As a featured furniture partner, Green Front Furniture has provided furniture in seven of this year’s show homes. All of the furnishings are on sale throughout the show (April 21 – May 6) in addition to the BIG Homearama Furniture Sale held Monday, May 7 from 1 – 6 p.m.

For more information, view the flyer (pdf) and visit the Richmond Homearama website.

One stop shopping for teak, resin, wood, aluminum, wrought iron, shade and umbrellas, pillows and more – all for outdoor. Contemporary, traditional, transitional and color is the word this year for your outdoor décor!

But don’t be surprised if these sell out fast. English furniture doesn’t stay in inventory long so make sure you visit us soon to get first pick!

This is the LARGEST shipment of rugs in Green Front history!

These new rugs offer the best selling styles and colors which are difficult to find considering the production of hand-knotted rugs has slowed dramatically. In fact, Green Front purchased the last of the supplier’s inventory.

Don’t miss your chance to get one of these top quality rugs at the lowest price you’ll ever find!

Den Cralle looking over a rug

To spend Christmas at home with family or in the slums of India.

For many this would be an easy choice, but I decided to try my luck with some much-needed rug buying experience.

My second trip to India was bound to be more buying oriented than my first trip four years prior. I had witnessed the enormous amount of poverty on my first trip, so I knew what to expect in that sense, but I didn’t really know how I was going to handle myself on this crash course rug-buying trip. I’m sure my dad can’t even remember how many times he’s been to India, so I knew I had some catching up to do.

Every morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to a cold Indian morning. We would start our day off eating a huge, largely unappetizing breakfast.  Depending on where we were, the car ride from the city to the dealers took at least two hours. Throughout my trip, we spent about an hour at each dealer, contingent upon their stock and prices. Near the end of a long day, I wouldn’t have much concentration and my ability to pick out good pieces seemed more difficult. This is a tough business, but there are many payoffs and the whole experience can be very rewarding and exciting.

Three Things I Learned About the Rug Business

There are a few main things I learned about the rug business from my experience in India.

First, contemporary rugs are becoming a large part of the market, and you need good taste and a young eye to really get the good pieces. Many of the places we went to had different variations of the same concept, but after a few days, it became much easier to sort out the good from the bad. People living in city apartments might have different taste than someone living in a traditional suburban home. It is important to have variety in stock and new styles coming in. Contemporary rugs act just like fashion. A cool rug last year might not sell as well the next year.

The second fact that I took away from this trip was that machine made rugs are becoming much more relevant and accepted in today’s rug market. The technology has gotten much better and the quality of the machine made rugs almost rival that of the traditional hand-knotted rugs. More importantly, many people can’t afford large hand made rugs in today’s economy. These machine made rugs are a great alternative for a buyer on a budget.

Finally I understood that buying in bulk serves other purposes than simply getting a better deal. Every customer walking into Green Front has different tastes and you need to have something that fits their taste or they wont buy anything. Buying in mass quantity straight from the dealer insures that there is plenty of variety while also passing the savings onto the customer. Since my dad buys in the manner that he does, he gives Green Front the “wow” factor. The sheer amount of inventory amazes people and drives home the point that Green Front is the rug capital of America.

Den is a junior at Southern Methodist University and majoring in business.

Read more about the trip and view the photos

Many of the world rug buyers are pulling out of the market because of economical reasons and leaving their orders on the looms and at the mills. Mr. Cralle purchased this remaining inventory to bring back to the rug warehouses in Farmville, Manassas and Raleigh at extremely low prices.

Many of these rugs can be seen in popular catalogs, magazines and design centers across the country, and now is your chance to purchase them at UNBEATABLE prices. Green Front has over a million oriental rugs in stock with inventory arriving weekly!

Read about the trip from the perspective of Den Cralle, the owner’s son

*UPDATE* The rugs have arrived! Read more and view the photos

Dickie Cralle choses rugs from the Indian agents

Den Cralle looking over a rug

Dickie Cralle with his Indian Agent

Damask

Damask

Yarn outside a mill in India

Rug warps

A worker finishing a rug. The final trimming is done by hand with special shears.

Workers finish rugs outside the mill. The final trimming is done by hand with special shears.

Workers hand stitch rug edges

A small rug loom

Yarn drying

Stretching a finished rug.

Machine spinning

Winding the warps

Hand spinning

A weaver on the loom

Spinning yarn

Washing rugs

A sample loom

See the Photo Gallery >>

The Henredon Leather company features the great craftsmanship to which it is famous. It also has a distinctive look that gets better with age, with durability that is legendary. Here you will find 8-way hand tied springs; hides cut, sewn and upholstered one at a time; and sumptuous foam blendown cushions and blendown back pillows.

After three years, Rug Rats is now back managing the Green Front Carpet Department and will carry a full line of flooring products, carpet, vinyl, hardwood, ceramic tile and of course their well known custom rugs and finer carpets.

In following with Green Front’s well known philosophy, Rug Rats slogan is The Floor Store – Designer Showroom at Warehouse Bargains.

Stop by Rug Rats, in Farmville (Green Front’s Building #8), next to Riverside Park, for any flooring need.

However, through skillful negotiations and the power of cold, hard cash, he was able to aquire new merchandise at the old prices. Despite the rising cost of production, Green Front’s unbeatable prices will remain the same on the best selection of oriental rugs in the U.S.  With close to a million rugs in stock, we are sure to have the perfect rug for your space.

India

Dickie Cralle (2nd from right), owner of Green Front, with the rug buyers in India

Dickie Cralle (far left), owner of Green Front, with the rug buyers in India

Wool used in making the rugs

Examining the rugs and negotiation

New Indian and Pakistani rugs now at Green Front