Area Rugs

     Especially true with synthetic animal rugs, not only do these rugs look very realistic but they can be actually quite affordable. 

     There are two types of animal rug patterns that are generally available - these are Animal Picture rugs and the Animal Skin rugs.

     Throughout history, without a doubt, there probably have been many examples of handmade rugs woven to show animal pictures in their pattern, probably as far back as Man has been creating "art".  In this tradition, modern rug manufacturers have been able to create some beautiful and quite realistic depictions of wild animals, in picture form, on machine-loomed, synthetic area rugs.  Commonly seen are beautiful pictures of lions, tigers, leopards, panthers and wolves shown on 6 x8 or 4 x 6 rug sizes.  Along with these, there are some very realistic depictions of dolphins, whales, bears, elephants and snakes which are currently being manufactured and are quite popular.  Usually these beautiful animal picture rugs are in natural or earth-tone colors of brown, tan and green, but in some cases the manufacturer will simply use black and white as the primary colors for the animal picture.

     Another type of animal rug that one will see gracing home interiors around the world is the "animal skin rug".  Of course, with real animal skin rugs, most people will generally think of the classic "real bear skin rug" or "real zebra skin rug".  In this case, one is really talking about an animal hide or fur that has been somehow harvested from a real animal after it has been killed.  As distasteful as it may seem to some individuals, the practice of using real animal skins and furs as rugs has been going on for a very, very long time and in some cases these can represent treasured trophies and collector's items of considerable value.   However, it is not required that these natural animal hide or fur rugs be of the exotic variety, but can also come from domesticated animals such as alpacas, sheep and even cows.  Consistent with most handmade or natural products in the world, "real" animal skin/fur rugs tend to be more expensive than the usual area rug one sees in the store.  Fortunately, for the average home owner, area rug manufacturers have designed and made available some beautiful animal skin reproductions, in some of the most popular patterns and rug sizes.  Some of these animal skin reproductions are manufactured of "wool" yarn, but a majority are manufactured from synthetic yarns, which tends to keep retail prices of these more affordable for the average buyer.          

     Another interesting aspect of decorating with animal rugs is the fact that one has the option of not using the animal print rug as a floor covering, but instead of using a beautiful animal rug as a "wall hanging".  As a matter of fact, it is not unusual when talking to someone who finds an animal rug that they "absolutely love and must buy" for them to state that they have "no intention of putting their beautiful new rug on the floor", but would do nothing less than hang it on that "perfect spot on their wall".   This kind of passion for a newly acquired animal print rug is particularly noticeable with someone who "falls in love" with a scenic animal picture rug, such as the one at the top of this page.  Not surprisingly, it is also usually the animal picture rugs that usually are the ones to be hung on a wall.

     One very easy method of hanging a lighter synthetic animal rug on a wall is to utilize wall-to-wall carpeting wooden "tack strips".  These wall-to-wall carpeting tack strips are the strips of wood with nails pointing out on one side and sharp tacks pointing out at an angle on the other side, that are nailed into a floor or sub-floor around the parameter of a room, under wall-to-wall carpet, to hold it in place.  (If you have ever watched the installation of wall-to-wall carpeting, you've seen the installer "tighten" the carpet to the wall and cut the carpet at the edge of the floor.  The tack strips are what is below carpet's edge that the installer is mounting the wall-to-wall carpet into along the edge of the room.)  These wall-to-wall carpet wooden tack strips are very inexpensive and can be purchase from most major hardware or home improvement stores.  Just go the store department that sells carpet installation supplies and ask for "wall-to-wall carpet installation wooden tack strips."  Then simply figure out where exactly you want the rug to hang on the wall and nail the tack strips into the wall, with the sharp tacks pointing up toward the ceiling, in the exact position where you want the top edge of the rug to be.   Keep in mind that the tack strips will be under the rug across the entire length of the top edge of the hanging rug, so you may want to make the tack strip a little shorter so the rug entirely covers the tack strip.  Now simply "hang" the rug with the back side of the rug grabbing the tacks of the tack strips along the top edge of the rug.  Of course, you'll also want to make sure the top edge of the rug is "level", so the rug looks straight.     

    We hope that this article was able to provide you with some useful information about animal rugs and how to decorate with them.  If you have any questions about animal rugs or area rugs in general, please feel free to call us, Toll Free at 1-888-360-RUGS, (which is 1-888-360-7847), between 10:00am and 10:00pm (Central Standard Time), any day of the week.   Our Customer Service representative will do his or her very best to answer all your questions in a friendly and understandable way.  At DesignerFloor Area Rugs, we are dedicated to providing you with the best possible customer service care when purchasing area rugs on the internet.