Designer Rug Blog - Interior Design Inspiration

When Lebanese designer Elie Saab presented his Spring 2012 Couture collection last week in Paris the talk was all about how popular he was with the Hollywood crowd. 

The Paris haute couture show opened last week. The most flashy introduction was by Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld who featured 150 shades of blue suits on a blue rug.

Vicente Wolfe once told me that he derived inspiration for interiors from the pastels and oil paintings of Edward Degas. Asmara artist Elizabeth Moisan recalled a sea scape of James Abbott McNeill Whistler when she painted Asmara's blue rugs and green rugs.

A scheme for a modern bedroom based on a timeless needlepoint rug with fresh yellow, red, green, blue purple and black.  This needlepoint rug is so flexible, it can also be used in a modern living room or dining room.

Lady Edith, Lady Sybil and Lady Mary. The addictive PBS series Downton Abbey has sparked a revival of Edwardian style in dresses, accessories, interior design and Aubusson rugs. 

Venetian statues and tall fog shrouded eucalyptus create an ethereal mood at the entrance to the 13 acre Monticeto, California Villa John Saladino restored from the ruins of a 1920's structure by Wallace Frost. Saladino humorously named it di Lemma as it took twice as long and cost many times more than he planned.

Alexis McDermott explains the benefits of mixing a blue and gold needlepoint rug with modern furniture:  "Incorporating elements of nature into a home is not a new concept but it is one that offers a multitude of exciting new looks.  Asmara’s Gold Branches needlepoint rug is shaded in the manner of a Pompeian fresco, and like an ancient fresco, it has thousands of subtle colors blended together. This needlepoint rug's open trellis pattern has  a uniquely organic quality that brings the look and feel of a Tuscan garden indoors.  Some might assume only traditional furnishings could complement the floral design of this needlepoint rug.  On the contrary, to show the versatility of this rug I’ve paired it with pieces from Thomas Moser’s Vita Collection*."

Do you love red but are afraid of being locked in with a red rug or a red sofa?

When Yves Saint Laurent said "Fashions fade, style is eternal", he could have been speaking about these timeless rooms with geometric rugs designed in the 1960's and 70's. The legendary decorators who created them prove that good style is timeless and always looks fresh and fashionable. Sit back and enjoy these masterpieces of interior design with geometric rugs by Angelo Donghia, Albert Hadley, Billy Baldwin, John Fowler, David Hicks, Mark Hampton and Keith Irvine.

Years ago when I was a novice rug designer, an industry veteran quizzed me "What are the three most important criteria for judging a decorative rug?". I was halfway into mumbling a response when he interrupted me "No, no, no! the three most important criteria are: Color! Color! and Color"! In real estate it is location! location! location!  and in decorator rugs it is color first, second and third.

Handmade Bassar Needlepoint rug with Jonathan Adler Furniture. Sources at the end of post.

Gold rugs and yellow area rugs convey a warmth that no other rugs can match. The best gold rugs are versatile and work with many colors to bring warmth and the feeling of sunshine to a room.  Gold and yellow area rugs uplift the spirits and and give a room without sufficient light the feeling that the sun is shining in. As with all colors, it is important to have the right lighting to bring out the best in gold rugs.

If you think about it, in nature green goes with an infinite range of colors and shades found in flowers, tree bark, rocks and the sky. So green is nature's neutral color! Green will work as a great neutral inside the home-provided you learn from nature what colors to accent it with. Keep in mind that lighting inside the home will determine how a color or a combination of colors will look. So always examine colors of rugs and fabrics in the room where they are going to be used. Check the colors during day light and also in evening light.

Bessarabian Rugs in History

2012 Celebrations, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. Image courtesy BBC and Miguel Villagran,Getty Images.