We live among and walk on carpets every day. But how much do we really know about their history and where they came from? Though it might seem like rugs were a natural afterthought for most civilizations, it actually took quite a while for home carpets to become standard in most dwellings. Before that, we had painted wood floors, bare tiles, and even sand designs on the floor as a stand-in for decorative floor coverings. While those options didn’t necessitate a few visits to Meridian Chem-Dry each year for carpet maintenance, they’re a far cry from what we consider to be the standard for modern homes. Here are a few facts you probably didn’t know about your carpet’s origins.
One of the biggest 17th-century innovations was the discovery of ingrain carpeting. Before the industrial revolution took hold, rugs were painstakingly hand-crafted and took a long time to produce. With the introduction of loom-made ingrain carpets, new, beautifully-detailed rugs could now have a place in every home. Or at least, every household that could afford it. Since loom work still took a good amount of time and materials were expensive, these detailed rugs, featuring floral patterns and narrative scenes, had their place in the households of the rich, the landed gentry, and anyone who could afford such an extravagance. Later on, in the 19th century, poorer families were able to buy craft rugs due to the proliferance of mass-produced carpets.
Today, we’re well aware of what a beautiful touch any classic Oriental rug can add to a home. Back in the day, however, these richly embroidered rugs were called simply “Turkey” rugs because of their origin and were thought to be too fancy for everyday use. Instead, homeowners draped them across tables and countertops as fancy tablecloths for entertaining guests. Today, we think nothing of walking across these gorgeous rugs each and every day. In the past, however, when the idea of Oriental rugs was new to European populations, they were expensive and only rolled out for big occasions.
Rags To Rugs
In the 1850s, the industrial revolution was just getting started. That meant that mass-produced rugs were a long way from being the standard in every home. Instead, the popular “rag” rug became the fashion, a rug made from literal scraps of cloth rolled together to create a bumpy yet colorful padding for high-traffic areas like the kitchen and bathroom. These rugs were made available due to the abundance of scraps from textile factories. If you were poor and couldn’t afford a normal rug, this was a great option.
Later on, in the 19th century, the modern rug we know and love today was on its way to becoming mass-produced and affordable for everyone. Before that, however, “hooked” rugs were the thing, painstakingly crafted out of jute and other affordable materials to create beautifully embroidered scenes. Like the needlepoint work we see from that time, these rugs often portrayed a pastoral or home scene and a sentiment such as “home is where the heart is.”