Designer Rug Blog - Interior Design Inspiration

Much like a theater director, Stephen Sills sets the stage for a palatial dining room anchored by a blue and gold oriental rug. The ornate brass leaf stands, gold candles and the tapestry of light and dark created by the tall windows suggest a period drama.

Steven Gambrel chose a subtle gold oriental rug to warm the contemporary lines of the furniture and the cool greys and blues in the chair, fireplace mantel and paintings in this upper Fifth Avenue dining room.

Jennifer Flanders is no shrinking violet, and her designs reflect her vibrant personality. She is known for glamorous designs, and this living room is a lovely and livable testament to her aesthetic. It is as comfortable as it is beautiful, and its colorful drama is unified by the muted coral reds and green golds of an Oushak rug.

A subtle and rare Bessarabian rug in fall colors, highlighted by burnished golds, coral, and yellowed greens anchors the classic elegance of this bedroom in a hilltop residence designed by famed San Francisco interior designer Suzanne Tucker of Tucker & Marks.

Ferguson and Shamamiam chose a subtle tone on tone cream and gold oriental rug as a foundation for this elegant Park Avenue dining Room. Note how the wide border promotes a stately ambience. Image courtesy Ferguson and Shamamiam.

Park Avenue New York has a style and refinement of it's own.  At the same time, the owners desire their guests have an enjoyable dining expereince in an environment that promotes lively conversation in comfort. Ferguson and Shamamian have created a dining room that achieves all these goals.

Ferguson and Shamamian assembled fine period furniture, gilded mirrors and silk draperies. There are several key messages conveyed and the cream and gold oriental rug ties all of the messages together in a unified expereince:

Elegance - the subtelty of the tone on tone oriental rug creates a refined background for the room, laying the framework for the artistry of the decor. Just as an artist uses a canvas, the soft background colors of the rug communicate the message and feelings from the beginning.  This oriental rug conveys a level of elegance that all other objects in the room echo.

An architectural geometric needlepoint rug in the Federal Neoclassical style pulls together the warm reds and plums in the upholstery and the Provence yellows on the walls creating a sunny and warm ambiance for this Bunny Williams designed library in Provence. Note that the needlepoint rug does not contain the exact colors of the fabrics! Instead it has strong colors that complete the overall color composition of the room rather than mimic it. Bunny Williams work provides a marvelous lesson on how to create a sophisticated European lived in look. The objects in this library appear as though they have been accumulated over years of living well. Image courtesy Bunny Williams.

Clothes may make a man, but it's the rug that makes the room. This library's earthy and autumnal hues are drawn together into a harmonious whole by a geometric needlepoint rug in Federal Neoclassic style.  A credit to Bunny Williams's daring creativity, this room's color combination goes from countrified to chic when combined with this needlepoint rug's bold geometric pattern and powerful tones.

To Bunny Williams, a rug is not just a decorative accessory. A great rug is a work of art that serves as the architectural foundation of a room. Here the geometric needlepoint rug gives this library setting an air of prestige and beauty.  You can picture a distinguished Parliamentarian reminiscing with friends over tea or an after dinner port around the book-laden coffee table.

It has been said that our eyes linger longer on beautiful objects than they do upon mundane ones.  The way this room's color scheme arrests the eyes demonstrates just how well Bunny Williams understands the use of rugs as the soul of a room.  Instead of merely matching the rug to the room's colors, she took the daring approach by selecting a geometric needlepoint rug with hues that supported, but did not directly match, anything else in the room.

Not only does this Bunny Williams library design engage and please the eyes, but her traditional library design promotes feelings of comfort and livability.  While a room full of bold colors may look modern and sophisticated, such colors do not encourage the peaceful feelings associated with comfort.  Apart from her Provence inspired color choices, the rectangular pattern woven into this needlepoint rug contributes to a feeling of intimacy by drawing the sitting area together. One feels that everything one needs is within easy reach and that conversations pursued in this area are entirely private. The overall impact is one of comfort and livability.

When it comes to rendering a room both beautiful and livable through her use of needlepoint rugs, Bunny Williams has the magic touch that can be seen in her many books.

You can create a similar looks with these artistic rugs from Asmara selected from their vast collection of exclusive geometric rugs.

A red, blue and gold striped oriental kilim rug warms a cottage's kitchen entrance designed by Mona Hajj Interiors. The weathered paint on the walls and the brick tiled floor are softened by stepping on a soft oriental rug, making the visitor feel welcome and gengtly pampered. There is ample room to store wet boots, fishing gear and raincoats etc. An oriental rug for an entrance such as this should be sturdy, the colors should hide dirt and the wool should be of good quality so it naturally repels stains.