The right rug can transform a room. It can ground or define a space, add an element of style, or help a look feel finished. And like most things, rugs come at a variety of price points. You’ll find high-end and designer area rugs along with affordable options for smaller budgets. Understanding what affects the price of an area rug will help make shopping for one a little easier. We’re breaking down the main factors below.
Luxury Rugs
There are three main elements that affect the price of an area rug: materials, size, and how it’s made. Here’s how those factors come together in luxury area rugs.
High-end Materials
Luxury area rugs are typically made of silk or wool. Silk is soft to the touch and brings a distinctive luster that can’t be replicated. Produced by silkworms, this natural material takes time to harvest and process. That drives up the price, but many people find it’s worth the cost. Silk rugs are carefully crafted, and the end result is really a work of art.
Wool is another natural material used in high-end rugs. It’s very durable and often combined with silk to add resilience. Wool can also be used on its own. It’s easy to care for and even flame resistant.
Labor-intensive Manufacturing
A lot of work goes into beautifully designed, high-end rugs. These pieces are typically hand-knotted, which means artisans knot the rugs on a loom in a process that takes a great deal of skill and time. True luxury rugs have a high knot density (measured in knots per square inch or KPSI) and often feature intricate designs. Both of these factors add to the complexity and overall cost.
Larger Sizes
If you’re covering a large floor area, you can generally expect to pay more. Bigger rugs require more materials and more work, upping the cost of the end product. But remember, the larger the rug, the bigger the impact on the room, too. That means it may be worth it to invest in a higher-quality, show-stopping piece.
Affordable Area Rugs
If you’re sticking to a limited budget or decorating a space you don’t plan to live in for long, you might be looking for a cheaper area rug. Luckily, you can find stylish rugs at every price point. Here’s how material, size, and manufacturing methods factor in when it comes to lower-priced rugs.
Less Expensive Materials
Affordable rugs use affordable materials. You’ll sometimes find wool in cheaper rugs, but synthetic materials are more common. These man-made fibers don’t have the same feel as natural wool and silk but are often quite durable and stylish.
Lower-budget rugs can also be made of things like sisal and jute. These organic materials lend a rustic or bohemian feel, though they don’t hold up to stains as well as other types of rugs and won’t last as long. However, if you like to switch out rugs for the seasons or just to change up your look, these materials offer a great, affordable option.
Manufacturing is Less Labor Intensive
When you introduce machinery, producing a rug becomes much faster and much cheaper. Machine-made rugs don’t have the one-of-a-kind feel of a hand-loomed rug, but they do come in a wide variety of beautiful styles.
As you’re shopping for rugs, you might come across the term “hand-tufted,” which is different from hand-looming. In this process, a technician uses a tufting gun to punch yarn into a canvas backing following a pattern. So a hand-tufted rug has a human element, but it’s less time-intensive than hand-looming and therefore less expensive.
Sizing
It’s probably no surprise that smaller rugs are cheaper, but you’ll always want to choose a rug that fits your space. After all, even if you buy a cheap rug that doesn’t quite fill the area – and you discard or replace it – you’ve actually wasted money.
If you do need a large area rug, opting for a flat-weave rug could help you stay on budget. These rugs are woven on a loom, and the process doesn’t take as long as hand-knotting or hand-tufting. That means flat-weave rugs tend to be inexpensive, even at larger sizes.
The Best Rug for You
From statement-making luxury rugs to budget-friendly options, the right rug can help finish out your room. Choose the size (our rug size guide can help) and design that fits your space best and ground your home in style.
