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

Rug Cleaning Los Angeles: Our Way

We picked up a big antique hand knotted Persian Kerman carpet from a clients home which was on the top of a hill with ocean view. We did actual wet washing and deep cleaning and the result was great. We dried the rug flat under the sun. We are doing the repair and securing all four sides of this Kerman rug.

We do not do steam or dry cleaning as this is the type of job that wall-wall carpet cleaners do. That may work for wall to wall but for Oriental and area rugs, deep cleaning and wet washing does the work.

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

Tips On Buying An Oriental Rug

If you are a first time rug buyer, it is particularly important that you establish a good relationship with someone you can trust. This is the person who will help you choose a rug that is right for you, and you should feel comfortable with him and not hesitate to ask questions.

Before you go to look for that perfect rug for your room, it is important to do a little homework to aid in making the proper selection. Measure your room and major pieces of furniture. It may also be helpful to measure and note window and door placements. If you don not start with the rug, have on hand fabric, paint and wallpaper samples. Decide what you want the the final effect to be. Being prepared will save you time and insure better results.

And when you have all of the above information covered, stop into Rug Ideas where we can further help you with your rug buying process. We have an extensive selection of Oriental and Persian rugs in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Let our 60 years of experience help find that perfect piece for your home. Rug is our passion and we are more than happy to help you with all of your rug queries!

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

Shag Transformation - Dirty to Chic

A shag rug was brought in to our showroom last week that was in a very busy house. The owners have 3 children who are very active and run around the house a lot with their sneakers on; they play outside and then track dirt inside and provide most of the foot traffic in the house. Over the course of 2 years the ivory shag turned a gray color and had some patches of dirt stains. Take a look below:

The owner opted for our deep professional cleaning for their shag to help bring it back to normal. Shags are much harder to clean than regular rugs as the pile is much higher and requires more resources and attention to get it thoroughly clean. We proceeded with dusting, wet washing & then natural drying of the rug. Take a look at how it came out below:

This shag rug looks great now and is the original ivory color. The entire pile has been cleaned and it is now ready to be placed down in the owner's home again. While stopping kids from being kids is nearly impossible, it's good to know Rug Ideas is here to help with the foot traffic and stains made by them. If you have a rug that needs deep cleaning, sanitizing and deodorizing, bring it in to our showroom so we can help!

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

The Caucasus and Central Asia

Two areas formerly in the Soviet Union are traditionally noted for the beautiful rugs they produce: Turkestan in Central Asia and the Caucasian Mountains. While this centuries old tradition was interrupted when the Communist Party took control, it was later encouraged in government factories in both areas. Now, with the fall of Communism, weaving is returning to a cottage industry.

Rugs from the Caucasus typically have bright colors and strong geometric patterns which sometimes feature both animal and human figures. The rugs being made today maintain the traditional patterns and colors and continue to be high in quality.

Turkestan is noteable for its production of the ancient "Bokhara" patterns. The name "Bokhara" for modern Pakistani rugs derives from the name of the railway station where these rugs were collected and shipped to the West. These rugs are traditionally a deep shade of red with a repeating pattern of guls (polygons) in dark blue, black or brown with white accents.

Sourced from "The Mystique of Oriental Rugs" by the Oriental Rug Retailers of America

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

Tufted Rug Cleaning - Sentimental Value

A business owner that has a store a couple hundred feet from ours recently brought in a Tufted Rug that had belonged to his father. This rug had sentimental value to our customer and he wanted to give it a deep cleaning as it had not been cleaned in over 10 years. It had some stains all over it that looked impossible to get out. Take a look below:

We put this tufted rug through our deep cleaning process which involves dusting, then complete wet washing of the rug, followed by natural drying under the sun. We were very happy with the results, which can be seen below: 

Needless to say the owner of this rug was extremely happy with our deep cleaning results. He thanked us many times as this rug holds a lot of sentimental value to him. If you have a rug that means a lot to you, bring it in to Rug Ideas so we can give it the best treatment a rug can have!

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

Check Your Rugs In Storage!

We have a sad story for today's post. We received a call from a customer that has cleaned many of her rugs with us; she wanted us to pick up a Persian rug she had in storage so that we could deep clean it. It had been sitting in storage for 5 years and was cleaned and was not packed with acid free paper, nor did it have any moth balls placed in it. When we got to her storage unit we proceeded to open the rug to find one of the worst moth infestations we had ever seen. Take a look at the pics below:

This once valuable rug is now worth nothing and the owner asked us to throw it away for her. We were sad to do so but there was no saving this rug. Luckily she only had this one in her storage and the rest at her home. But beware, this could happen to your rug in storage if it is not cleaned and packed correctly. 

If you are going to store your rug in storage or in a garage for longer than a month please use acid free paper and moth balls to prevent a similar moth infestation from happening to your rug/rugs. Professional deep cleaning is also a must before you store your rugs. If you don't want to deal with the hassle, we at Rug Ideas offer this service to you so we can thoroughly inspect, use moth ball and wrap your rugs. We can also do moth proofing of your valuable carpets. Let us help keep your rugs in the best condition possible by properly wrapping them for storage. The owner's dismay was ours as well as we hate to see pieces of art get eaten away to nothing. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure!

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

Chinese Rugs

Traditional Chinese Rugs are immediately recognizable by their simple, classic motifs and limited colors. These rugs often feature a center medallion; familiar objects seen in nature such as animals, flowers and clouds; stylized Chinese ideographs; and even entire scenes. They are usually framed with a simple, wide border.

Contemporary Chinese rugs are produced in large workshops and meet strict quality standards, so they are consistent in quality no matter in which area of China they are woven. Many Chinese rugs are sculpted where  contrasting colors meet to provide interest and texture to the simple patterns, however, this production has diminished to make room for Chinese production of designs from other weaving areas. These non-indigenous designs include Persian, French Aubusson, Savonnerie and Art Deco designs. These rugs are usually of high quality and extremely durable, due to the local supply of Chinese wool, excellent for rug weaving.

China also has a small production of needlepoint and flat weaves, using Soumak and Kilim weaving techniques, in French Aubusson, Caucasian, Turkish and Persian designs.

In addition, China produces tufted rugs in various designs that are less costly. A hand held tufting gun is used to insert the pile through canvas or duck backing, and a heavy cloth is glued to the back of the rug after completion. These rugs are handmade, but not handknotted, and therefore do not fit the definition of "Oriental Rugs"

sourced from " The Mystique of Oriental Rugs"

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

Moth Season and Mothproofing

I just wanted to give you a friendly warning about moths. This is the season moth eggs will hatch in high numbers. Don’t hesitate to check your rugs and if you are suspicious give us a call so we can take care of the cleaning and moth proofing. If your rug is moth infested, we will mothproof it for absolutely FREE with the cleaning! Please come in before September 3, 2012 and remind me that you got this email.

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