Repurposed Heirloom Rug
By Jane T ~ November 8th, 2009. Filed under: Passion for Rugs.
Those of you who visit here often know I post a lot about rugs. I guess they are “in my blood,” as the saying goes, because my family has been in the rug business for more than a century.
My grandfather (seated) and his brother, in a 1915 photo.
When I’m not wearing my Atticmag blogger hat, I am running my Oriental rug business, the one my grandfather [above] started and, I’m proud to say, in the exact same location where he began nearly 90 years ago after emigrating from Armenia. While we do have an occasional rug for sale, the true focus of my business is cleaning and restoration. My real love for antique rugs is preserving those in states of disrepair. Handmade rugs are rich in history not only because of where they were made, but often because of the people who have owned them.
One of the most rewarding repairs I made was to a rug that had been in a family for 4 generations [below]. It was in such poor shape that the only way to save it was to cut out the bad portion and reconfigure the rug.
Before: Original measurement 7′ x 14′ with wear and holes running down the center and at the bottom of the rug.
I removed four feet — almost the entire center section of the rug – leaving the two side border panels plus one foot of pattern from the center still in good condition. Then I stitched those pieces together to create a “new” 3 foot wide runner.
After: The end result, a 3′ x 14′ runner in excellent shape that has found a new home in the owner’s hallway.
I always strive to make repairs that are as least noticeable as possible. I was lucky this rug had such wonderful borders and patterns to work with. Not all rugs warrant investing money for such a drastic repair, but this one had been owned by a prominent local family and its history and more importantly, its sentimental attachment was immeasurable.
Read the full story here.
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November 8th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Wow. Did you save the part of the rug that you cut out?
November 8th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
What a wonderful story. It must be thrilling to work on something like this!
November 8th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
What a beautiful rug and how amazing that you have this family business that has been around for generations. Great way to save this rug and it gets a new life.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Oh my gosh, how do you make that first cut, Jane? There are several projects that come to mind where I had to get some serious nerve up to take that first step, but geesh I don’t know if I could handle doing what you do.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:17 am
What you have done is amazing and very creative. Working with just the good parts left of the rug. I always admire a beautiful rug and your after rug has been cleaned up to a new brilliance.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Amazing transformation! Enjoyed reading about your family, as well as the Bowles family.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Wonderful idea! It is always a shame to see rugs with issues being discarded.
love, kelee stop by!
November 9th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Wow, I didn’t know this was possible! What a wonderful tradition your grandfather has started, and you continue. And in the very same spot. You’ve taught me something I didn’t know.
Brenda
November 9th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Jane T is such an amazing artist who sees things in rugs that aren’t apparent to most people. She is deeply knowledgeable about how much can be done with fine rugs and what the old-school “rights and wrongs” of restoration can and should be. Her advise and opinions are always rock solid.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
This post just blows me away. How very thrifty and what a wonderful, creative solution for preserving a family heirloom. I would have never dreamed this could be done.
Thanks for sharing with us!
November 10th, 2009 at 2:02 am
Thanks so much for all the nice comments.
Jane F. is definitely biased
This project was by far one of my most memorable.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Wow, that is a great transformation. So wonderful that you have the family history and expertise to be able to save this beautiful rug. I would have been terrified to make that first cut. I guess you would have to have your expertise to have the confidence to do this – as well as your creative artistic talent!
Christi @ A Southern Life