A oriental carpet won’t disappear in any room. It is highly visible no matter how much furniture you stack on it, and also the rug represents an investment you’re unlikely to jettison any time soon. So make full use of it when you choose your decor. The carpet has a dominant shade together with any number of contrasting or accent colors that will assist you narrow down color picks, suggest wall colours you may not have thought of, and even serve as a colour guide for painting adjoining spaces.
More of a fantastic Thing
If you adore the colours in your rug, share the love throughout the rest of the room. Pick an unexpected accent thread in the rug for upholstery fabric or wall paint. The carpet’s faded peach with pale blue tracings can inspire washed-out peach brocade on the Louis XV fitting seats. Upholster the sofa in a whisper of light blue linen, and punctuate the graceful shade palette with peacock blue drapes that pool on the hardwood flooring, edging the rug. A camel-colored Bidjar carpet with alternating cream and red medallions from the bedroom gives you permit to “antique” the walls with camel color-wash or faux Venetian stucco. Red and cream striped taffeta drapes and lotion Fabric with red accents on a quilt border or throw pillows create a room as beautiful as your carpeting.
Color-Free Complement
The gorgeous old Kashan silk carpet would sit alone by its stunning self in the room if you and your guests did not need to sit somewhere too. Show it off to the max with monochrome room decor that won’t compete with the knotted silk lotions, roses and rich greens. Match the carpet’s sheen with buff or ivory silk upholstery on the antique wood-framed sofa and chairs. Opt for a toast or ivory leather sectional in a modern living room. Cover the walls with natural grass-cloth in a wheat or straw color, or paint them the exact same creamy ivory as the layout in the rug.
Alchemical Colors
Make a little magic in your room by playing with the colours in the oriental rug to determine the decor. A blue-dominant carpet is an exciting complement to pumpkin walls, more subdued but no less interesting against paler apricot paint. A red-dominant carpet is vibrant in a room with a triadic color scheme — shimmery light whipped butter paint on the walls, medium blue or purple raw silk drapes along with a blue velvet love seat. Serenity rules when the room and carpeting share an analogous color scheme. An emerald carpet with touches of peacock and lime gleams jewel-like in a mint room with stained wood or glossy white trim. Utilize color theory when selecting out a oriental, and when designing the room around it.
Old and Overdyed
Handmade oriental carpets that are stained, faded or otherwise color-worn beyond repair have years of life left in them when they’re overdyed. Overdyeing immerses a rug in a vibrant shade bath that turns the fibers a uniform shade but doesn’t disguise the first woven design and texture. Tones, patterns and hints of the first color glimmer during the new colour; you can treat the carpet like a solid-color rug, but its foundation is still there, enriching your decor. A bright purple oriental in a room with apartment turquoise walls and distressed oyster trim is intense and just plain fabulous. A brilliant chartreuse runner with the ruby outlines of its rose-patterned border barely peeping throughout the overdyed yellow-green attracts a coral hall with cream trim alive. Don’t be bashful about using dramatic shade blocks with your reclaimed, overdyed oriental.