Every once in a while, I would come across a carpet, very cheap, that I really liked. This is one of them. It is made of cotton and is woven. I loved the colors and figured I would always have a little hallway for it. Or the laundry room! And cleaning it is so easy! I've already cleaned it. I put it in the bathtub with a little Woolite and cold water. I then stood in the tub, marching back and forth to create the agitation. And voila! It was clean. I put it in the dryer (yes...the dryer!) on air only and it came out looking like new. This is the kind of rug that could go near the front door to 'collect' the dirt from shoes.
I may take a lesson from family and friends in Hawaii who remove their shoes when entering homes. That way, my friends can feel the luxury of the carpets on their feet and not deposit the dirt from their shoes!
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| #19 |
While in Lahore, Pakistan, several of us visited the Lahore Carpet Manufacturing Co. This place was amazing...and huge. I learned so much about carpet making! I wrote extensively about it on my blog, www.atexgal.blogspot.com. Search on the right hand side for the blog archive and go to August 2012 for "Hand Knotted Carpets 101." Very interesting!
After our tour, we went into his showroom and had the opportunity to buy what we wanted for a very nice discount. This place was about half the size of a football field...and I'm talking just the showroom! For at least an hour we all wandered around looking at all kinds of carpets. I settled on the one below. It's very detailed and I loved the part of the design that looked like snakes. Not sure why that appealed to me since I hate snakes. But...maybe in a rug, they don't look so bad. It is 6'x9' and on my invoice, the design is called Avari. It's hand knotted wool on cotton.
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| #17 |
Lahore, Pakistan was a really interesting place. There were so many places to see and fortunately I was there when we could get out and see some of the city. Lahore is the cultural center of Pakistan and even though it can be old, dirty and scary, it was also beautiful. One of the places that was beautiful was Shalimar Gardens. If you visited it at the right time in Spring, you might have seen a lovely place. However, it seems that it has lacked the attention it so deserves.
This small 3'x5' rug is called Shalimar. The design mirrors the garden. It is divided into quarters, just like the garden. I love the reds, grays and blues in it and it will always remember my trips to Shalimar.
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| #14 |
Today I broke down and bought another beautiful rug. This is a Tabriz Mahi. The name Mahi refers to the design which many times will resemble fish scales. I loved the richness of the browns in this rug.
This just has to be the last one I buy. I think it is #27.
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| #25 |
