Area Rugs vs Carpet

Wow, what a confusing industry I work for. I suppose that most industries have their confusing parts. The thing I hear most often is the interchanging of the terms “Rug” and “Carpet”. Surprisingly, there is a difference and hopefully I’ll be able to explain this difference to you. Then you too can sound like an educated rug person.

Rugs have been around a lot longer than carpet. Persians, Asians and practically every other ancient culture used rugs to help insulate and beautify their homes, tents, castles, etc. They were hand woven from natural materials (usually wool) and quite often had religious significance. Rugs could be made in various sizes from small prayer sizes to large room sizes, but they were always just loose laid into a room. Because they were so often used to decorate a room rugs also had a lot of pattern and color to them.

Carpet on the other hand is generally a termed used to refer to wall-to-wall flooring. While it may be patterned and with many colors, generally it is more of a solid color and is stretched over a cushion to create a primary flooring. Carpet was originally a woven product produced in 27” wide widths. In the middle of the 20th century, 12 foot wide (or broadloom) carpet began to appear making it easier to install with many fewer seams. Carpet is not often looked upon as an accent in a room, but rather a base to other decorative items.

These days, people will buy area rugs to put over carpet creating a layered look and using the rug as an accent or decorative piece. If you choose to put your rug over carpet (as opposed to hardwood or ceramic) you will need a pad that is specifically made for this purpose. There are primarily two kinds of carpet pad. One is for rugs that are going over hard surfaces and the other is for area rugs going over carpet. If you have questions which pad to use, as always, our Customer Care department is always willing and able to help you make the correct choice.

So, there you have it, a wee bit of clarification on the difference between the terms “rug” and “carpet”. You now can consider yourself a bit more informed on some of the basic flooring terms. Just remember, that basically, it boils down to this. Carpet is installed wall-to-wall over a cushion and quite often is used for a base for the decorative items in a room. Rugs are individual pieces and are often the accessory that adds color, pattern and texture to your room.

Feel free to stop by the Rugs to My Door site and browse through our large selection of beautiful area rugs and start adding color, pattern and texture to your rooms, it’ll make a difference I promise you.