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| Patra in Northern Lights by Couristan makes a stylish, forgiving dining room area rug. |
Architectural Digest always has the most elegant, well designed homes. The owners of the featured homes are usually super stars in their fields and thus have super star pocket books. One will not find 'repurposed' materials in this magazine. I am struck by how the use of patterned carpet and area rugs, some made custom for the rooms, make a huge difference in a space. It's become such the trend to neutralize the floor of a room in sisal or a look alike, as if the room's foundation is an after thought or should act as a blank canvas. I'm almost shocked to see otherwise. But what a difference it makes. Especially when everything else is neutral. In my own tiny apartment home, I recently installed (er, the husband) a very colorful striped area rug from Couristan. I was so hesitant to go for the color, afraid of the small space becoming too busy, but after trying to work with two very neutral area rugs, the first jute and then a jute/ sisal colored wool, I went for it. The space is my dining room and with a two year old and two messy semi slack adults the floor always gathers messes of living. The wool always cleans wonderfully but who has time- or the desire- to clean one's carpet in her 'free time.' So, now the striped rug- still low profile and wool- forgives or messes until I take the time to remove them (or call our dear friend and associate, Terry Hunt who can clean carpets and rugs in a flash and he is a lovely person to boot!) And boy was I wrong about looking to busy for the room- it makes the room!
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| This hand tufted Bink & Campman area rug reminds me of Libby Sims Patrick's Dining Room featured in Novembers Better Homes and Gardens. This rug is available in 4'7 x 6'7" , 5'3" x 7'6" , 6'7" x 9'2" and custom sizes. |
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| Oliver Stone's Red, White and Blue NYC apartment. This custom rug makes this room. |
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| And here's the other half of that room, scanned in from October's Architectural Digest. | | |
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| Gloria Vanderbilt's NYC apartment featured in an October issue of New York magazine. I post this one for the absolute bravery of it. Most of us would not normally place what appears to be a blue and cream rug off of the very red space. But it is the contrast, or the irony, that makes this a fabulous choice. A sisal certainly would work, but why do that if you can do this? |
