In the over four decades of my design career and as a master teacher and director of an institute for interior design, I’ve often been asked, “What is the best and easiest way to begin a design project?” My answer came to me one day, early on, while I was preparing a basic strategy for my beginning design students.
If you start by selecting an area rug in any public space such as living room, dining room, den or entry foyer, you’ve created the color palette that will help you choose fabrics, paint colors, etc. because they are in or blend with the rug(s) you have chosen. Area rugs, which come in many sizes, shapes, and colors, also become the islands on which furniture is placed. They can be traditional, contemporary, or somewhere in between and the furniture you choose does not necessarily have to “match” the style. Area rugs also help create the flow between rooms, for while they should not be the same, they have the common thread of color and style from which to make various selections.
Over the years , rugs of choice have changed, but the “classics” are just that - classic and timeless. In the photos following, chosen because some of these rooms were designed over the last decades as well as recently, it is clear to see how area rugs can be a focal point, a color catalyst, and a timeless addition to any home.
If you start by selecting an area rug in any public space such as living room, dining room, den or entry foyer, you’ve created the color palette that will help you choose fabrics, paint colors, etc. because they are in or blend with the rug(s) you have chosen. Area rugs, which come in many sizes, shapes, and colors, also become the islands on which furniture is placed. They can be traditional, contemporary, or somewhere in between and the furniture you choose does not necessarily have to “match” the style. Area rugs also help create the flow between rooms, for while they should not be the same, they have the common thread of color and style from which to make various selections.
Over the years , rugs of choice have changed, but the “classics” are just that - classic and timeless. In the photos following, chosen because some of these rooms were designed over the last decades as well as recently, it is clear to see how area rugs can be a focal point, a color catalyst, and a timeless addition to any home.
