Runner Rugs: Everything you should know

Runner rugs serve for different purposes, but in general they need to endure a lot of stress. This type of long rug is likely to be found in highly frequented entrance ways, hallways or kitchen areas. All of those rooms pose high requirements on the robustness and resilience of a runner rug. One might not expect that handknotted oriental rugs are a great choice for this use. Thanks to being knotted by hand densly, these rugs are resilient againt dirt particles. At the same time oriental runner rugs are made of sheep wool, which has natural grease and is able to withstand liquids. 

Variations of runner rugs

Over centuries oriental runner rugs evolved from nearly all important rug regions in the orient. In the very beginning these rugs were woven by nomads who used them as bed linen, for their tents or even for camels. In this early stage rugs were rather woven than knotted and come close to today's kilims. Kilim runners are popular again todays thanks to their geometricals patterns and their colorful designs. Additionally, this kind of woven rug has a big functional advantage: the rugs can be layed out from both sides. Thus, in case of a severe stain the kilim can simply be turned around and looks like new. Moreover, kilims are normally very flat so that they even fit under opened doors.

Beautiful oriental runner rugs

Nowadays, runner rugs come from all different regions. There are for example Persian runner rugs, which come in typical designs depending on their region of origin. This type is definitely the most luxurious one, since Persian rugs are densily knotted and consist only of natural materials including organic dyes. At the same time these rugs are highly robust thanks to their sophisticated knotting technique and to high-quality wool. Especially nomad runner rugs are highly popular because of their contemporary design patterns and their high value for money. There are also more inexpensive variants of oriental runner rugs, such as Ziegler or Gabbeh rugs. The latter has also been knotted originally by nomads of old Persia. However, their design is much more clean and simple. 

What to keep in mind when choosing a runner rug?

There is a large variety of handmade runner rugs from all important regions. Additionally, machine made rugs are available. In the following you find criteria on how to decide on the ideal runner rug for your requirements.

First of all, it makes sense to decide on whether to go for a handmade or machine made rug. Handmade rugs come with certain advantages and disadvantages as compared to machine made rugs. They are generally more robust and have a longer lifetime. Even heavily used handmade oriental rugs are popular today due to having a beautiful vintage look. Futhermore, these rugs are almost always made of natural wool or silk. Wool is not only highly resilient against dirt and stains, it also neutralizes odors to a certain extend and regulates humidity. It is also perfectly suited for an underfloor heating. However, handmade wool runner rugs are naturally more expensive than industrial ones.

The way of how a rug runner is made and of what material it consists are two essential questions when it comes to quality, robustness, life-span and appearance. After all, it's a decision between quality that you can see on first glance and savings that will give you cheaper short-life rug.