Nothing Says “Traditional” (or almost) as an Oriental Carpet

Nothing says “traditional” (or almost) as an oriental carpet. Traditional rooms are always visually busy and all too often clutter is the next stage. There is a constant combat, a look at me first, of the furniture and objects. This centrifugal effect needs to be reversed. Nothing unifies better than a room sized carpet. In a recent House Beautiful spread of a suburban Maryland dwelling, we find a living room perfectly integrated by a softly toned late 19^th century Tabriz in a huge semi-repeating medallion design in hues of rust, navy, pistachio and beige. The carpet fills the room and effectively ties everything together. The room has plenty of contrasting pattern and scale, on the walls, with the tabletop objects, in the eclectic furniture and on the rug. But there is no clash, no conflict, no feeling of overloaded busyness. The carpet has neutralized the jostling for attention. Our number U-1482, a 12.0 by 18.2 Mashad is a perfect substitute for the Tabriz with its expansive large allover pattern and semi-soft colors. We can expect a similar unifying effect in a traditional space with our allover palmette patterned carpet. The 18^th century tapestry fragment on the wall picks up the colors of the carpet