Texture in rugs means that somebody has been playing with yarn and the construction of the rug. We think of texture when we see it as a key change in our expectations. Texture surprises us, by showing something unexpected.
When you shear a pile rug and over-dye it, you have both a new color and a new texture. When you use fabric that you expect in a braided rug in a hand-loomed rug you get a new texture. A Scandinavian Rya rug, made by hand with thicker yarn in India is called a “Shaggy”.
Texture is always the unexpected. The thicker yarn requires a different, generally looser, construction. Sometimes texture is using a combination of loop and cut pile. Sometimes it is high and low pile. The very word implies a change in yarn, and generally requires a change in how the rug is made—the construction.
Texture is feeling. How do we sell a feeling? By understanding the foundations of texture.
We see with our eyes and we feel with our bodies. The texture we find in rugs are diverse and simple. Twenty years ago, texture was described in clinical terms, cut and loop, knotted, tufted, etc. Today, selling a rug is about the visual, the feel, the connection to the home. Selling a rug means connecting the texture of a rug to the person’s surroundings.
What is the definition of texture?
Merriam- Webster dictionary states — 1a : something composed of closely interwoven elements; specifically: a woven cloth : the structure formed by the threads of a fabric 2a : essential part : substance b : identifying quality : character 3a : the disposition or manner of union of the particles of a body or substance b : the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something.
What is texture?
Vocabulary.com describes texture as “Texture is the physical feel of something — smooth, rough, fuzzy, slimy, and lots of textures something in between. Texture has to do with how an object feels and it’s
ingredients. Texture is very important in clothes: a cotton shirt has a different texture than a polyester shirt. You can also talk about other kinds of texture, like musical texture. A symphony and a rock song have different instruments, so they have different textures.”
What are the types of texture?
There are two characteristics of texture, Tactile and Visual.
Tactile Texture is the connection through touch of a surface. Is the surface rough, smooth, soft, slick? Visual Texture is the visual of a surface. A good example is how hand knotted rugs have two views based on how it was knotted. Looking at a knotted rug from one end is shiny, from the other is depth of color. This would be considered a visual texture.
How does material affect texture?
Material also plays a role in a rugs texture through material in Natural and Artificial material. Natural textures can be seen in rugs materials such as wool, jute, seagrass, silk and other natural materials. Technology has brought about Artificial Texture with Polypropylene, Nylon, and P.E.T.
Texture comes in many variations in ones home. A rug is only one textural option in your home. Remember one texture is easy, layering of textures makes the difference between a WOW room and an ordinary one.
