Custom White Alpaca Rug is a Finland Delight

Here at SoftRugs we have shipped rugs to most every corner of the globe (including Tasmania), but I am always thrilled to add another country to the list. So it was nice to hear that someone in Finland wanted a custom rug to warm up their living room.

Mona is from Tuusula, Finland, a town about 17 miles from Helsinki. Tuusula is spread out along the shores of Tuusulanjarvi Lake (above). The lake has been an artists colony since the early 1900s and boasts some amazing ice skating in the winter. Luckily Mona’s English proved to be a lot better than my Finnish, so we were able to communicate fairly easily.

At first, Mona was considering both Sheepskin and Alpaca. I explained to her that Alpaca fur is silkier and a little softer than sheepskin, but the pile is not as deep. So rugs made with alpaca will not look as shaggy as sheepskin and the fur will not be as dense. So for the same size rug, shipping will be less expensive with alpaca than with sheepskin.

She also considered straight edge vs shaped rugs. Sheepskin rugs are more often crafted into shapes that take advantage of the natural shape of sheepskin pelts. The picture above is a Sexto sheepskin rug composed of 6 sheepskin pelts. The pelts have been minimally carved to retain their distinctive shapes. 

Alpaca rugs on the other hand are usually straight-edged, but can easily be sculpted into whatever shape is desired (as in above picture). I think you can see from these pictures that even if a sheepskin and an alpaca rug were shaped identically, they would still retain their character and have distinctively different looks. 

Mona wanted to preserve a stylish, bright and uncluttered feeling in her home, but also make it more luxurious and cozy for those long Finnish winters. 

She finally decided on a 300cm x 345cm (9ft10in x 11ft4in) rectangular white alpaca rug. These final pictures show how she has transformed her living room into a plush retreat with a dramatic expanse of soft white alpaca fur. Mona is truly delighted with the difference her alpaca rug has made!