Friday, April 11, 2014

Decorating with Oriental Rugs




 CHALLENGE:
Decorating with Oriental Rugs





Have you ever had 
to work a room design 
around a beloved oriental?



My mother started collecting oriental rugs
when I was in high school or at least that's when
 I first remember them being in our house.


Ralph Lauren's home as seen in Architectural Digest.


Years later when I met my husband, 
he had an oriental rug 
and early in our marriage we
 started buying them 
at estate sales and auctions. 
Now the house is filled with them.





I LOVE them. 

(Especially Heriz, Bokhara and Sarouk patterns)



Heriz (from the northwest region of Iran)

Bokhara (from Pakistan)

Sarouk rugs come from Persia.




One of the many reasons 
I like to have oriental rugs 
is because they are nearly indestructible 
and rarely show dirt or dust. 
They clean easily are pretty much pet-proof.




ralph lauren
Overlapping orientals in Ralph Lauren's living room in New Bedford, NY

Love their rich colors
and their ancient history.

Oriental rugs have been around 
the earth since before Jesus walked the earth 
with the earliest known example
(seen below)
dating back to 500 BC.

This wool rug, the Pazyryk rug,
was discovered in 1949 in the town of the same name 
during an archaeological excavation 
of the grave of a Scythian prince.



File:Pazyrykfull.jpg
Amazing.



However, as lovely as they are
decorating around them
can be challenging.


This is a home in the current issue of Traditional Home that is located not far from me! Gorgeous, right?

Have you ever faced this challenge?
How did it turn out?



Here is your challenge:
send me a picture of your room
( to my email at thepolohouse@comcast.net )
that you have decorated
using an oriental rug
and I will add it here to the post!


Show us what you've got.

(Will post your room's photos below!)



Here is a beautiful light blue oriental in the gorgeous formal dining room of Dee at A Lapin Life




This is a lovely handmade silk Aubusson rug in the living room of Fabby @  Fabby's Living 
This classic red rug takes center stage in Shirley's gorgeous home! Love all the wood! 

LOVE how Karolyn at The Relished Roost created this luscious room around her oriental rug.
Check out the lacquered walls in the background --- LOVE!



What a warm, cozy room! Love the layers and detailing in Kathy's beautiful room
at All About Vignettes blog.




What a perfect spot to sit and relax on this lovely rug! This is a scene at the home of Karen
at Garden Home & Party blog. Link to visit there HERE
This is Richard's formal living room from his feature in Victorian Homes magazine in June 2012,
Isn't his home wonderful? Go visit him at MyOldHistoricHouse





19 comments:

Linda said...

Hi Alison...I have an ornamental rug and in our living room. I love all the rustic colours but I don't love the sofa's. Maybe it's the rug that's throwing off the sofa's.
We also fill our hallways with ornamental runners. These are keepers and never go out of style..

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I love all the beautiful pictures you posted Alison.

Susie said...

I love those rugs so much. I have one in the office...afraid our rolling desk chair may damage it...so I keep another smaller rug where the chair rolls out. XO, Susie

therelishedroost said...

Yes indeed, that exact Bokhara is what I had to work around in my library, it was vintage and I did not have the heart to get rid of it so I made it work! Have a great weekend!

Curtains in My Tree said...

I have been on the hunt for s red oriental rug for my living room, I am very selective since I can't spend all my savings on another rug just to change up the looks of a room

Richard Cottrell said...

I love oriental rugs and can not imagine a house without them. Richard

Karen said...

Alison,

I have a Heriz in my reading room. It was a gift from a friend that no longer wanted it. I love it! I'll send a picture.
Karen

FABBY'S LIVING said...

Oh sweet friend, thank you so much for having me here, it's an honor, really it is...specially sorrounded by amazing romos and rugs, wow!
I have more all around my house, specially the huge one in the dining room, but this one is easier to appreciate, plus right now I'm posting my living room, so perfect! Have a wonderful weekend sweet lady.
FABBY

michele said...

oooooh, i'll take that sarah richardson designed room, please!

smiles.

michele

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I adore oriental rugs. Thanks for posting my dining room.

Shirley@Housepitality Designs said...

Gorgeous rooms and rugs!...and love seeing Sara Richardson's farmhouse again...and RL is definitely a favorite of mine....

Karen said...

Alison,
Thanks for the link. There are some beautiful rugs and rooms out there. :-)
Karen

Divine Theatre said...

I love them too! I have a ton! Literally! When I finally put them down in the rooms it made all the difference in the world!
I am about to post several on Craigslist! I had too many!

xo

Andie

Sarah said...

Alison, we are definitely fans of oriental rug. With hardwood floors throughout our home, orientals rugs are the perfect covering. I appreciate them as much for the hand crafted skill as the beauty. Thank you for an interesting post. I sent an email tonight with a photo.
Happy Easter to you!

Divine Theatre said...

I forgot to mention that I followed the advice of a fellow pinner and bought a squeegee to clean pet hair from rugs and furniture...it is AWESOME!

xo

karen@somewhatquirky said...

Wow. Just gorgeous! I don't own an oriental rug so I can't play today, but I can still admire! Nice post.

Unknown said...

I have always thought that Oriental rugs, particularly red ones were basically considered neutral - no need to decorate around them. They just are, in their own right, a piece of art.

The enchanted home said...

Hi Alison..so sorry I missed this, would have loved to show off my library ant. serapi! Love rugs and have missed visiting you, still trying to add you to my blogroll again for some reason the RSS is not being recognized...frustrating.
Good to see you and your beautiful blog!

Unknown said...

Good work…unique site and interesting too… keep it up…looking forward for more updates.
kilim area rugs