in Gabbeh carpets or purchase them in towns where they trade their finished carpets. Often, they use all-natural vegetable dyes to give the wool vibrant color while retaining its lanolin.
Hand-Knotted Rugs with Turkish Symmetrical Knots and Persian Asymmetrical Knots
Most of the wool used in the construction of Gabbeh rugs is handspun using a drop spindle. After the wool has been dyed and handspun, the weaver uses the loom to hand-knot the rug using Turkish symmetrical knots or Persian asymmetrical knots, or even a combination of the two. Because the all the Qashqai tribes use both types of knots, it is difficult to tell from which individual tribe any one rug has come from.
Gabbeh Rugs Are Small – Often Just 3’ x 5’ in Size
A typical size for a Gabbeh carpet is 3 feet by 5 feet. It can take 18 to 25 hours to weave even a small Gabbeh rug. Tribal Gabbeh rugs usually have lower knot counts compared to other types of Persian carpet. This low knot count and the high quality of wool makes Gabbeh rugs famous for their exceptional durability.
Durable Floor Coverings, Wraps and Bedding to Protect from the Mountain Cold
Gabbeh rugs are often floppy because they have wider rows of multiple wefts. This made the soft, pliable rugs ideal as wraps or bedding to insulate against the bitter cold of the mountains.
Gabbeh rugs are often not symmetrical due to the nomadic lifestyle of their creators, and color variations within a rug are common. Often, the variation in color in a rug tells a story of the tribe’s migration, the climates and environments it encountered, and the tribe members who contributed to its creation.
Where to Buy Gabbeh Rugs
Unless you plan to travel to Iran to shop for Gabbeh rugs in the marketplace, we’d suggest buying a Gabbeh rug online from RugSource.com or visiting our showroom. We’re proud to bring these highly coveted rugs to you – please contact us if you’d like to know more.
