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How Can I Display my Rug as a Wall Hanging?

At the carpet store, you may find rugs hung up with hangers or heavy duty clips....  There are techniques to hanging rugs which are more elegant than the commonly seen "arm racks" at your local Oriental Rug store. 

There are three common ways to display a carpet depending on the application.  Carefully assess what characteristics your rug has: flimsy, heavy, stiff, or floppy and light.

If after reading this you have any questions as to what is your best mounting method, be sure to check with our Oriental Rug Forum for suggestions from Experts!

 

In General

Be aware, that displaying your rug could lead to curling corners on edges or ends.  The carpet may be more susceptible to sun fade.  Decide what will be the top or bottom of the rug prior to mounting.  This should be determined if the design is uni-directional, or decide if you would like to have the rug appear lighter or darker.  For lighter, hang the carpet pile pointing towards the floor, darker toward the ceiling.

For Heavier, Thicker, Fragile and/or Floppy Rugs

Sew several long cloth sleeves onto the reverse side of the rug to evenly distribute weight across a wider area.  These sleeves may measure as short as two feet in length or even run the entire width of the rug.  It is sometimes quite tedious to mount these longer sleeves as well as remove them, however is one of the best and safest ways to both protect and display your investment.  When mounting, create your own straight line with a yard stick; don't run the sleeves depending on the rug being straight.  More often than not it won't be!  

A Qum silk rug with a long sleeve sewn on for Display with Rug Rod

 

For Moderate Gauge, Light Weight and/or Rigid Rugs

Sew "tabs" onto the reverse of the rug.  These are easier to both apply and remove (because they tend to be less invasive.)  Again, always work from the outside to the inside, determining opposite mounting points first, then filling in the gaps between.  Using short tabs as shown below is probably the most common way to mount a rug for wall display.

Standard haning tab for Oriental Rug and Carpet display

 

For Light-Weight Rigid Rugs and or Tapestries

Stitch small gauge key rings to the back of the rug.  These are the least invasive way to display your rug, however can also cause the most damage to the rug if not properly done!  Do bear in mind, that if your rug is particularly floppy, these rings may show through on the front of the rug as small dimples, as the weight of the rug over time may fall forward of the mounting points.  

Note the careful attention to detail when attaching, Unfortunately this rug was too heavy for display

This particular 4'x6' (High quality triple ply wool Indian allover kashan design) had been hanging width wise for three years with only eight rings.  As seen in the photograph below, this rug was probably too heavy to be displayed in this manner, as the weight can really put a lot of stress on the small mounting points of the rug!

Rug Hanging Kit with Rod and Ring, Rug too heavy for hanging

Oriental Rug Hung by sewn on Rod Rings

 

General Mounting Assistance

Remember, a hand knotted rug or tapestry is not always even on the top.  Use a yard stick to note either end first, and then work inwards to determine correct mounting points and eliminate uneven weight distribution.  For smaller rugs to be mounted behind glass, be sure to specify with your frame specialist to not use any form of adhesive when fixing the rug to it's frame.  A rug should always be carefully mounted using calculated points in the least invasive and most reversible method possible.

Other more uncommon methods of hanging your rug include framing, or use of velcro for very lightweight tapestries and smaller rugs.  Never allow your rug to be fastened in an irreversible manner.  This would include gluing to a board or any other permanent fashion. 

 

Rug Mounting Hardware!

  Click on the image below for an inexpensive yet quality Rug Mounting Hardware Kit, complete with clips, mounting rail and brackets.

CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO PURCHASE KIT FOR UNDER $100!
 
Zoroufy Stair Rods 15710 - Legacy Adjustable Wall Hanger Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Want to purchase rugs like the ones mention in this post? Here are some options...

Kashan


Inexpensive: Take a look at Kashan Rugs up for bid on eBay!
Moderately priced: Take a look at Kashan Rugs up for bid on eBay!
Investment quality: Take a look at Manchester Kashan Rugs up for bid on eBay!
 
     

Comments

September 27. 2008 18:35

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Hanging Persian Rugs |

hamechee.com

October 20. 2008 19:54

My soumack tapestry was made in Iran. It is 2.5 ft wide by 8.5 feet long approximately. What is the best way of hanging it length wise?

Tarushka

October 29. 2008 16:41

Hi, great question. The rug is probably fairly light weight, especially if what weight it does have will be evenly distributed along the length. What I would suggest is to try out the Zoroufy Legacy wall hanging kit, you'll probably want two of them.

Each kit should come with 6 clips, which should be suitable for your application. It's fairly easy to make the mounting invisible if you decide to have either rings or sleeves sewn onto the reverse side. Otherwise, there may be a slight compromise to aesthetics if you decide to have both hanging rods show, as they're two independent pieces.

If you would like more detailed description on how to hang the rug specifically for your application, please send photographs to info@rugrag.com. I would be happy to personally write up a blog entry for your rug basing such off the weight, thickness of the rug, and how fragile it is too.

Sincerely,

David

David

March 22. 2009 18:33

We purchased, in China, March 2003, 4 silk rugs sized 12 inches by 36 inches, not including the fringe and the woven attached tabs for hanging. We saw the young women weaving them and the raw silk being unraveled from cocoons. It was extremely impressive. We were told that the rugs represented the four seasons, but forgot to ask which design represented which season. I will describe them, one, 3 birds, all red, with green bamboo or willow: second, 1 bird, green with long yellow beak, with what seems to be lotus, there are no other colors: third, 1 blue bird with what appears to be cherries or other fruit and green and brown leaves: fourth, 2 birds, green backs and tan breasts and with tan foliage. They have been hung on drapery rod, using the tabs. They give us great joy in remembering wonderful China. The bottoms are slightly curled: that is the only problem. I wish to display them in the proper order and even Chinese friends have not been able to help. Can you tell me, based upon the descriptions. Any advice about curling or information about the order of seasons will be gratefully appreciated. Thank you, Sincerely, Claude and Elisabeth Collins

Elisabeth Collins

March 22. 2009 18:49

Hello!

For design assessment you can bring photographs to the Rug Rag Forum! It's free to both register and use (click register in the upper right hand corner)

http://forum.rugrag.com

As for the curling, you can bring the rug to your local reputable specialist for vinyl straps to be sewn on. This usually does the trick to prevent curling while the rug is hung for decoration. Here's an example below:

http://www.rugrag.com/post/What-are-the-Thick-Straps-on-the-Back-of-my-Rug.aspx

All the best,

David


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