Interior Inspirations - part 2

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Displaying and Using Carpets and Rugs
Be expansive about the way in which you use rugs and carpets; they don't have to be confined to the floor. Any insight into traditional uses may inspire creative placing in your own home. The Chinese, for example, designed carpets specifically to fit around pillars; there was no vertical border pattern, and a design, such as a dragon, formed a continuous image when wrapped around a column. In the tents of the nomadic tribes of Asia, rich, warmly, colored weavings provided insulation against the harsh winds of the Asian steppes.

You can also diversify from traditional uses; Ensis rugs(which serve as tent entrance curtains) are less stiff than many others, and can be adapted for use as throws. Prayer rugs are essentially small(for easy transportation), and they can used for filling in narrown spaces between large rugs, and for use as hangings or bedside rugs.

Or take a tip from the Iranian Kurdish and Belouchi tribes, whose square korsi rugs covered charcoal braziers or bread ovens when not in use, and served as a warm, heavy family blanket in the harsh mountain winters. In Scandanavia, pile-weaving served as cloaks and sleigh robes by day, and blankets or bed coverings by night; and the serapes or blankets of Mexicans and Navajo tribespeople from the Southwest were similarly dual-purpose. Brightly colored and striped versions of these serapes can serve as light-wear rugs or throws.

sourced from 'Carpet Style' by Barty Phillips

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Strengthening a Sarab Runner Rug Carpet

A Sarab wide runner was brought in by a customer recently for our deep cleaning process. While we were inspecting the rug, we noticed that both the sides(selvages) and the ends had started coming undone. This unraveling of all 4 sides means that the strength of the rug was diminishing and soon the threat of damage to the design was a possibility. Take a look below:

At Rug Ideas we have dealt with this problem many times, and we knew just how to solve it. We had one of our master weavers do the repair all by hand using New Zealand wool, the best wool a carpet can get. The results are evident by just looking at the results, which can be seen below:

As you can see, the repair looks fantastic and the 4 sides of this rug are now strong and secure; the unraveling will not continue and the rug looks beautiful. If you have a rug that has seen some wear over the years and needs these kind of professional repairs, contact us at Rug Ideas where we can help you bring YOUR rug ideas to life!

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Handmade Runner Repair

A customer from Orange County recently came in with some runners that needed some repair. They were beautiful hand knotted pieces with a few problems. First prefabricated fringes had been placed at the ends of the runners, taking away from the fact that the whole rug is a hand made piece; those prefabricated fringes had to go. Secondly the sides (selvages) had deteriorated and made the rug look like an eyesore in certain places. Take a look at one of the runners(before repair) below:

The owner had worked with Rug Ideas before and knew that we were the right people to handle the job. We had one of our master weavers work on his runners, first taking of the prefabricated fringes and going a little into the rug so as to make natural fringes from the actual rug. Not only that but both ends were secured during this process to fortify the ends and give the rug strength. Take a look below:

Next was handling the sides, which were completely redone by hand. Take a look at the results:

After our repair job the rug looks absolutely beautiful! It is now all natural with nothing prefabricated and is ready to be used for many more years. Stay tuned to see the repairs of the other runners in a post to come; and if you have any repairs that need to be done to your precious rug, know that Rug Ideas has the knowledge and expertise to make your rug wishes come true.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)

Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)

www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

www.RugIdea.com

Tel. 310-770-9085

Custom Rug Job - Making of a Runner

At Rug Ideas we help rug owners get their pieces cleaned, repaired, secured & rewoven every day. We also do custom jobs like the one in today's post. A woman came in a few days ago with 3 area rugs that she had been using in her house. Take a look below:

The owner recently did some reorganizing in her home and found a perfect spot for a wide runner. The width  of the area rugs she brought in was perfect for the space and she decided that she wanted to have these pieces sewn together so that she could have a custom made runner that fir perfectly with her decor. We got to work on it right away and in just a couple days we had a new custom runner finished. Check out the results:

The owner was very excited to see her new custom runner and was ecstatic that she had now had a runner that was extra wide to fit her home space perfectly. We were happy to oblige her and see how happy the results made her. If you have an interesting idea for a custom rug job for your home call or visit us today so that we can talk you through all your options. Custom is as custom does at Rug Ideas!

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Dirtiest Rug for Cleaning in Los Angeles

A customer brought in a tufted rug for cleaning. It was a 3' by 8' runner full of moths, and stains. You could see the larvae and the eggs all over the rug. Having and using this type of rug in a home is a health hazard for the people, the kids and the pets around it. One cannot save money by not cleaning rugs like this. We can save money when we protect our investments.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

A Very Slow Day Selling a Persian Prayer Rug and a Runner

It was a very slow day today. We sold a 3' x 5' Persian prayer rug to a customer in the morning. late in the afternoon, a customer reluctantly bought a 2' x 8' runner for her hallway. Paying many bills, sending e-mails, making few phone calls was what I did today. You do not feel that Christmas will be coming in two weeks. You do not see people move to do Christmas shopping.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Cosmetic Rug Repair: Making One Runner and a Small Rug Out of a Big Rug

In an earlier post, I mentioned that a customer had a big hand knotted Turkish rug. It was too big for her office, so she wanted us to make the rug smaller. She also wanted us to make a runner by attaching the two border. Here, you can see the rug before and after the cosmetic surgery!!

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Customers From Simi Valley and Irvine For Rug Cleaning

It was Saturday today and a repeat customer who was on her way from Simi Valley, a city roughly 45 miles north west of Los Angeles heading our store to pick up her cleaned rug called and said she had forgotten to take her checkbook with her. I said its OK; you can mail me the check later in your convenience. They came in an hour with the whole family of five. They liked the cleaning of the rug and bought one 8-foot long runner and a 3-foot diameter round rug.

Another repeat customer from the city of Irvine roughly 50 miles east of Los Angeles came in to pick up her rug which was left with us for cleaning. She also needed a 3 x 5 and a 5 x 7 hand knotted rug but said she would come back next week with her husband.

I did some paper work and printed some labels for the postcards of our Tent Rug Sale. I went home around 6:00 pm.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugTentSale.com
310-770-9085

Rug Blogs: Rug Customers Do Not Know What Kind of Rugs They Are Looking For!

Yesterday, a lady came in and said she was looking for a green runner. We showed her many pieces of green runners, but she happily left with a pair of 8' x 2' 3" Beige (Creme) runners. Some of rug customers do not exactly know what they are looking for.

It was while ago when a couple came in looking for a 10 x 10 feet silk rug. After two hours and messing every thing up in our rug store, they ended up liking and buying a hand-knotted Persian Sarouk rug. The wife was so excited she said she could not wait to get home!

I have had many old customers who bought modern design Persian or Oriental rugs and young customers buying classic and traditional design hand made Oriental or Persian carpets!

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Indian Rug Cleaning For a Customer From West Lake Los Angeles

Last Sunday, a couple brought an Indian 8 x 10 rug for cleaning. They had come from West lake, a city close to Los Angeles. There were some little stains on the borders and I did not promise those stains be removed by regular cleaning. After the rug was returned from cleaning, the stains were still there. I paid $25 to our repairman to remove those stubborn stains. The spots were taken care of. The husband and wife came in today to pick up their rug after they called and made sure they could get the rug. I showed the rug and pointed the place of the removed spots and said if you're happy with the job, pay me $25 more which is my cost and I do not want to charge you more. They did not want to pay. They took their rug and left. They had paid the original cleaning cost upfront. I blamed myself and made a decision. I should be tougher at the beginning and if the customer is not ready to pay the price, I should call and tell them that there would be an extra charge for stain removal. Some of the customers do not appreciate what you do and there is no sense giving them what they do not appreciate.

We sold few pieces of area rugs and runners, but overall, the past few days have been very slow in regard with sales. It was Sunday today and I stayed at work until 5:45 pm.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085