Hello all! I am new to this forum but I'm very grateful to have stumbled my way here!
I was recently given 3 large area rugs as a gift from a friend who was moving across the country suddenly and couldn't take them with her. She was just going to throw them out (she was tossing most of the contents of her 3-car garage on the curb) but I said hey! please let me take them. She agreed, but warned me they were a little worn (she had a dog and 3 kids) and they needed cleaning or possibly professional reconditioning. I thought they were beautiful anyway, so I took them, but since then I have had no place to put them so... they've just been living rolled up in my garage. :(

The sad truth is, I just don't have room to put all these beautiful rugs inside my house; otherwise I would go to the expense of having them professionally cleaned and just use them myself (only, I'm not sure what to look for in a professional "oriental rug" cleaner? I figured I might ask a local rug dealer for referrals) .

Well, today I finally cleaned out the garage. I rolled out the rugs and took pictures.
As it is, I have decided to keep the smallest rug and sell the larger 2, but I have no idea what these rugs are worth-- I don't know their material, age, or origin, which is where you come in (hopefully). I just thought they were pretty and maybe worth preserving or selling.
Here are pics:

Rug 1:
-is approx. 9' x 11'
-pile has a very soft/silky/cushy hand
-is unfortunately quite stained in places (you can see the worst two spots in the center pattern) and I don't know what the stains are, but they definitely don't smell (like mildew or pet urine might) so I think it might just be shoe dirt or spilled tea or something
-is a bit crumpled from being rolled up
-the fringe is tattered and creased in weird ways, but mostly in tact/could probably be steamed back into place?

http://img.photobucket.c...ngyou123/rug1_whole.jpg
http://img.photobucket.c...ou123/rug1_closeup2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.c...ou123/rug1_closeup1.jpg

Rug 2:
-is also approx. 9'x11'
-pile feels coarser and is slightly shorter
-is a little faded and dirty, and a little crimped from being rolled up, but not terribly stained anywhere
-the areas that look "black" are actually not that stark- maybe more like a deep, deep gray. The whole thing has sort of a soft, muted look.
-the areas that look "white" or "cream" actually have kind of a weird pale pinkish hue that isn't apparent after photoshop color-correction (see the last pic for most accurate coloration)
-sadly, one whole edge of fringe looks torn off/chewed up as if all the tassels got eaten by a vacuum cleaner (or dog?) :( Can this ever be repaired?

http://img.photobucket.c...ngyou123/rug2_whole.jpg
http://img.photobucket.c...ou123/rug2_closeup1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.c...ou123/rug2_closeup2.jpg


Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated! If anyone wants close-ups or pictures of the backs I can take more photos.

Honestly I'm not expecting them to be worth a fortune, I mean, if these rugs have really seen better days and can't be repaired, I can accept that answer. But I also think they're both quite lovely and I hate to see a thing of beauty go to waste. If I sell them I'd like to at least know what a fair price range might be.
Thank you again in advance.

Sincerely,
Telperien

P.S. Is there a way to definitively tell what kind of fiber a rug is made out of? Other than sending it off to a crime lab for testing? ;)

Hello again, awesome to hear of your interest in and about these rugs. Both are machine made.

The first rug with ivory chocolate reminds me of the colors seen in natural dye tabriz rugs which used to come from iran in the early to mid 70's. But this is actually machine made piece. an easy way to tell for this particular carpet that it's machine made is by the way the creases show and the edging on the rug and the way the design translates too). See photos below. the crease breaches the pile in such a way that a machine made carpet would, a straighter line due to a stiffer construction. The binding on the edge also says this is a machine made. it's far too consistent, and looks to sit wide on the rug, rather than actually finishing the piece like a hand knotted rug. good to hear it has no odor. As for value, it's tough to say. I am not incredibly familiar with machine made rug values, but I do think this is wool, which will be in the advantage of selling it. If it's a name brand, this could help out on value. As for the spills, you may want to try the stain removal guide on the main site if you have an idea of what they may be. I think you may be able to sell this one on craigslist for a couple hundred.


second rug may be wilton. Just not sure. I'd have to see the back. Again, machine made. The design is good. I think you may be able to get more money for this one. I think it's a little older. You mention the colors are not too similar to the pics... sounds a bit dirty, that's usually the greyish you mentioned.

I would not spend money on fixing the fringe of either up. In fact, you may want to consider removing them if they're not name brand because tattered fringe for used machine made will work against value.

If either are name brand (if I come across anything I'll let you know) you will get better money for it on ebay if it's a wilton or other well recognized names. If you don't have a tag on the back for more info, go with craigslist. You should be able to get several hundred for each, but be ready to unload it for less if you want to sell quick.

as for the creases, if you use the rugs, they should come out naturally. although some machine made rugs are more stubborn than others. I would not steam the rugs to treat the creases. walk on them and enjoy them. Otherwise, tell the next owner they will come out, because they probably will with not too long a period of use. If you steam a dirty rug, stains could become colorfast.

Try the burn test, let us know, especially if anything I said seems unclear :):d/