o ntents (O N E : YOUR MAGIC CARPET T VV O : THE FAB ULOUS RUC S OF PERSIA Thei r hi s tor arnous collecti ons t es m oti s y, f , yp , f , weaves and dyes T H R E E : THE OTHER ORIENTALS India Tur e The Caucas us Tur es tan , k y, , k , Sam ar and Chi na k , F O CHR FROM EUROPEAN LOOMS S ai n E n land Fran ce Central E uro e p , g , , p , N orth A ri ca N orthern E uro e f , p F I V E : AMERICAN HERITAGE Indian V er earl Am eri can Hoo ed E m , y y , k , broidered or Needle oi nt Ru s Am eri can p g , ’ S I X : IN TODAY S MARKETS Anti ues Re roducti ons o Hi s t ori c St les q , p f y , S E V E N : OUT OF THE FOG Techni cali ti es Car et and u Sizes Trade , p R g , nam es Weav es Manu acture , , f E I G H T: THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS N I N E : B UY THE B EST YOU CAN AFFORD 1 04 Q uality and Pri ce YOUR INDISPENSAB LE YARDSTIC K 1 1 1 l m l Co or, For , Sca e and Texture E L E V E N : FASHION IS FLEETING T W E L V E : GUIDEPOSTS FOR YOUR OWN PROB LEMS T H I R T E E N : YOUR PROB LEMS ROOM “ BY ROOM 1 3 1 Halls and Stai rs Li vi n room s Li brari es , g , , D i ni n room s Sitt i n room s B edroom s Chi l g , g , , room s and la room s , P y F O U R- T E E N : NOW YOU GO SHOPPING F I F T E E N : GOOD GROOMING Sheddi n Shadi n Re ular Cleani n S eci al g, g, g g, p Cleani n S ots o All V ari eti es Re ai rs Re g, p f , p , B IB LIOGRAPHY INDEX ai t o 9 fiflu tvation g s f 5 5 SP IECE ( C ourtesy Lord Taylor) FACIN G n r n ru Fragme t of a Persian ga de g . r S ection Of the famou s Ardebil C a pet . ” x n - n ur r n Si tee th ce t y Pe sian a imal ru g . n l ru Fi e O d Kirman g with elaborate borders . ru C au casian g of the Kabistan type . - n r r Eighth ce tu y Tu kish prayer ru g . n n - n u Seve tee th ce tury T rkish Oushak . ’ h n - r n Eig tee th centu y C hi ese camel s hair ru g . fi n i - Section of e antique Tekk Turkoman rug . - n Nineteen th cen tury Aubu sso rug . Small Swedish ru g . — n r Large Savon e ie rug . Moquette carpet at Mount Vernon . i r Section of an Engl sh needlewo k rug . n r Part of the C aswell eedlework ca pet . r An elabo ate floral hooked rug . u Typical geometric hooked r gs . n An a tique Navajo rug from New Mexico . L is t of Illus trati ons n IX Six carpets Of interesti g new texture . A modern Navajo rug i n subtle shades . C on temporary Swedish ru g . “ ” A present day Persian Keshan . a A modern flor l . Two floral Axminster carpets . B etween Pages - — Two styles of custom made chenille . 9 8 9 9 - B asic machine made carpet weaves . B oldly patterned Oriental in a mod ern room . Machin e - made Axminster of Directoi re design . ’ r Old ca pets from the B igelow Weavers collec tion . n Modern Axmi ster ru g . x n f x A mi ster broadl oom O simulated te ture. r n - n Flo al Axmi ster in an eighteenth ce tury room . Frieze broadloom carpet . n Fi e Oriental rugs in a country hou se. - Austrian hand t ufted carpet . Broadloom carpet with varying heights of looped pile . XVIII Large braided ru g on bedroom floor. - - Wall to wall flat woven cotton carpet . 1 3 0— 1 3 1 Modern floral ru g of tufted design . Reversible ru g of multi colored yarn - Han d made provincial ru g . Hooked rugs with traditional maple J QN O Q IeO m ent Q XC g S d a a e indirectly, in l rge w ys and small, many p ople i 0 make this book inform ative and authent c . l ow e l i an d i u W avers , who , both co lect vely ndivid d wa . in every y , a very great debt mk s : , too , to ohawk C arpet Mi lls it chogue Plym outh Mi lls lt n if C . n F el B . A m a o a d T. e ey of " W S h r . i f . l a n G . c e e o I o ne aber a d A . fl f S f Wr Ma e h R . H c i f C . ig t of . y 0 k r Ru B ar er B os . n C . fi of ’ 8 B u e e r of R . rg r Torb rt , forme ly H Macy s sales now Vocati onal Train in g Director of the San Diego B n a e e . a . le t critical y , and Mrs M ry L randt, x r u . e pert , helped to gathe the ill strations am and Mary Dorr helped enormou sly with th e in g and typing . R r Mu ation to ichard C . B ach of the Met opolitan 1' C r ) u an d . his genero sly given time , to Mrs o nelia L A 12 a m " fl A A w w n u l -I fl ifli l Information about oorcov eri ngs is d cu t to unearth . Your “ ” laudable ambition to be an intelligent consumer may have ’ u e ou u fi nd com rehen been thwarted beca s y co ldn t a simple , p n u n u u a . sive, nontech ical p blicatio abo t r gs and c rpets u This book is for the homemaker, the salesman , the st dent . It is written from my femin i n e viewpoin t as a homemaker and u but r n —fi v e re ho sekeeper, it ests solidly on the twe ty years of ’ r an d x r u an sea ch, knowledge e pe ience which is my h sb d s . Its prirnary purpose is to help you to know somethin g about us u b u the fabrics you e on yo r floors and to y them wisely . NO has en h u attempt be made to be too highly technical, eit er abo t u n b ut e e their constr ctio or their design , we beli ve the complet u a and i s . pict re, both p st present, here C H A P T E R O N E 0 14 1? THAT ragged little throw r ug that whi sked its own er abou t the u r B ut r t are n ether was j st a fai y tale . ca pe s magic no etheless for they help to carry us toward th e realization Of an almost un iversal r u r r Ame ican dream . This dream is not the excl sive p ope ty Of - r - an d r n dewy eyed b ides . It is shared by middle aged me G a dma n . n u r u n an d Jo es It i cl des ga bage disposal its , soft deep chairs . r e . solar heating It is , in sho t, the dream of a perf ct home C are n ot un u or n u hances it is very large, iq e prete tio s , this r u Of ur but n d eam ho se yo s and mine , in addition to the applia ces and conven ien ces we Americans deman d today it has the Vi rtue n of bei g good to look at . M n i Of are c u es n b ut a y k nds tastes refle ted in these ho s we pla , of u r un an d the trend the cent ry is towa d so der simpler styles , n u s e Of greater freedom and imagi ation in the color, and the acquisition Of a real decorative an d practical knowledge about i the th ngs we are going to b uy . The r i n n r r Of n n disc iminat ng home pla er, ega dless i come, wa ts n u r n a house that is both comfortable a d beautif l . Floo coveri gs a u z n u play tremendo s role in reali i g that d al achievement , for “ ” they have greater furnishing power than any other sin gle item . x h r r in a room E cept for the walls , t ey are by far the la gest a ea , and the decades when the floor was made as inconspicuou s 3 The Rug and Carpet B — “ as possible that unmourned taupe er Today a large part of th e character an d th derive from e carpet or rug you choose .