Good oriental rugs are a store of value and are made of wool/natural fibers. As they are worn down, the good ones become more vibrant in their color/patterns —and become more valuable.
Carpets are installed, off gas petrochemicals, degrade, and tend to end up in a landfill.
Both rugs and carpets can be vacuumed and power cleaned. Rugs can also be taken outside and beaten. My mother told me how she had to do this as a young girl.
The patterns or oriental rugs are purposeful —regional and familial— and come from not just India, but the entire region from Turkey to Tibet.
Yeah, well, see, ya lost me at “good oriental rugs”. Not on my fav list. They just look like flying carpets to me and I’ll leave it to others to pay good money for something that looks like it’s growing something contagious.