One need not be an expert to purchase a good oriental rug. It will always be important that you to buy what you love as you would a painting for example. A beautiful carpet will enhance your complete home and something you will appreciate every day, being an integral, in fact, most important part of the interior design of the home or office. Buyers should avoid phony and dishonest sales (“Going Out of Business Sale”, “Seized Customs Auction”, etc.). These sales represent rugs where the original price of a rug is falsely inflated to give customers the impression that there is a great bargain to be had. In reality, one would never purchase a car from a dealer offering 75% off. Quite often, the rugs offered in these sales are second-rate goods that a reputable retailer would never sell.

Josephine Keir will also always allow you to try a rug out before making your selection and we encourage you to do so. A rug you see in the showroom will always look different when you bring it home due to the particular lighting, arrangement of furniture, size of the room etc. Trying a rug out allows you time to inspect the subtleties in design and color that make a great rug. This is an important part of learning about carpets.

If purchasing your first rug, spend some time educating yourself and training your eye. With time, subtle differences in design and color will become more apparent. The rugs to which you were initially attracted may appear less interesting as you get a better sense of good color, good wool and balanced design. Josephine Keir has a very good library of books about oriental carpets that can be borrowed. We also often have events/seminars with rug producers/speakers which are most informative. Remember, there is no substitute for actually seeing and touching the carpets.

Visit our store Monday- Saturday. It helps to bring your measurements, swatches, and/or room photos. Explore our inventory by touching  and feeling as many rugs as possible; Rugs from different parts of the world may have a different feel. Examine the back of the rugs and see about the weave and the uniformity of the knots. Oriental rugs are different than all other rugs in that the wool pile is hand-tied to their foundation. A good rug will last 60 to 100 years. Each knot is tied in place by hand. Large rugs represent well over a year of work, pending the number of weavers per rug.

Not all oriental rugs are created equal. Materials are extremely important. Rugs in our shop have a distinct look and feel because they are made with hand spun wool and natural dyes. hand spun wool is stronger and more textured than machine spun wool. This wool has a noticeable patina, sometimes feeling fleecy and soft. It is able to take dye well and takes heavy use in the home or office. Natural dyes have a pleasing and by nature are organic in quality. In conclusion, natural dyes and hand-spun wool add to the expense of producing rugs but they also add to their value. No rug buyer will regret the beauty that superior materials guarantee (which can include high end Swiss Chromium dyes as well).

There is a wide range of prices for oriental rugs, pending weave, wools and dyes. Factors that influence the price include the quality of materials, sometimes knot density and the country of origin. Rugs made with synthetic dyes and machine spun wool cost less than those made with natural dyes and hand spun wool. Lastly, the cost of rug production is more expensive in some countries than in others. Producing rugs in Turkey and Iran, for example, now is more expensive than in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Regardless, we will always work with your budget to find the rug that is right for your project.