Designer Rug Blog - Interior Design Inspiration

You may be asking this question with a smile on your face, but you're only half joking. It was pretty clear early on that French Savonnerie rugs were something special. From the moment they were spawned in 17th-century France, these elaborate and exquisite rugs, hand woven by Parisian weavers, were deemed so spectacular that they were exclusively manufactured for the King. The advent of Aubusson rugs came about in large part due to the clamoring and demands of the moneyed classes who were desperate for the Savonnerie carpets but who were for the most part locked out from getting them.

You've thought about it for a long time and you think you're ready to take the plunge, but the question still lingers in the back of your mind: can you successfully mix Aubusson rugs with contemporary décor? What kind of look would you end up with if you took the plunge? Some people would call it eclectic. Others would call it vintage modern. Still others would swear it's classic contemporary. Whatever you call it, rest assured that done correctly, it would be a brilliantly glamorous fusion of the beauty of the past and the fabulousness of the present.  
The Aubusson rug, the younger, more informal sister of the Savonnerie carpet, is a flat weave rug made of ultra-fine wool, with a texture, color palette and design that would work in even the most modern of rooms. The floral and architectural patterns that make up the heart and soul of Aubusson rugs lend themselves perfectly to chic contemporary settings. If you have a modern, loft-like space or a gallery-style room, don't think that your Aubusson will be out of place. By keeping a few simple tips in mind, you can marry the two different design styles beautifully, creating the perfect blend of something old and something new.

A pale pink Savonnerie rug, bordered by gold latticework and boasting gold medallion motifs, laced through with light blue and sunset gold and filling a room with a rosy glow at the first glance of dawn; a light, golden needlepoint rug strewn through with faded ochre and ancient pale blues, flooding a room with radiant warmth in the middle of a rainy afternoon: the all-encompassing beauty of pastel rugs cannot be overstated. Hues like faded pinks, pale greens, soft yellows, warm ivories and light blues are predominant in a pastel color palette. The beauty of pastel rugs is that they become even more beautiful with age, gracing a room with a sure and graceful presence. Pastel rugs are one of the most beautiful styles of carpet, and they can really transform a room. If you're planning on choosing a pastel rug, there are many different styles to choose from, ranging from Savonnerie carpets and Oushak rugs to needlepoint rugs and Aubusson carpets.

Staring at any empty room begs the overwhelming question "Where should I start?" Of course, you want to make your room is beautiful and fashionable but you also want it to be comfortable and inviting to guests. Creating this balance and finding the right place to start doesn't need to be difficult, if you find an Oushak rug that helps you set the tone you desire for the room. Once you have selected the right Oushak rug, the rest of the room will fall in line easily. Subtly colored Oushak rugs are a great starting point because they contain hundreds of complementary shades of each color which makes it easy to pick fabrics and bring youthful energy to the entire room. Look for Oushak rugs made with fine quality handspun yarn which has hundreds of natural shade variations and a rich texture. This will give your room a feeling of glamor and sophistication and enhance all the other elements in the room.

Aubusson rugs represent some of the most beautiful rugs in history. Their origin goes back to the 16th century to the village of Aubusson on the banks of the Creuse river, whose waters were famous for their ability for dyeing vibrant colors. This region of central France is about 200 miles from Paris. Aubusson rugs are handmade in a flat weave construction that resembles heavy tapestries which adorn the walls of French castles and palaces. Aubusson rugs quickly captured the hearts of the French aristocracy because their patterns were similar to those of pile Savonnerie carpets which were unavailable to the aristocracy as they were made exclusively for the King's palaces. Aubusson rugs come in very large sizes and feature center medallions, lyrical floral patterns, and soft color palettes. For hundreds of years Aubusson rugs have been synonymous with the ultimate in French refinement and elegance. While Aubusson rugs continue to be produced in Aubusson and the nearby village of Filletin, the production is extremely limited and is mostly confined to orders placed by the French government for presentation to foreign heads of state. For a few years starting in the 1990's Aubusson rugs were woven in China, but with the rapid rise of wages in that country, hand weaving of Aubusson rugs is now coming to an end. However the love for Aubusson rugs continues unabated among sophisticated interior decorators and connoisseurs. Just as the French aristocracy was once captured by the beauty of Aubusson rugs, so are we today fascinated by the possibilities Aubusson rugs offer for designing refined and elegant interiors in both modern and traditional styles.

You may have become enamored with the idea of decorating your home with geometric rugs, but you're not exactly sure how to go about it. Geometric rugs, ranging from stark black and white rugs with wide stripes to pale Oushak rugs with geometricized floral motifs, can bring positive visual and emotional energy into a room. Chosen properly and carefully, geometric rugs are beautiful additions to a home. Chosen with abandon and without a thought to the rest of the space, geometric rugs can create a jarring and overwhelming feeling in a space if they clash with everything else in the room. Avoid the common mistakes people make when choosing geometric rugs will help you design stylish and inviting rooms. The first step is to open up your perspective on geometric rugs. Geometric shapes are present in modern geometric rugs and in geometric rugs inspired by antique rugs and classical architecture. This gives you a wide range of options. Listed below are ways to make your geometric rug selection process a successful one.

You're probably thinking, "The Oushak rug is the little black dress of interiors? How do you figure?" The origin of the little black dress is attributed to the venerable Coco Chanel, who believed that "la petite robe noire" was something every woman should have. When a woman throws on her favorite little back dress, she becomes larger than life. The little black dress is considered a fashion essential that turns a woman into her most beautiful and powerful self as soon as she dons it. Whether worn with a pair of dazzling diamond earrings in her ears, slinky black pumps, and full makeup, or worn with a simple updo, a single strand of pearls and low sensible heals, it's beautiful and perfect every time. The same sentiment could hold true for Oushak rugs. These timeless Turkish wonders, crafted from the softest wools into silky, luminous textures, have stood the test of time since their birth in the 15thand 16th centuries.

Leading interior designers are using soft colored Oushak rugs to give rooms decorated with traditional furniture and antique a youthful vibe.  Pastel Oushak rugs bring a contemporary energy to a room even though the patterns of Oushak rugs go back hundreds of years. To understand why soft colored Oushak rugs have become so desirable, read this quote by AD100 interior decorator Miles Redd which was published in a blog post last week: “Juxtaposition: high/ low; shiny/matte; refined/crude; grand/humble; modern/ancient. It is the essence of chic.” The best pastel Oushak rugs are an artful combination of modern and antique elements- their soft, tonal colors are modern, while their patterns are antique.  Such Oushak rugs are, to  borrow Redd's phrase, "the essence of chic". These Oushak rugs can perform multiple functions- they make modern rooms feel warm and sophisticated and they give traditional rooms a modern and youthful vibe. The antique patterns of Oushak rugs resonate with antique furniture, but their modern colorations give them a contemporary look. The best way to learn how to decorate with pastel Oushak rug and antiques is to carefully study interiors by great interior designers. We will learn from five beautiful interiors with Oushak rugs.

In last week's post we learned how Kate and Andy Spade created vibrant energy in their Park Avenue apartment by mixing modern art with Aubusson rugs and explained that energy is created when we mix objects from different periods and in different styles as explained by David Kleinberg's famous saying "When you stay relentlessly in one period, the eye absorbs it all in a single glance. Going against period introduces energy." Today we will learn four additional ways of creating energy in interiors: by creating pop with colors, through the interplay of different shapes, by mixing large and small scale patterns and fourthly by juxtaposing different textures and materials. We will learn these four methods from studying the Spade's apartment.

"I always put in one controversial item. It makes people talk." Dorothy Draper was talking about her approach to design, but she may as well have been referring to the effect that geometric rugs can have on a room. Geometric rugs are more than just floor coverings filled with designs featuring angles or curves. Have you ever noticed that you're drawn to particular shapes? If someone placed a square table in front of you and a round one, you'd probably have pretty strong opinions about which one you'd want in your home. Not only are humans drawn to certain shapes, but they're also drawn to symmetry and proportion. Shapes literally "shape" our emotions, drawing out of us a wide range of emotions ranging from ethereal calm to vivid, dynamic energy.,