How to transform your space with Indoor Rugs
Bringing new life to your space can be as easy as adding an indoor rug or mat. Choosing the right rug is a really simple way of lifting a tired looking room without having to make any major changes….and it’s easy on the wallet!
A hall runner can set the tone for your home, inviting a visitor to make their way indoors and look forward to what more your interior might offer. If it’s infused with bright colours, it can also add warmth to an otherwise dark and uninviting entrance.
When it comes to decorating a room, an indoor rug is ideal for defining a space whether that be to nominate it as an area for a specific purpose, like seated activities in a classroom, or to help set the stage for furniture or art pieces that you want to feature.
A large rectangular or oval rug under a table can bring a sense of luxury and warmth as well as texture and depth, elevating a room that feels “flat”, and works particularly well for delineating a dining area in a large open-plan space.
Bedrooms are havens for relaxation and a well-chosen indoor rug can enhance that sense of restfulness and peace, particularly if it brings softness to a hard floor. There’s nothing like stepping out of bed onto a soft, sensuous rug!
The Benefits of using Natural Rugs
For those with sensitivities and allergies, there’s no question that natural fibres are a wise choice. Synthetic fabrics and materials are not only hard on the environment, they’re often manufactured and treated using toxic chemicals which can leach into waterways and off-gas into the atmosphere.
Jute on the other hand is not only 100% biodegradable and recyclable, it’s naturally durable and grows readily without harsh chemical treatments.
Pure cotton and wool are also biodegradable materials and once discarded will decompose relatively quickly, releasing valuable nutrients back into the earth. Our rugs use re-purposed cotton and wool off-cuts so have already eased the burden on mother earth and will do her no harm when they reach the end of their use and are scrapped.
Aside from these properties, like any indoor rug or mat, our rugs will not only warm and protect floors from heavy foot traffic and furniture marks, they also help to absorb sound so are ideal for kids’ rooms, classrooms and activity areas.
How Our Indoor Rugs are Made
The process of making our Chindi rugs begins with local families in small Indian villages who collect, clean and hand plait cotton off-cuts (called “chindi”) or jute into long ropes. This activity is undertaken by adults, young and old, who enjoy the flexibility of working close to or from the home, allowing them to care for their families around the hours that they choose to work.
The ropes are gathered up at the end of each day and taken to a community room for weighing from where they are collected for the factory. Here the rugs are stitched either by hand or machine, quality checked for stray fibres before they're prepared for shipping overseas.
The woven rugs are hand-loomed in the same facility which employs over 250 villagers across 12 villages and guarantees that no child labour is used under any circumstances. Employee wages ensure that the families are well fed and cared for, that the work is flexible and accommodating to their needs, and there is no shortage of opportunity when someone needs extra hours to pay an unexpected bill.
You can read more about the making of our rugs at this link
How to Maintain your Indoor Rug
Our stunning recycled Chindi and fabric rugs are made from a combination of cotton, jute, wool and chenille. These charming rugs are more delicate than their tougher plastic mat cousins and are designed for indoor use only.
Cleaning
Light vacuuming or spot-cleaning is the best approach when caring for these rugs. If you’re using soap, test it in a discreet area of the rug to ensure that there is no colour run or bleaching before applying it elsewhere. Being made from fabric and natural fibres, these mats should be dried flat to keep their shape.
We do not recommend putting any of these rugs in a washing machine. When spot cleaning, use only the amount of water needed to clean the area in need of care. Extensive water dousing will mean the rug needs a lot longer to dry which can lead to discolouration or mould in muggy environments.
For heavy soiling, commercial steam cleaning may be required.
NOTE: Being hand-woven or hand-tufted, you may experience some "sprouting" of small tufts of fabric after some use. This is where some loose tufts of fabric pop up or extend above the surface of the pile. This is a normal occurrence and not a manufacturing defect. Please ensure that there is not a rotor (or beater) bar on your vacuum cleaner which is set too low as this can cause irritation to the fibres and result in them coming loose. Any individual threads that have come loose can be simply cut even with the pile surface.
Use and storage
These mats are made of a blend of different dyed fabrics, so we cannot guarantee how colourfast the various components will be. Direct sunlight may affect the colour of the rugs, so we recommend using them in well-covered areas (protected from the elements) or indoors only. It's also advised that you rotate your rug occasionally to ensure that it ages evenly.
Our rope and fabric rugs are very sturdy, suited to regular use and comfortable for sitting or walking on. Equally, however, they are an eye-catching addition to room décor and colours will remain most vibrant if the rugs are not used in high traffic areas.
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