Where do you start your decorating project?
Some designers start with a fabric and build the room around that. Sometimes it’s a beloved item, like a painting, that serves as the inspiration. Sometimes it’s the view out the window. Many times, clients do not have a starting point. That’s why they need a decorator! When decorating a living room or dining room, and when left to my own devices, I start with the rug.
An area rug is often the most expensive item in a room. And rugs can be an emotional purchase. When clients see a hand-knotted rug they like, they know it. They love it right away. Then we take a few rugs back to their house to see what it does in the light conditions of the home.
Broadloom?
Sometimes we do broadloom (wall-to-wall cut down to make an area rug) and on occasion sisal. This can be a classic way to decorate.
Hand knotted?
For the main living spaces such as living rooms, most of my clients purchase hand knotted rugs. Rug choices are as varied as the day is long, as my grandmother used to say and the price points vary from affordable to collector-type pricing. Many people think that a hand-knotted rug is an “investment.” There are very few rugs in this category and most date from before 1900. New rugs are expensive, that is true, but there is not a re-sale market for them. I tend to say they are an investment in your happiness.
Below you will see custom rugs that are sheared close, a Tibetan weave with silk, traditional designs with borders, a traditional Oushak witout a border, and a funky custom Tibetan with a geometric design in shades blues, and a Tulu long/shag piled rug in updated colors.
The more beautiful the rug in real life, the worse they tend to look in photos. Rugs can to be hard to photograph, the colors, the subtlety often lost in translation.
