Question for My3dogs - about your rugs ...

15 years ago

You have the most gorgeous rugs throughout your home! I've just gone back to one of your original posts where you first showed us your lovely house, and once again practically salivated all over my keyboard! I'm especially drawn to your rug choices, as I have something of a "rug fetish" myself. I also have an elderly cat who has managed to ruin several rugs for me, but now that she is sequestered in her own room and only allowed to roam the house under strict supervision, I'm giving thought to maybe buying rugs again. I just love 'em. I just love yours! I gather that most of your rugs have come from eBay -- is that correct? Do you have a favorite seller that you deal with? I've searched eBay for rugs in the past, but really don't know what I'm looking for, and have ended up getting a bit frustrated at the many rugs and price/shipping variances that I've found. How do you know what to look for? Can you give any insight to others such as myself who would also like to find decent deals on gorgeous rugs like yours, but don't really know what we're doing?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

My3dogs ME zone 5A
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi, auntjen!

Actually, only 2 Karastans, one in my office and the one in the LR, and the Woven Treasures Couristan in the DR are from eBay. I bought the others locally.

I stick to a brand I know - mostly Karastan. I ask LOTS of questions beforehand, if the rug is from someone without a lot of info in their auction, and not many pictures. I'll ask for extra pics, too.

I 'met' a Karastan dealer from PA last year when he auctioned Karastan rug that I had been dying to see, but they were not available in my area yet. (Shapura Athena) Come to find out, the one he had, and I bought, was an early 'mill trial' - one of a test run. He assured me that I could return it if I didn't like it, but it was perfect, and I saved a LOT of money. I ordered another of that style from his bricks and mortar store, because Karastan told him to stop selling on eBay or they wouldn't supply him any for his store! I think that is why ones you see now are often 2nd hand (no prob with that!) or from a model home.

I often check Craigslist for them, too, and not just in my area. I sold two Karastans last year when I bought the new ones, and one went to VA and one to AR! The buyers paid for me to ship them to them. I'd do the same if it was one I really wanted.

I buy all wool, but that's just me. The Couristan was one of those rare flukes, when I hadn't seen the rug before, but the seller had ONE, and it looked like it would go with my DR wallpaper. PURE LUCK...and I paid a bit over $400 for it, brand new, where Macy's has it 'on sale' right now for $1699.

You may be looking for hand-woven, but I have never bought one... I don't dare to, unless the seller has wonderful feedback and a lot of it. You never know if it's one of a container purchased from who know where, and many of them, especially the ones where the shipping costs more than the rug, may have colors run if it gets wet. I stick to the brands that I know, and am sometimes able to see locally for true color before buying.

I have no favorite seller, and I would gladly buy from an individual or a 'store' on eBay, if it was one of the two brands above.

I just go to eBay OFTEN, and search Karastan or Couristan and see what's there. I see a Karastan 'English Manor Stratford' out there right now in 'my' colors, with a $699 Buy It Now price. I ALWAYS check online stores before bidding or buying to see if the deal is good. In this case, the first online store I saw has it for $999, so that is a nice price on eBay. BUT, I just checked another online site (Abington) and they have it for $749.99, so the eBay price isn't wonderful.

I will stoop to asking a seller if they can do better, if the rug doesn't sell in their auction after being listed a few times. If yes, I arrange to do a Buy It Now thru eBay.

All that flies out the window, though, if it's one I want badly, like the Persian Treasures in my LR, because it's not made anymore. I paid $460 for it (phenomenal!) after it didn't sell in the auction, and offered him less. I sound awfully cheap, but I am professional and courteous in my dealings with the sellers, and it has paid off for me.

I hope it does for YOU, too!
User
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you so much for telling me how you go about it! You certainly have gotten some wonderful deals, but even more importantly you have beautiful works of art for your floors that you no doubt love living with day after day. I've really only got one really nice rug - a beautiful handwoven wool in shades of terra cotta and sagey green. My ex and I bought it at a local store after I had pined over it for about a year. When he and I split up, you can bet that's one of the items that was at the top of the list of things I wanted in the divorce! ;-) Over the years, my pets have clawed it here and there and it's definitely showing wear, but I still love it and I don't think I'll ever part with it.

I'm definitely going to keep my eyes out and start looking around, to see what's out there. Since I'm not exactly swimming in excess funds, I'd absolutely have to find bargains - but hey, maybe they're out there for me too! Like I said, I don't know a lot about rugs (how they're made, etc.), so I'm not a rug "snob" by any means -- but when I see rugs that are just so lovely (like yours), my heart goes pitter-patter!
Related Discussions
My3dogs ? About your H&M sofa
Q
Comments (3)
Hi! It's not me who has the Tuxedo sofa. Mine is the Kent Chesterfield and I got it from Craigslist. This is the best pic I have of it, taken just after the eBay coffee table arrived. The two chairs that I have in there were bought for a sofa that is now in my basement; (shown in the second pic below) one is leather and the other is a Dan Carithers by Sherrill. What ties everything together IMO in the room is the rug, since the H&M sofa was an unplanned purchase that I just HAD to have. This is embarrassing, but the best pic I have of the leather chair. The pic will be 5 years old this Thursday! The other chair is impossible to photograph and have the colors come through but it's a tiny woven grayish blue and tan check which is perfect with the lighter blues in the rug. Many changes have been made since this pic was taken. Oops - just found this attempt of trying to capture the chair colors correctly. It didn't happen.
...See More
My3dog, question about different size windows
Q
Comments (4)
Hi, Bru, Could you please post pictures of both windows? The windows in my house that have shutters, dining room and upstairs bath, have them either half-way up (DR) or 3/4 of the way up (bath). In each case, the shutter tops align with the muntins in the windows. The windows in my house are '6 over 1' (6 panes on the top over one on the bottom). I'm not a shutter expert, but I would also want each sized window in proportion with each other. This is an awful picture of one of my DR windows. If this helps at all, the over all window length, from top to bottom of trim is 64". The height of the shutter is 20", and the shutter comes up to the mid-point of the glass. The WT hangs down 22" in the center, not including the tassels. I hung the rod 2" out to the side from the upper window trim and 2" above it. I didn't use any formula to determine how far down I wanted the valance to hang, but mine generally hang down to the center of the glass in the upper window. You can barely see the horizontal muntin in the picture, but note how the bottom of the valance is pretty much in line with it, excluding the tssels. If your windows have muntins, that may be your clue as to what size shutters you want and how far down to let the valance center hang.
...See More
My3dogs I need your help!!
Q
Comments (10)
Well, I have gone to every Tuesday Morning store in the New Orleans/Baton Rouge area (about 12 different stores), and I DID find the mocha/ivory rug that My3dogs has, but it was only a 3x5! It seems like every store had at least one or two of the Couristan Woven Treasures rugs in various sizes (ivory ones, green ones, pink ones, red ones). I still have the sort of golden/tan one in the 8x10 size in my living room, and I also bought a sort of crimson/fire orange colored one in a 7x10 size that is just absolutely gorgeous. It has sort of an Aztec-looking pattern with what looks like birds and vases with flowers. I almost think I like it the best of all of the ones I've seen, but I don't know if all that red works in my house. I may bring in back, but I just had to try it at home. I tried using Tuesday Morning's product locator phone number and entered the numbers that my3 was so gracious to get for me, but their system doesn't seem to work too well. I haven't been successful getting an actual person there to help me, either. It looks like this weekend I might take a trip to the couple of stores on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to see if I can find the mocha rug in the 8x10, but if I don't find it there, I may just have to settle for the tan version. If anyone happens to find this rug in a Tuesday Morning where you live, I would be happy to reimburse you for the rug, pay for the shipping and even throw in a little extra for your effort! I know that's a big favor to ask, but there seems to be so many helpful people here. Well, wish me luck! I WANT THAT RUG!!!!
...See More
calling my3dogs - - - question re: your barley twist lamps
Q
Comments (3)
Hi tina, Mine are 9 3/4" tall, and I got a fabulous price on them compared to most I see out there. You're right - they are pricey. I have a local lighting store that has an incredible array of parts. I go crazy in their back room choosing parts I want for each project! I bought two 12" ivory candlestick covers. Just a longer version of what you'd put on chandelier lamps. They're just plastic. I also bought 2 rubber 'things' with a hole in the center. I guess they are normally used when one wants to make a lamp out of a bottle or jug. They go in the neck of the bottle, but in this case, I shaved them down with a sharp knife and put them in the candlestick, where the candle would normally go. They are about 1" tall. I also bought 2 chandelier bulb sockets. I didn't want to damage the candlesticks by drilling them, so I elected to use an 'inline switch' that you'll see in the photo below. I put the rubber thing in the candlestick and slid the candle cover over it. I noted where the rubber thing came up inside the candle cover. Then, I took the candle cover off, and punched a small hole in it with a paper punch, just above where the rubber thing would be. That hole is where I slid the wire up through to the socket. I wired the socket and glued it into the top of the candle cover. You may need to use tape to hold it in place while it dries. I then attached the plug to the end of the wire. I put the bulb in to check my wiring, and plugged the lamp in. It worked, so then I took the inline switch and decided where to put it, so it would be hidden by the candlestick when done. The first inline switch was a little funky, but the second one went on in a breeze. Just follow the directions for using one. IF you don't mind plugging the lamp in each time to turn them on, you can omit the inline switch, and just plug and unplug them. My outlet is behind a chair and that would be awkward, so I just put the switches on. Making a lamp yourself means that you can make the cord as long as it needs to be to plug it in wherever. I usually use the clear gold tones lamp wire, as it blends in with my mantle. So now, you have a working lamp with an inline switch to turn it on. Look VERY closely at the photo below, and you will see that I used some brown covered floral wire to wrap around the candlestick, and then twisted it together, to hold the wire and switch tight to the candlestick. You have to be right on top of that thing to see the wire. Then I headed to eBay and found some shades, and that was it! I am making some now out of brass candlesticks, to try with my new/old CL mirror. But for those, I am using the 'fiber' candle covers with realistic looking drips on them. I just took a pic of that one underway so you can see the rubber thing. It starts out ribbed, but I have shaved this one down to fit the candle holder. What it will look like done, with a sample eBay shade on it.
...See More

Question for My3dogs - about your rugs ...

Comments (2)

My3dogs ME zone 5A

User
Original Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Question for My3dogs - about your rugs ...

Comments (2)

My3dogs ME zone 5A

UserOriginal Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

User
Original Author