29 Oriental Rugs for Every Space
A beautifully crafted Oriental rug never goes out of style and can be surprisingly versatile in all kinds of homes. With thousands of options in terms of color, fabric, scale, and style, there’s an Oriental rug out there for every space, whether you’re looking to accent an opulent English-inspired library or a sleek modern living room. When it comes to designing with Oriental rugs, follow these tips: Go monochromatic or neutral with the room’s remaining decor; match furniture to the colors of the rug; and don’t be afraid of mixing patterns. Here are 29 rooms from the AD archives to inspire your next rug purchase.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn1/29At an upstate New York home renovated by architect John I. Meyer Jr. and design firm McAlpine, the groin-vaulted library's Directoire-style desk by Roubini Casa is grouped with Louis XVI–style chairs by Niermann Weeks, Biedermeier armchairs, and a carpet by Marc Phillips Decorative Rugs; the bookcases with gilded capitals were custom made, and the curtains are of a Loro Piana wool.
Photo: Nikolas Koenig2/29In the master bath of designer Laura Santos’s Manhattan townhouse, a Marc Newson–designed chair by Cappellini sits beside a Boffi tub; the curtains are of a Kravet linen, and the rug is from Woven Accents.
Photo: Eric Piasecki3/29A Walton Ford painting spans one wall of the living room at an upstate New York farmhouse designed by architect Gil Schafer; the lamps are by Vaughan, the Gustavian chairs are from Evergreen Antiques, and the circa-1880s Sultanabad rug is from Beauvais Carpets.
Photo: Björn Wallander4/29Embellishing one end of the living room of Ralph Lauren’s Bedford, New York, home are a Victorian cut-glass chandelier, a George II gilt-wood mirror, and a 16th-century Flemish tapestry; the carpets are 17th- and 18th-century Persian.
Photo: Björn Wallander5/29A Roy Lichtenstein painting in the living room of a Manhattan apartment designed by Stephen Sills is bookended by bronze Charles Paris lamps atop 1940s Jansen tables. A leaflike bronze coupe by Hervé Van der Straeten from Maison Gerard is displayed on the cocktail table; the circa-1900 Amritsar rug is from Beauvais Carpets.
Photo: William Waldron6/29A pair of portraits by Charles Webster Hawthorne flank the early-19th-century marble mantelpiece in the living room of Marc Jacobs president Robert Duffy’s Manhattan townhouse; the Art Deco club chair in the foreground is from Maison Gerard, and the antique Khorassan rug is from Stark Carpet.
COPYRIGHT ©2008 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.7/29Mario Buatta converted a “theatrical” Fifth Avenue maisonette—once the home of interior design legend Sister Parish—into a soothing, romantic residence. The white sofa fabric by Brunschwig & Fils and blush curtains complement the colors in the living room’s large carpet.
COPYRIGHT ©2006 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.8/29This dramatic library in a New York apartment is governed by bold colors and opposing patterns, with glazed cobalt blue walls by Natasha Bergreen and Liza Cousins. Art Deco–style chaises and green-blue Clarence House curtains pair well with the floor covering.
COPYRIGHT ©2009 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.9/29In the master bedroom of a couple’s châteauesque villa in the Southwest, designer Peter Marino custom made the bed linens, recamier, night tables, and oval side table. The neutral tones of the rug complement the draping on the neoclassical bed from Italy.
COPYRIGHT ©2007 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.10/29At an estate in Rapidan, Virginia, decorated by Tino Zervudachi, a botanical-themed bedroom is home to an antique Persian carpet. The ceiling’s floral motif was inspired by a Mughal painting.
COPYRIGHT ©2006 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.11/29Comfortable sofas and chairs are mixed with European antiques in the great room of a lakefront home in Seattle. “The owners chose all of the pieces themselves,” designer Axel Vervoordt says. “Every corner is used.” The carpet is by Mansour.
COPYRIGHT ©2012 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.12/29Crisp furnishings and cool neutrals, like the large rug, are the theme at this Tudor Revival home in Washington, D.C. Designer Darryl Carter conceived the sofas, the cocktail table is attributed to Jansen, and a Renaissance Revival armchair stands alongside an antique French daybed.
COPYRIGHT ©2012 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.13/29Continuing with the neutral theme, the library in the same home features a William IV–style sofa by Lee Stanton Antiques and a Gothic-style oak table grouped with an 18th-century English wing chair.
COPYRIGHT ©2005 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.14/29At this Washington, D.C., house decorated by Stephen Shadley, the wood-paneled walls in the English-inspired library are glazed a deep red, and a complementary Persian rug, circa 1885, covers the floor. A Louis XV gilt mirror is above the mantel, and the armchairs were reupholstered with a circa-1800 Flemish tapestry.
COPYRIGHT ©2005 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.15/29The entryway of this William W. Stubbs–designed Houston home exudes European sensibility with a rococo-style giltwood mirror, a painted demilune console table, and a pair of acanthus-leaf Louis XV sconces, all contrasted by two red-and-blue Oriental carpets.
Photo: Scott Frances16/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-01-wm.jpg
Inside the oldest house in Washington, D.C., designer Mariette Himes Gomez furnished the library with an exquisite carpet from Doris Leslie Blau, a top Oriental rug dealer for decorators and antiquarians alike.
Photo: Björn Wallander17/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-02-wm.jpg
A vintage Tabriz carpet, also from Doris Leslie Blau, enlivens the living room of a Chicago penthouse designed by Michael S. Smith.
Photo: Simon Upton18/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-03-wm.jpg
The living room of a New York City townhouse marries a bold series of Josef Albers silkscreens with a subdued carpet from FJ Hakimian.
Photo: Oberto Gili19/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-04-wm.jpg
A richly appointed Naples, Italy, living room by design firm Studio Peregalli employs an antique Oushak carpet.
Photo: Björn Wallander20/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-05-wm.jpg
A circa-1920 Tabriz carpet from Galerie Shabab brightens the living room of a Houston home decorated by Cullman & Kravis.
Photo: Derry Moore21/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-06-wm.jpg
An antique Bessarabian rug from Beauvais Carpets inspired the color scheme of this Parisian living room designed by Jean-Louis Deniot.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn22/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-07-wm.jpg
At a New York City home designed by Vicente Wolf, an antique carpet from Doris Leslie Blau adds panache to the subdued living area.
Photo: Eric Piasecki23/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-08-wm.jpg
A Doris Leslie Blau carpet matches the rose-hued walls of a dining room inside designer Timothy Corrigan’s French manor.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn24/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-09-wm.jpg
A Hamptons bedroom designed by Carrier and Co. features a 19th-century Oushak.
Photo: Joshua McHugh25/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-10-wm.jpg
The color palette of jewelry designer Elizabeth Locke’s living room is brought together in a red-and-green antique Oushak.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn26/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-11-wm.jpg
A Ziegler Sultanabad from Beauvais meets a suite of bespoke and antique furnishings in a Louisiana bedroom decorated by Ray Booth.
Photo: Roger Davies27/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-12-wm.jpg
A 19th-century Sultanabad plays off the birch-bark walls at a Montana ski home devised by Michael S. Smith.
Photo: William Waldron28/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-13-wm.jpg
World-class art and a Doris Leslie Blau rug supply color in a Manhattan living room by designer James Aman.
Photo: Roger Davies29/29dam-images-decor-2015-04-oriental-rugs-oriental-rugs-antiques-14-wm.jpg
Rug connoisseur Ben Soleimani’s Los Angeles entryway features an antique Ziegler Sultanabad carpet from Mansour.
