Reclaiming Vintage Rugs for Modern Interiors

 

Oh la la! Like many, I love new designs, bold colors and fresh thinking when it comes to home furnishings. But I also think it's really important, for a number of reasons, to invest in products that will last. Combine my passion for both longevity and modernity (that I'm sure many of you share), and BOOM! You've got our new collection of Reclaimed Vintage Turkish Rugs. 

 

A History of Refurbishing

For those versed in the rug industry, you're well aware that vintage products are valued and collected, or revamped to maintain their usefulness. At its most basic practice, vintage rugs are harvested for their wool to repair and reweave others.

More famously, in the last few years we've seen a trend of cutting vintage rugs into squares— both flatweaves and hand-knotted rugs — and piecing them together in a patchwork. Hand-made patchworks like ours then have a thick cloth backing applied to them to give them a durable, even foundation. 

After patchworking came overdyeing. This practice was to take patchworks and traditional rugs and apply a more monochromatic tone across the whole rug for a more consistent color field. This could be done by antiquing the rug with tea or dye, or by bleaching the original colors out and overdyeing with a wholly new color. Chroma dyes like magenta, teal, purple were favorites among the overdyed rugs.

A Fresh Perspective on Classic Designs

Now, we're thrilled to present a new perspective on modernizing vintage hand-knotted Turkish rugs: overdyeing with intrepid colors and carving along their lines to create three-dimensional motifs. These rugs add the drama and craftsmanship for which rugs have been sought after for centuries, with an exciting modern sensibility. AND they've given birth to a new era in a hand-made rug's long lifecycle. Include them in an already-bold color palette to add weight and comfort to a space, or introduce them to an understated area for a bolt of energy.

Heard enough? Take a look at our limited collection here.
To view our patchwork rugs, visit us at Urban Americana in Long Beach or contact us at concierge@floorplanrugs.com.

 

Beware The Impostors

Of course, this trend has led to many imitations that simply create new rugs to look as though they're refurbished rugs — but really they are tufted or machine-made replicas lacking the history or longevity of these reclaimed pieces. Although hand-made rugs are often mistaken as delicate, they're incredibly durable, far more durable than their modern-technique counterparts. (For more on the benefits of a hand-made rug, read our post on the actual cost of rugs.)

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