Savonnerie Rug Cleaning
Treat your Savonnerie Rug to a specialist clean at our bespoke rug spa in Cheshire
Savonnerie Rug Cleaning Cheshire
A specialist Savonnerie Rug cleaning service based in Cheshire. We offer a bespoke rug cleaning experience and thorough deep cleaning of your precious Savonnerie Rugs.
Savonnerie rugs are often made with hand dyed wool yarn which needs a particular way of being cleaned and should never be cleaned in your home.
Savonnerie Rug Cleaning Process
- Pre – Inspection, any existing conditions noted.
- Colour Fastness and condition tests which determined our cleaning procedure
- Dry soil removal – This includes air dusting and beating depending on condition tests
- Washing in our purpose built wash pit.
- Any additional treatments needed such as urine, odour, stains and moth treatments..
- Drying – thoroughly dried within hours.
- Grooming – Setting the pile
- Post – Inspection
- Your rug is now clean and fresh and ready for collection
You can read all about our thorough cleaning process and about each step in great detail on our Rug Cleaning Process Page
Cleaning a Savonnerie Rug.
Savonnerie rugs are typically hand made and use wool yarn for the pile and a cotton foundations of the rug. They are often in pastel shades of colour and have curvilinear ornate patterns of leaves or shapes around the borders of the rug. Savonnarie rugs can come with some conditions such and his is why it isn’t recommended to have your Savonnerie Rug cleaned in your home by a carpet cleaning machine. The Flatweave Aubusson rug is often mistaken for a Savonnerie rug as they have the same designs and colour palettes and are woven in the workshops where the Savonnerie rugs were once woven.
We have many years experience, the correct rug cleaning equipment and cleaning products to clean your Savonnerie Rug safely and thoroughly. We are also Woolsafe approved members meaning you can be rest assured your Savonnerie wool rug is in safe hands.
A Rug Cleaning Service that is highly sought after, Trusted & Reliable
We are a family run business who specialise in just rug cleaning and rug restoration. We have over 30 combined years experience in the rug cleaning industry and are proud of our dedication to expert care and knowledge of all types of rugs.
To find out how we can bring a new life back to your precious rugs, give us a call today on 01606 882712 or fill in the form and we’ll give you a quotation based on your needs.
Savonnerie Rug History
Savonnerie rugs began their debut in the 17th century- French artists and weavers that were personally employed by King Henri IV are who invented the weaving of such beautiful carpets. The King began this movement because he realised how rapidly the national treasury was investing in Oriental rugs and luxury textiles, so he decided that he would introduce his own version at his royal palace.
This then encouraged him in setting up the manufacture of Oriental Carpets within France; this revived the production of luxury products in France which had begun declining during the civil strife caused by the Wars of Religion. Pierre DuPont was personally asked by Henri to start creating carpets, and he was based in the Louvre palace while doing so.
1627 then came around and Louis XIII, the King of France from 1610 to 1643 then granted DuPont and his former apprentice Simon Lourdet a partnership in the making of these rugs for eighteen years. But, after many quarrels, Lourdet decided to begin his own business that was based in a disused soap factory (French savon)- which then gave the rugs their name: Savonnerie.
To begin with, Savonnerie carpets were made of wool with a small amount of silk in the detail of them. Their knot was known as the Turkish knot which consisted of about ninety knots per square inch. Their detail was usually replicated from the rugs of Persia, but this eventually changed and these carpets began to showcase a distinctive French theme that consisted of flowers and leafy vines that were inspired by patterns found on classical Roman buildings.
The colour palette seen on Savonnerie rugs usually consists of deep blues, blacks and deep browns. To break up these dark shades, you will sometimes see borders of cream backgrounds. Up until 1768, these rugs were seen as the grandest French gift to receive and were very much exclusive to the palaces of the King.
This then began a French revolution; the Savonnerie Manufactory started taking on orphans aged ten to twelve for six-year apprenticeships- once completed, one would be selected as the maitrise (master), and the rest would work as journeymen which meant they were qualified in a craft.
Then on fourth, Savonnerie Manuactory’s were in decline due to The French Revolution until Napoleon became Emperor in 1804 and commissioned carpets designed by his favourite artists. Now, Savonerrie rugs showcase hand paintings that appear 3-dimensional and are shaded in intricate detail. 3D detailing on a rug is a unique characteristic which is only seen in European rugs such as Aubusson, Savonnerie and Needlepoint rugs.
With this new depth perspective that was introduced to counteract the traditional two-dimensional patterns seen on other Oriental rugs, Savonnerie rugs were more popular than ever. They accomplished this weave by dying yarns in hundreds of subtle shades and then combining these yarns to produce even more shades.
To this day, Savonnerie rugs are still being produced in Paris in a handmade woven fashion. If you are lucky enough to own a Savonnerie rug, you will soon learn that its intricate detailing and high-quality materials need looking after efficiently so that it lasts a long time, being a rare and expensive piece of homeware.
Caring for Your Savonnerie Rug
You must ensure that you are taking extra precautions to take care of your Savonnerie rug, especially as something with such worth is usually an investment, or it has sentimental value. At home, rotating, hoovering and keeping out of direct sunlight are just three ways that you should be caring for your Savonnerie Rug.
These will ensure that the colouring stays vibrant, while general wear and tear is distributed well on the entire rug. Although hoovering is a temporary solution to cleaning your rug, you must remember that dirt is found deep in the crevices of the pile; so, your carpet cleaning abilities must be improved on. It’s time to choose a cleaning solution that’ll give your rug the best chances at lasting for years to come.
By approaching professional rug cleaners with your Savonnerie rug, you are giving it the best chances at being deep cleaned and even restored to its former glory. Here at Arcadia Rug Spa, we make it our mission to deliver our customers with a rug cleaning service that goes above and beyond.
With our 12-step rug cleaning process that is undergone using only industry-leading equipment, we are able to entirely refresh and renew oriental rugs at our rug cleaning facility in Cheshire. We get approached by so many beautiful rugs, but to determine whether or not they are viable for our services, we must assess their condition.
If handmade rugs have been susceptible to deep stains, fraying or colour fade, there are restoration options available, and we may be able to transform it back to its former self. We will deep clean your rug so that it can continue to brighten up your home. We intend to return your rug feeling, smelling and looking it’s best.
Pop into our Cheshire rug spa for more information on our rug cleaning service, and to enquire about our carpet cleaning prices. In the meantime, see below for some fun facts on Savonnerie rugs:
- There’s only one workshop in Paris that creates Savonnerie rugs to this day; the Manufacture des Gobelins!
- The 3D rug weaving technique which is also known as battages has never been successfully replicated by any other rug weaver!
- The best Savonnerie carpets were made after 1664 during the administration of Jean-Baptiste Colbert!
You may also be interested to learn about other types of rugs, here are 2 other types of rugs you may be interested in.
