4.2 stars, if you will (a little more than the rating system allows). Somehow the material quality of the wool, the way it is woven, is not up to spec with the quality of Turkish & Persian carpets I grew up with from 35-45 years ago, and the Indian carpets I looked at way back. The backing of the carpet *is* solid, a sort of reinforced backing and very good material. The edges have a stitch that is like a tightly bound backstitch, one stitch right next to the other at an angle adding for strength. This is needed due to high traffic areas at any point on the carpet for the edges, for long-term wear. As expected, some wool fibers will come out, and maybe one or two piles, but at this rate so soon? Love the design, thus my purchase, plus was thinking it would hide any food stains well (it will). The carpet is exactly 9'8" x 13'8". Someone asked: **The pile is about 11/16" high but of course you want it with a nonslip protective material of some sort. I bought one that is about 3/16" high, bringing the total to 14/16" high.