So you are interested in buying Persian and Oriental area carpets for your home, but are not sure what to look for? This guide is intended to be a quick and helpful introduction for the new carpet buyer, though there may be more profound considerations that an expert would add to this list.

Natural materials, such as wool, cotton and silk have much greater durability than synthetics. They will never release chemical gases, as most synthetics eventually do, and are also innocent of other environmental concerns, like causing allergies, pollution, etc.

Today there is also great concern that wall-to-wall carpeting is filling a significant portion of all garbage dumps, whereas a Persian or Oriental carpet typically becomes an heirloom and is rarely thrown away.

Knots per square inch is a good indication of the quality and value of a fine carpet, the higher the number the better the carpet. It takes experienced fingers to make that many very small knots.

It is often said that Persian carpets are ‘perfectly imperfect’. Slight inconsistencies are the proof that a carpet was not made by machine. Even if a carpet is coming out perfectly, the weaver will usually make an intentional mistake, in line with the belief that only the Supreme Being can make something that is perfect.

The price should be reasonable for the quality you are receiving. Until recently, a carpet could be marked up many times, sometimes quite unreasonably, as it traveled from dealer to dealer. Prices should vary according to labor, materials, quality, place of origin, style, kpsi, and rarity of design

To avoid carpets that might be sold illegally as Persian, you can obtain a Certificate of Authenticity online at MehreenCarpet.com, or a hard copy can be mailed to you at nominal cost, to cover shipping and handling. This will validate the origin, style, materials, size, age, condition, kpsi, and estimated retail value for Insurance purposes.