Floral rugs
Floral rugs, are usually of a finer weave than other styles. The intricate patterns flow evenly with symmetry and grace. Being of a finer weave there are also many rugs with silk included or as an entire pile. The classical designs are very well recognised, such as the pictured rugs “Shah Abbas” design. Being more time consuming due to their finer weave they are also as a general rule only woven in cities. The most notable being, Kashan, Qum, Tabriz amongst others.
Geometric Rugs
Geometric rugs are usually solid in colour and have a primary colour scheme as the basis of design. They are bold and interesting and come from tribal as well as city origins. Some of the most well know weaves come from Bid-jar and Heriz. They are very thick, dense pile rugs that are extremely heavy, especially in the larger sizes. The bold linear designs work very well in minimalist settings and are often used to bring a shout of colour to a space.
Tribal Rugs
Tribal rugs are favoured by many people due to their natural, honest design. They are typically categorised as geometric but this is not strictly true as they do have motifs and floral patterns within them. A unique and much loved aspect to Tribal rugs is their addition of pictorial elements. Images of animals and people are common to see. The tribes are still nomadic and you can never buy a “new” one from the loom. The reason being, they make them for themselves first. After use for a while it is only then that they sell the rugs. Every tribal rug therefore gets a taste of the nomadic lifestyle!
Machine Made Rugs
Machine made rungs come in all sorts of patterns, shapes and sizes. There are virtually unlimited amounts to choose from. One point about Machine made rungs is that they do not have a weave with knots to a warp and weft like handmade rugs. As such they have to be glued in place, usually with a backing of some material. As in the picture you can clearly see there is a fabric hessian backing. This is the easiest way to tell if you have a genuine handmade rug or a machine one.