Apr
13
A New Level Of Chic
April 13, 2007
Woven rugs and mats have become some of consumers’ favorite decorative accessories and the reasons why are obvious. Warm, luxurious and a delight to the eye, woven floor coverings make a fashion statement the moment they’re placed in a room.
Classic Home knows a lot about rugs, a category that launched its parent company, Classic Concepts, Inc., almost 20 years ago. Last year, Classic Concepts’ rug divisions—Global Home and Classic Floor Design, Classic Accents—were combined with Classic Home, a furniture and accessories company. The target markets for the floor coverings are rug specialty stores and stocking furniture dealers.
“At this time when retailers are paring back their vendor lists, it makes sense to offer all the rug constructions from a single resource,’ says Luis Urzua, Operations Manager, Classic Home. “By limiting our SKUs to only the ‘best of the best,’ Classic Home offers a broader, more appealing rug selection as one company.”
The company’s expertise in all areas of rug production, from raw materials handling, weaving and importing to sales and merchandising, benefits Classic Home’s customers in many ways.
A new benefit is being able to shop Classic Home’s full product assortment, including rugs, from one 200-page, four-color catalog. General Manager Thomas Andonian says customers will save time by buying from a single vendor and they can enjoy greater savings on freight by combining furniture, accents and rugs in a single purchase order.
Classic Home knows the rug business inside and out. The line’s breadth and depth are more than impressive, they’re staggering. The intricacy of the work and the quality of the craftsmanship add extraordinary value to one of the industry’s most extensive rug collections.
Classic Home’s rug offering is big and getting bigger. An exciting addition for fall market, entree is a new program from Classic Home that makes it easy for any retailer to make money from doormats and small rugs for every room of the house. Available in cotton chenille and Classic Home’s full repertoire of rug materials and constructions, entrée rugs and doormats are impulse items that bring customers back to the store time and again. Display fixtures are available for Classic Home’s doormats and 2×3 hanging rugs.
Here’s a rundown of the various types of rugs made by Classic Home, along with some basic information about the different kinds of yarns that go into the company’s stunning rug collections.
NATURAL FIBER RUGS
Jute is a tall, fast-growing plant that thrives in India’s rainy season. Flexible jute fibers are spun into yarn that can be very thin or very thick, depending on the design need. Just a bit harder than cotton, Jute accepts color dyes in a most beautiful way. Jute rugs are available in a wide variety of constructions, including straight weaves, berbers and tweeds. Woven jute rugs in bold stripes, printed jute rugs in dozens of colors and patterns show off jute’s marvelous versatility and appeal.
Coir (pronounced “koy-er”) is made from coconut husks that are soaked for a year before they are soft enough to work with. Pulp is beaten out of the softened husks and processed for weaving. Classic Home’s Bermuda coir rugs feature coir on the inside, jute on the outside for greater design interest.
Seagrass is a highly invasive weed that grows in salt water. Strong and inexpensive, seagrass has been used to create all sorts of home furnishings, including rugs. A hard outer shell makes Seagrass nicely stain resistant, but at the same time the hard natural coating will not take dyes. That is why all seagrass rugs are natural in color, ranging from variegated shades of green to dark brown.
Sisal is made from agave, the same desert plant used for making tequila. Sisal fibers are strong, but not as soft as jute or smooth like seagrass. On the other hand, Sisal can be processed into very refined yarn, making it an ideal option for more formal spaces within the home.
WOOL RUGS
Soft to the touch yet tough as nails, 100 percent wool yarns and wool blends from New Zealand and Turkey go into rug designs that cover the entire style spectrum. Classic Home’s wool rug assortment includes hand-knotted or hand-tufted rugs in a range of sizes. Loop tufted rugs represent excellent value. Flat-woven wool kilim rugs feature designs from all over the world. Many are faithful reproductions of some very old rug patterns.
LEATHER
Sensuous, earthy and most sophisticated, leather is a wonderful material for floorcoverings. Classic Home uses leather in several ways. Leather borders on sisal rugs are one option. All-leather rugs are another. Strands of spaghetti-cut leather make for a great new take on the classic shag rug.
See Classic Home at High Point in two locations: Suites of Market Square, Ground Floor, in space G-1128 and at About The Home, Showplace, #3340.
(ATTENTION EDITORS: Professionally taken location photography featuring Classic Home’s vast assortment of rugs is available upon request. Contact Thomas Andonian via e mail: thomas@classichomefurnishings.com)