How we care for your rug, by hand — in seven steps.
From your door to ours and back. Seven careful steps, by the same family, in the same atelier — never sent out, never on a machine. Every rug is inspected by hand, dye-tested before water touches the pile, hand-washed individually, restored on our bench where needed, and dried flat. Insured the entire way. Complimentary pickup across Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester, Greenwich, and Stamford.
From your door to ours, and back.
The full pickup-to-return cycle, by the same family, in the same atelier. Seven to fourteen days, fully insured, hand-finished.
We come to you.
Complimentary pickup at your home, scheduled by phone or through the form. Our team arrives at the appointed time, wraps the rug on-site, and transports it to the nearest of our four ateliers in our own truck — never a third-party courier.
Inspection by the master artisan.
The master artisan personally reads the rug by hand — fibers, foundation, dyes, prior repairs, structural damage. Every rug is different. The wash plan is written from what your rug shows us, never from a template.
Dye-stability test.
Before water touches the rug, every color is dye-tested on a discreet edge. Vegetable dyes on antique pieces can move under heat or alkaline soap. Where there is risk, the wash plan is adapted — cooler water, gentler soap, longer drying.
Hand-wash.
The rug is hand-washed on our dedicated atelier floor with pH-balanced soap and temperature-controlled water. Antique and silk pieces are washed individually, never in a batch. Never a rotary brush, never a machine.
Restoration & color work.
Where the wash plan calls for it — foundation repair, reweaving, fringe binding, selvedge restoration, or selective color re-tinting — restoration is performed on our bench, by hand, by the master artisan. Yarn is color-matched and tension-matched to the original weave.
Slow flat drying.
The rug is laid flat on slatted drying frames in a temperature-controlled room. Never tumbled, never hung from one edge, never folded. Flat drying keeps the foundation true and lets the pile lie correctly — usually two to five days.
Returned to your home.
The rug is wrapped in acid-free paper, transported back in our own truck, and placed in the room it came from — in better condition than the day it left. We send each piece home with guidance on storage, rotation, and care.
Why every step matters.
A standard cleaner runs your rug through a rotary machine in an hour. We do not. Seven careful steps is not ceremony — it is the work that protects the warps, the dyes, and the foundation of a piece that has outlived generations. Skipping any one of them is how a rug is destroyed in the name of cleaning it.
The inspection writes the wash plan. The dye test protects the color. The hand-wash is calibrated to the rug, not the schedule. Flat drying keeps the foundation true. Restoration is performed on our bench by the master artisan, never outsourced. And the rug is returned by our own team — wrapped, insured, placed in the room it came from.
The seven steps above are the conversion-focused summary. For the full account — twelve steps, each one explained at length, by hand, on the bench — read our 12-step process.
Us versus a standard cleaner.
Where the two paths diverge. Eight choices that separate an atelier from a cleaning service.
Cleaning Method
Horizon
Hand-washed by master artisans
Standard Cleaner
Rotary machine, generic chemicals
Pickup & Delivery
Horizon
Complimentary — by our team, in our truck
Standard Cleaner
Third-party courier (or your problem)
Antique & Silk Rugs
Horizon
Conservation-grade, by hand
Standard Cleaner
Same process as everything else
Process Time
Horizon
7–14 days, properly done
Standard Cleaner
1–2 day machine ‘express’
Dye Stability Testing
Horizon
Tested before every wash
Standard Cleaner
Not tested — rugs lose color
Where Your Rug Is Cleaned
Horizon
Our family atelier, supervised
Standard Cleaner
Third-party wash plant
Restoration & Reweaving
Horizon
In-house, by hand
Standard Cleaner
Outsourced or refused
Inspection
Horizon
By hand, before any work begins
Standard Cleaner
Visual only, if at all
Letters from across the Northeast.
A few of the rugs we've cared for — and the families who trusted us with them.
“They returned an heirloom Tabriz — the colors look exactly as my grandmother described them.”
“A 1920s Heriz I thought was beyond saving came back better than the day my parents bought it.”
“Our clients trust us with eight-figure homes. Horizon is the only atelier I send their rugs to.”
Questions, honestly answered.
What clients ask us before they hand over a rug — and how we answer.
How long does the full process take?
Is pickup really complimentary?
Where is my rug actually cleaned?
Will my colors run during the wash?
Is the rug insured while you have it?
Do you photograph the rug on arrival?
How long does the full process take?
Is pickup really complimentary?
Where is my rug actually cleaned?
Will my colors run during the wash?
Is the rug insured while you have it?
Do you photograph the rug on arrival?
More from Horizon.
Other ateliers, every service we offer, and the rest of our story — a few directions to explore.
Send us your rug.
Complimentary pickup, by hand, by the Cohen family. Across Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester County, Greenwich, and Stamford. Family-owned since 2010.
By hand · By the Cohen family · By appointment