Ksd51; I am glad that you clarified things for me, because when you said, "nubs sticking up", I thought you might have meant snags. Is your whole rug covered with pilling? When you see pilling, it is okay to cut it off, just cut off as little as possible. I want to say that your Bissell is too low, if it is set to bare floor. It also sounds like you have no padding under the rug. A decent thickness of padding will protect your rug, plus make vacuuming easier. Also, you should be able to set the height up alittle. If you say your rug is not thick, then it will feel more like a mat when walked on. If there was decent padding, there would be more "give" when walked on. No padding will also cause the rug to wear in higher traffic areas. A padding will allow the rug to lift slightly, when vacuumed, whereas the vacuum will most likely "stick" to the floor without a pad. I am wondering if you are experiencing the same thing. I have to wonder if your belt is slipping. The brushroll design of Bissell's uprights is very stiff. It does okay on thick carpeting, but may not do well on your rug, for DAILY vacuuming. Using a vacuum cleaner with a rotating brushroll is not a bad thing. Carpet weavers are going to stand on the side of caution, because there are going to be those who will damage their rugs. People are going to damage their rug's fringe most of the time. With this topic, I had to go look at mine, that are used as "runners" on top of the WTW carpeting in the hall. I have had the "runners" for over 20+ years and not worn at all. Even the fringe in intact. I always use aggressive brushed vacuum cleaners on them. An oriental rug does not have to be vacuumed using as many backward and forward strokes compared to regular Wall-to-Wall(WTW). One set-up for you would be to keep the Bissell and use it once a week for thorough cleaning of the rug and purchase a suction-only canister for inbetween. I want to say that just using a suction-only vacuum all of the time is not going to thoroughly clean you rug. You could purchase a $60 small canister for the rug, plus use it for other light jobs and keep the Bissell for once a week on the oriental rug and and daily on other carpeting. I would really like to hear about your rug and padding set-up.

I don't care for the look at all, as it seems garish in most of the photos I've seen. But I've no doubt even that would be an improvement over the color schemes of many oriental rugs I've seen. IMO the biggest problem with anything handmade like rugs or quilts is that while a craftsperson may have exceptional skill he or she often either just uses what fabrics or colors are available without the slightest view to producing a pleasing and harmonious rug or quilt. In fact, I think most quilts are actually ugly, simply because the components were not chosen with any eye for color or pattern. And I have worn out my arms searching through stacks of oriental rugs looking at the most awful color combinations, wishing that somehow the word could make it back to the weavers that their color choices are poor.

I'm sure by now the OP has already bought a rug, but I thought I'd add my own experiences. >>I want to buy a rug that's going to wear well and look great for the next 20-30 years at least.>> ANY good rug, whether machine-made or hand-made, will last you that long and more, with minimal care. Most people don't take care of their rugs properly, leading to premature wear. 1) Rug pads matter. Despite what flooring mfgs warn you, the new good quality latex rug pads are just fine with any flooring. I have HW floors, LVT, and sheet vinyl flooring. None have ever been damaged by rug pads (cheap ones, a different story!). I recently pulled up a Karastan Bokhara and rug pad that had lain untouched for 25 yrs and the flooring was fine, no problems. A good rug pad helps extend the life of your rug. That machine-made wool Karastan, btw, is still in flawless shape. I bought it in 1973 and it has always been used in high-traffic areas. 2) Vacuum regularly. Every once in a while, especially in a high-dirt area, lift the rug up and vacuum the backside of it. Dirt is the enemy of floors and rugs, as it grinds like sandpaper under the weight of people's feet. 3) Once in a while, take the rug out to be cleaned. Anything over 3x4 is not a DIY job. Especially if it's a wool rug, unless you enjoy a smell like wet dogs for days on end while it dries, LOL. 4) Fading is an issue with many hand-made rugs. They tend to be made with natural dyes. If you are putting a rug in a high-UV environment, you should consider whether a machine-made, high quality rug might be better suited. There are rug damages than can be fixed, but fading is permanent. We have a wide mix of rugs (actually, more rugs than we have rooms in our house, sadly). Most are hand-made Chinese. We like the patterns and colors more, in general. Most are wool, two are silk. We also have several smaller-sized repros (like the Karastan) of classic Orientals, purchased for specific color/room matching. Some of those repros are wool, but most are synthetics. All very tight, plush weave. All still in original condition, no stains, after 10-20 yrs. Note that I do not expect any viscose (rayon) rugs to last as long. Rayon has a wonderful "hand" similar to silk, but it has very poor abrasion resistance, unlike wool or poly synthetics. That's why it's generally the least costly, when comparing similar sizes/patterns across rug types. Treat your rugs well, and 20 yrs should be no problem at all. A good wool rug, machine- or hand-made, can outlive its owners. That's why so many rugs end up at estate sales.

Loobab, Thank you :)I am glad you like it. My husband and I were watching a young lady making one similar to this, and we just couldn’t leave without buying one. I love the idea about posting a thread when I am all settled and everything is out of the box, but I am not sure. I am quite a private person and don’t feel too comfortable posting photos of my home on public forums (I do admire and I am very grateful to those who do). But I will consider it, though :)) Ingrid, thank you for clarifying it for us. I would have been very surprised and sad if that had been the case. I really appreciate your candor :)