What Made to Order Really Means When You Buy One Rug
Buying · 9 January 2026 · 6 min · Published by Raheem & Son for RS Living
Nothing in the store sits in a warehouse. Here is what that changes about sizing, timing and the decisions you make before we start weaving.
Your rug does not exist yet, and that is the point
When you order from most rug retailers you are buying an object that already exists, boxed in a warehouse, made in a size somebody guessed at months ago. RS Living works the other way round. The design exists, the loom exists, the weavers exist, but your rug does not until you order it.
That is not a delay dressed up as a virtue. It is what lets you order a rug at 2.4 by 3.1 metres because that is what your room needs, rather than buying a 2.4 by 3.0 and living with the gap. Every design in the store can be woven to any dimension, in any of its colourways.
It also means the decisions that matter happen before anything is made, not after it arrives. That is the trade you are accepting: more thought at the start, and a rug that fits at the end.
What we need from you before weaving starts
The finished size, in the units you think in. Give us the room dimensions too, not just the rug size you have in mind. We would rather tell you that a slightly larger rug will sit better under your furniture than weave exactly what you asked for and watch it look mean in the space.
The colourway. Most designs in the store are woven in several. Screens lie about colour, so if the shade matters, ask for a sample before you commit rather than after.
Anything unusual about the space. A radiator that eats one corner, a door that swings inward, an alcove you want the rug to follow. Rugs can be woven to a shape, not only a rectangle, and it is far cheaper to say so now.
How long it takes, honestly
Made to order. Estimated production time: hand-knotted about 90 days, Oushak and handloom about 60 days, hand-tufted about 50 days, poufs about 45 days; other pieces usually a few weeks. A small flatweave and a large hand-knotted piece are different undertakings, so we do not promise one figure for every piece.
For international orders, timelines are subject to change; we will email the confirmed delivery time and tracking details. If the timing does not work for you, say so early. Sometimes a different weave in the same design reaches you sooner.
Hand-knotting is slow in a way that does not respond to urgency. A weaver ties every knot by hand, and there is no version of the process that goes faster without the rug being worse.
What made to order does not mean
It does not mean you are commissioning a design from scratch. That is a different service, and we offer it, but the store is for pieces that already have a design behind them and simply have not been woven yet.
It does not mean the rug is unrepeatable. If you need a second one later for another room, we can weave it. Handmade pieces vary slightly between runs, which is a property of the craft rather than a defect, but the design and specification are on record.
Questions
Can I order a rug in a size that is not listed?
Yes. Every design in the store is woven to order, so the size is yours to set. Send us the room dimensions along with the rug size you have in mind and we will confirm what works before anything is made.
Can I see the colour before I commit?
Yes, and we would encourage it for any piece where the shade is doing real work in the room. Screens are unreliable for colour. Ask for a sample first rather than after the rug is woven.
Can I cancel or change the size after ordering?
Write to us as early as you can. Once a rug is on the loom at your dimensions it cannot be resized, so tell us early if anything about the space has changed. This does not affect your statutory rights.
