For a restful interior and inviting warmth it is difficult to exceed the benefit of well chosen arts and crafts rugs. Usually arts and crafts rugs feature soothing earth tones such as sage green, mellow tans and soothing dark grays. The best arts and crafts rugs are constructed of hand knotted wool often in Tibet, Nepal, or India. The original arts and crafts rugs from the early 1900s were made with very minimal knot counts, possibly as low as 10 to 15 knots per inch. Knot count isn't all that important, but there is definitely a point where there are too few knots. Modern arts and crafts rugs are more likely to be on the order of 75 knots per inch. Old arts and crafts rugs often had abrash, which is a variation in color that results from the artisan running out of thread and using a new batch that is not exactly the same color. Most contemporary persons object to abrash in arts and crafts rugs, but there are those that prefer it and think that it adds to the hand made look and may be desireable. Dyes used in arts and crafts rugs are usually modern aniline dyes due to their excellent color fastness. Old fashioned vegetable dyes fade over time, are not consistent, and generally are not as good. Better living through chemistry! . . . at least when it comes to rug dyes.