Going Beyond The Rules In Choosing An Area Rug
When we think of furniture, we naturally think of beds
, tables, couches, etc. We think in terms of the large pieces used to furnish our homes. But rugs are furniture; by definition they are the movable pieces we use to enhance our homes.
And no other piece of furniture can bring to mind the sense of magic and imagination of an area rug. Stories have been written about them from The Arabian Nights to modern times and in the stories the rugs can even fly.
What a lofty setting for a piece of furniture with a humble beginning. The area rug started out as the necessity for just a little bit of comfort in a hostile world. Imagine the simple idea: to sit on something thats not hard; to lie down on something softer than rock or plain dirt. And in answer to that idea, the original area rugs were made of grass or reeds, later they were made of skins. And as the family moved to a new place, the rugs were rolled and carried. The new place wasnt considered home until the rugs were laid down.
And thats the humble origin of the area rug though it didnt remain that way. The area rug developed into an art form, the blending of purpose and beauty. Individuals and families look on it as a way to express their own view of the world or themselves. Fabrics were used instead of grass and reeds, fabrics like wool and silk. When precious metals like gold and silver were woven into the production of the rug, one demonstrated his wealth to his neighbors.
Eventually, artists found an audience for their designs. Their products were decorated with geometric designs and pictures that evoked themes from nature or called to mind imaginary scenes. There is a stellar example of this called Spring of Khosrau. It was a stupendous area rug, 400,000 square feet, made for the King of Persia. The rug told the story of springtime, as the name suggests; yet, for the purpose of this work, it was told in silk, gold, silver and gemstones. As the story goes, the king would walk over his rug during the winter, admiring the stories embedded in the rug.
Yet for all its sophistication, the area rug still serves its original purpose; it makes a place home and provides comfort to its owner. And in the tradition of the area rug, it provides a way to express ones self to others. Those are the overriding ideas entwined in choosing your rug.
You have the luxury of shopping for your rug online; when you do, let your imagination take over. Instead of being bound by the so-called rules of measurement, space and placement, bring your own inner sense of placement and mood to the space you want to transform. The rules that you may see on certain websites were placed there as a guide for those without imagination, people who are afraid of originality. Trust you sense of design. After all, who are you designing your home for? Let the room setting you see on various rug sites stir the possibilities visible in your mind. That is the magic of an area rug: its ability to evoke a sense of mood, a setting, thats right for you.
You can let the area rug be the foundation, the focal point, of the room; it can tie together all the other elements of furniture into a pleasing statement. It can bring out the secondary colors of fabric or upholstery, complimenting or offsetting the colors of your walls. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. But youll find satisfaction in laying down your own rules for design and following your hearts desire.
Its the result that matters. When you stand on your new area rug, your toes sinking into the lush pile, ask yourself: is this the way I planned it? If the answer is yes, you have the satisfaction of following a tradition passed on through history: the weaving together of function and beauty in a way as individual as you are.
by: Andrea Lo Bue
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