News & Information on Antique Oriental Rugs and Persian Carpets

Decorating Your Home with Antique Rugs

When you think about upscale interior design, antiques and fine art are naturally the first items that come to mind. Antiques have an undeniable ability to add personality and character to the décor of any home. Because of their uniqueness many people opt to incorporate antiques into their living spaces. Whether it is something handed down through generations or found in an antique shop many homeowners make “antiquing” a hobby in order to add personal flair to their homes.

An antique is an item that is at least 80 – 100 years old and for the most part they are both decorative as well as collectible. An antique item is desired and collected because of its age, beauty, rarity, and use. One type of antique that many people collect for their homes are antique rugs. Funnily enough, many of the antique carpets are comparable and at times even cheaper in price than brand new rugs. Once you establish your budget, size requirements and overall look and feel your quest for the right piece begins!

Antique rugs may be found in many different looks and colors. The more “traditional” style carpets such as Tabriz, Kashan and Khorassan will usually have intricate patterns and can be found in a wide array of colors from the jewel tones to the light and airy. These types of pieces give a regal and elegant look to most rooms. However, modern design tends to be simpler in taste and style. Many of the designs in recent years favor a more minimalistic approach to the interior design. Incorporating antique carpets with subtle colors and a more abstract look (like arts and crafts or art deco) will go a long way and will add a warmth and texture to the space.

Another type of antique carpet that is often used in more modern settings are Moroccan rugs. Moroccan rugs are a fabulous way to invite warmth and create a bright and appealing atmosphere in your home. The simple tribal geometric patterns of these rugs (some of which are taken from the Tattoo designs of the Berber tribes) have been used for some-time to allow a sophisticated look to go with modern furniture. Many historic homes boast these Moroccan rugs such as one of America’s most famous architects of the modern era: Frank Lloyd Wright.

Although, it is more traditional to display your antique carpet on the floor, it can also be displayed on the wall as a work of art (which the antique carpets actually are). In the right lighting you will be able to see the artistry behind these artisanal antique rugs.

A rug tends to be the most expensive item in a room when decorating so it is imperative to get a piece that you will love for a long time. It is also important to purchase the rug from a dealer that you trust. A good dealer will provide you with information, images, and history of the rug as well as give you the option to trade in the rug for a different piece in the future. Be wary of dealers who tell you that the rug will be worth much more in “X” years because there is no way to estimate what any piece will fetch in the future as demands will always change to fit the ever-changing interior design trends. It is best to establish a good relationship with your dealer since down the line you might want to acquire a better piece or might simply want a different look.

So, why buy an antique rug? They clearly allow a very versatile and stylish look for your home decor. With their patina (that can only come with age), texture and their variety of colors and designs, they can liven up any modern, traditional or casual room and make your interior look picturesque and magnificent.

Over the years the trends, patters, and design of interiors have been reinventing themselves every few years but the demand and appreciation for antique rugs has remained. Great antique carpets, just like great paintings will never go out of style and the demand has only increased over the years.

The 17th century marked the later years of the Renaissance, a rebirth in the philosophical ideals of the past. Some of the world’s greatest thinkers lived and wrote during this period such as Issac Newton, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes and Galileo Galilei. But during this time philosophy wasn’t the only milieu budding with brilliance. The 17th century also marked the golden age of rug making in such places as Turkey and Persia, as well as the opening of numerous trade routes that made these beautiful artisan-produced rugs available throughout Western Europe. Today decorators are creating a Renaissance of their own by incorporating these beautiful rugs from the 17th century into modern interior designs.

There are 17th century antique rugs that have survived the test of time and are still available today which makes them wonderful collectibles as well as breathtaking decorative pieces. These pieces originate from all over the world including France (like the elegant Savonnerie and Aubusson styles), Persia (from renowned weaving centers such as Isfahan), India (weavings of the great Mughal empire), Transylvania (rugs woven in the Turkish / Ottoman empire) and many more. This variety provides decorators with a wide array of colors and patterns to choose from which in turn guarantees the ability to find the right piece for the right setting.

The decor of any room in the house can be enhanced by the use of an antique rug but a 17th century rug undoubtedly becomes a conversational piece. The reason 17th century rugs are so popular and sought after in today’s decorating market is that they are much more than a rug or simple floor covering. These historical artifacts from ancient times are true works of art, made from the finest silks and wools available during a time when true craftsmanship was honored and valued. In fact many of the first imported rugs during the 17th century were not used as floor coverings at all but were proudly displayed as table and wall coverings instead (which is one reason why these pieces are still in useable condition today). Some use the smaller rugs in the same manner today – to add beauty to a room’s decor by using the rug as a wall hanging where it serves as a focal point of art for the room.

Incorporating the beauty of rugs from the 17th century into today’s decor lends an historical accent to any room of the house. 17th century rugs have a story to tell and since they have recently been escalating in demand and price they are proving to be one of the smartest home decorating investments that can be made.

“When designing a room I always start with the carpet. In this Study on the Upper East Side, I found a carpet design that has a wonderfully playful African vibe: its warm creams, browns, blues, and mustards undulate across the floor. The upholstery fabrics and wall paint colors play off of them as well as the colors and textures of the parchment goat skin desk, custom desk chair, and the hand painted custom sidetable.”

- Interior Designer Adrienne Neff

Adrienne Neff Design Services, LLC

www.adrienneneff.com

One of the great commonplaces of the rug market is the supposed distinction between antique rugs of the sort sought after by collectors and those that appeal to clients who are primarily interested in decorating their homes or offices. This sweeping distinction involves a range of underlying oppositions – the difference between the design traditions used in village or tribal weaving and those used in urban rug production, the difference between small rugs and trappings versus larger or room-sized rugs, a rich and varied palette versus one that is cooler and more limited, and a knowledgeable interest in the rare and esoteric as opposed to a desire for what is simply beautiful or attractive.

Antique rug collectors come off as scholars more or less, endowed to one degree or another with a learned historical perspective. They tend to approach rugs from the vantage of ethnography. They are interested in tribal or regional distinctions and the place of a given piece in a larger development. They want pieces made for local use, which they see as authentic, in opposition to rugs made simply for commercial export. They tend to acquire pieces of scatter size or smaller that typified village and tribal weaving, where larger rugs were less common. Collectors accept and admire the often quirky or wild design sensibility and coloration of tribal and village rugs.

Decorative rug enthusiasts, on the other hand are interested in acquiring ornamental floor coverings that work within a larger, coordinated system or plan of interior furnishing. Consequently, they tend toward rugs that are bigger, whose designs and coloration are more subdued or less obtrusive, and therefore capable of blending in more easily with their surroundings. Since rugs of this size tended to be made in urban-centered workshops, it was the more sophisticated oriental design tradition of the cities that became synonymous with the notion of the decorative rugs and the taste they appeal to. Owners of decorative rugs are also assumed not to be immediately concerned with the historical development or rarity of the pieces they acquire, but primarily with their visual appeal. Continue Reading »

One of the great divides in the rug world is the distinction between newer rugs and those that can be termed antique. This is a distinction that operates on various levels involving artistic and technical quality, rarity, and, of course, price. New rugs are not simply those that arrive in the market direct from a manufacturer without ever having been used, but also those with an age of thirty years or less. Antique rugs are those at least eighty years old, while “old” and “semi-antique” rugs fill the gap between the new and antique. But these other categories are of little import; it is the fully “antique” label that really matters. Antique rugs have hand-spun wool, their colors are made with all or primarily vegetable-derived dyes, and they are produced with designs rooted authentically in traditions hundreds of years old. Unlike new rugs, there is a finite number of rugs made before 1920. This number may shrink, but it can never increase. Antique rugs not only have quality, but rarity as well, and this tends to increase their value with the passing of time.

But there is another divide of this sort, although it is not as well known. This is the divide between rugs designated as antique and those known as “Early Period” rugs and textiles, those made before 1800. Given the essential fragility of woven art, rugs of this age in anything approaching good condition are far rarer than antique rugs of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This makes them even more expensive than nineteenth century pieces, but their rarity has also made Early Period pieces somewhat unfamiliar to the larger rug-buying public. Instead, early rugs or carpets and textiles of this kind have so far been primarily of interest to specialist collectors. This is unfortunate, since many early pieces are carpets of a substantial size, which, if in sufficiently good condition, make excellent decorative rugs. For those who can appreciate the particular beauty and superior artistry of Early Period rugs, they remain a largely untapped resource for high quality interior décor. A few examples from the Nazmiyal Collection will suffice to illustrate this point. Continue Reading »

Interior designer Philip La Bossiere asserts, “I am not a beige guy in any sense of the word” in reference to both his colorful interiors and his exuberant personality. He has spent the past twenty-plus years cultivating his reputation as a sincere, hands-on decorator with timeless and unexpected design schemes. Always excited by Continental furniture, either at auction or abroad, La Bossiere prefers strong contrasts, rich color schemes, and a dash of the exotic. He was educated at Parsons School of Design, and in apprenticeship to renowned designer David Barrett, where he learned to execute designs that are timeless without ever feeling conservative.      read more…

Having worked with designers for over twenty years, I can really appreciate what makes Amy Lau so special and distinctive. I wanted to start our “Designer Spotlight” with Amy because of her wonderful sensitivity to color and its role within the design process. The impression of simplicity that she achieves in putting a room together is remarkable. Read the full article, A Conversation with Amy Lau from Forms of Design.