Rug manufacture: Evolution

The important floorcovering styles of the whole world, of almost every time and every country, are available to us today. A precious few are antiques "of the period," some are exact hand­made replicas of the originals, by far the greatest number are machine-made reproductions and adaptations.

Added to these historic styles are the myriad new textures and designs developed in our own time. Because fabrics are not as durable as furniture, there are far fewer antique draperies and floorcoverings than there are chairs, beds and tables.

Wood gets more and more beautiful with age and use.

Woven fabrics do too— up to a point. But if they have been put to normal use over a period of years, they wear out and fall apart, and must be replaced with reproductions.

For this reason, it is "correct" from the decorating point of view to use reproductions of period floorcoverings with genuine old furniture.

It is also correct to use modern weaves and designs as long as they are in keeping with the spirit of the decorative scheme.