Add a contemporary appeal to your home by complementing the interior design of the room with a cowhide rug. Large cowhide rugs span approximately 30 to square feet, and the beautiful cowhide adds a different character and flair to the room. High quality cowhide rugs can easily become heirlooms, which is why it's important to spend some time inspecting the quality of the rugs before buying them. In particular, you want to watch out for an unwanted effect known as cigaring.
What Is Cigaring?
Over time, cheaper cowhide rugs that are of lower quality will begin to curl up and roll up at the edges. This makes the edges look like rolled up cigars. Cigaring will really compromise the visual effect that the cowhide rugs have on the room. The rugs will look scrunched up and old. Cigaring may even have an unwanted effect on the sheen of the rug. There are no solutions for combatting the effects of cigaring.
Because of this, make sure you spend some time determining whether there is even a remote possibility for the rug to become a victim of cigaring with time. Simply roll up the edges of the rug and let it sit in that position for a couple of seconds. See whether the edges of the rug will unfold back to its original position. When you smooth out the edges, you should not be able to see any signs that the edge was rolled up before
What Causes Cigaring?
There are plenty of factors that cause cigaring; however, low quality cowhide rugs tend to be more susceptible to cigaring than high quality alternatives. Cigaring can be caused by:
- environmental factors, such as the relative humidity levels in your home
- prolonged exposure to sun, as the constant heat can easily dry up the hide
- underfloor heating that dried up the hide
- poor quality tanning, which is when there is not enough oils and moisture in the cowhide to keep it flat
Conclusion
It's worth splurging extra to get high quality cowhide rugs, as they tend to last longer and will look more aesthetically pleasing, as they have a better sheen to them. If your cowhide rugs show signs of cigaring, it can only go downhill from there. There is absolutely no way to repair the effects of cigaring, and the quality and structure of the rug will become permanently compromised if you allow them to get to that point.
