What Is a Rug?

A rug is a piece of thick textile that covers part of the floor, adding comfort, warmth, and decor to a room. It can be woven or tufted, and it may be either hard or soft. Its design can be all over, a field composition, or a simple panel arrangement. It can be made with a single color or multiple colors, and its border is often decorated in an ogee, a shape that became popular in Middle Eastern carpets during the Shah ‘Abbas period. Its other typical border decoration is a series of inner and outer guard stripes, which are subordinate bands on either side of the main band.

Besides being a decorative element, a rug adds insulation to a room and provides a comfortable surface for sitting and walking. It also traps dust and allergens that are stirred up by foot traffic, and it improves indoor air quality. Rugs can be a great addition to any room, but they are particularly useful in the living room, bedroom, hallway, and dining area.

Rugs are sometimes mistakenly called carpets, and it’s possible that both terms have some ambiguity or room for variation in definition. However, rugs are free-floating and generally don’t cover the whole floor area like carpeting that is installed as broadloom and runs wall-to-wall. Also, rugs are usually handmade by expert craftspeople from natural fibers (such as wool, cotton, hemp, jute, and silk). Broadloom carpeting is mass-produced, which makes it difficult to distinguish from a handcrafted rug.