Rugs, Carpets, and Decorating

Innovative Rug Design: 5 Under 40 Designers

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:25:00 GMT

Rug

The 5 Under 40 program spotlights young designers in New England, encourages innovative rug design, and supports the education of girls in Pakistan.

Landry & Arcari is proud to be presenting sponsor of New England Home magazine’s “5 Under 40” awards. An all-star panel of regional designers selects five of the best young designers in the New England Area.

Each of the five winners then designs a rug to be hand-woven on Landry & Arcari’s GoodWeave-certified looms in Nepal. Landry & Arcari has extensive experience weaving custom rugs in Nepal for its customers.

On September 15, there will be an awards dinner to honor the winners and to display the completed rugs. At the awards dinner there will be an auction of the rugs. The proceeds will go to the Barakat, Inc., to fund scholarships for girls in Pakistan. Last year’s auction raised over $9,000 for this cause.

The winners of the 2011 contest will be announced at a special reception on April 14, 2011, and will be profiled in the September/October issue on New England Home.

For more information about the event, see http://www.nehomemag.com/ms/5-under-40/home.

See below for the rugs designed by last year’s winners. We will show the rugs from this year's winners in a later blog.

Rug design by Hansy Better Barazza, Studio Luz Architects

Rug design by Stephanie Horowitz, ZeroEnergy Design

Rug design by Meichi Peng, Meichi Peng Design Studio

Rug design by Patrick Planeta, Planeta Basque Boston

Rug design by Quentin Kelley, Infusion Furniture

Contemporary Tibetan Rug Up Close

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:24:00 GMT

Rug

We are always experimenting with new designs in our Nepalese line of rugs. One of the most interesting is a design that we have called “Monet”, because we can interpret the design as water lily pads and buds floating on water. This is in tribute to Claude Monet’s famous series of painting on this theme.

Monet, Blue, 8 feet x 10 feet

As many of our contemporary designs, this rug design was inspired by a fabric. We adjusted the scale of the motif to make the design more dramatic. We have noticed a trend in contemporary rugs towards larger and more dramatic scales.

The fabric that inspired the rug design

To create a shimmering look of the water around the lilies we played with the background texture. The “water” effect is created by alternating a row of silk pile with a row of looped café-au-lait colored wool. The lilies themselves are wool and mohair blend pile. Since the silk pile does not stay up uniformly, the light brown peaks through unevenly. This creates a wonderful misty aura in rug background.

Closeup showing alternating rows of silk pile and wool loops

The latest shipment of rugs from our production has just arrived from Nepal. It included four different sizes of our Monet, Blue, design. As other rugs in our collection, we are happy to weave custom sizes or adjust the colors and design to customer preferences. If you are in our area, check out examples of this beautiful rug in either of our showrooms, Boston and Salem, MA.

Monet, Blue, Tibetan rug: detail of another view

Dhurries: Beautiful, Flexible, and Economical

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:30:00 GMT

Rug

In our most recent shipment from India, we have a good number of dhurrie (alternatively dhurry, durrie, and durry) rugs. These flatwoven rugs are a traditional floor covering of India and Pakistan. Although frequently these are all-cotton, ours are wool on a cotton foundation. The wool surface is better wearing and easier to maintain than that of cotton.

These rugs are especially woven for us. Jeff Arcari in one of his visits to the Indian rug-weaving of Bhadohi worked out the color placements in the designs to make them especially appealing to our clientele. He created six different color combinations.

Designs of Landry & Arcari Dhurries

These rugs are products of a cottage industry. A weaving family will typically have three or four looms under tent cover outside of their homes. The weaver propels a hand-propelled shuttle to weave the design. In a number of ways this cottage weaving resembles the production of Harris Tweed in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

We have a large range of size of these designs as rugs and runner: 2’6” x 8’, 2’6” x 13’, 5’ x 8’, 9’ x 12’, and 10’ x 15’. If we don’t have the exact size that you need, we can trim a rug or sew two or more rugs together. We have made a stair runner from these dhurries.

With prices starting at $180 these rugs are a great buy. They would look wonderful in a beach home or a casual room.

Rugs That Are As Smooth As Silk - Really

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:02:00 GMT

Rug

Ready for rugs that are unique, sensational and unlike any other that you’ve ever experienced? We’re very excited about our newest collection of 100% recycled Sari Silk, which has just arrived from India. These eco-friendly rugs are woven from 100% recycled silk; they are woven by hand and will energize your home’s interior in a way no other rug can. (A sari, the traditional garb of the women of India and neighboring countries, is an unstitched length of cloth that is draped over the body in various styles.)

This new, environmentally green, rug collection boasts beautifully blended tones and a unique striated design that is different from anything we’ve offered before. Take a peek at the pictures and come into either of our Landry & Arcari locations to explore the design possibilities these silk rugs can offer. Let one of our design experts help you bring in the New Year with an updated look for your home!

A Sampling of the Vibrant Colors in Our Sari Silk Rugs

Shimmering Blue Sari Silk Rug: J25430, 4' 2" x 5' 10"

Rugs Just In: Pile & Soumak Combinations

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:25:00 GMT

Rug

We have almost completed unpacking the rugs that Jeff Arcari bought on his buying trip to Pakistan, India, and Turkey. The most recent batch that we unpacked had some very unusual and distinct rugs. Each of these rugs uses variations in texture as in its design. Part of the surface is pile, while the remainder is soumak weave.

Soumak and Pile Textures

The soumak weaving technique consists of wrapping colored yarns over the warps of the carpet. Since the soumak yarn is continuous rather than knotted and cut, it does not have “fuzz” that pile rugs have.

In the rug below, the texture of the background soumak makes the cloak appear to float on the surface.

J25468, 4' 2" x 6' 0"

In the rug below, the colors are low contrast. The design uses difference in texture as much as the differences in color. The design is inspired by Moroccan tribal rugs.

J25482, 9' 2" x 12' 0"

In this last example, the contrast is in both texture and color. The black pile strikingly contrasts with the silver metalic soumak threads.

J25473, 6' 4" x 9' 7" and other sizes

Reproducing an Antique Rug: Dyeing

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:17:00 GMT

Rug
Included among the carved paneling, antique stained glass windows, antique furniture, and other items that form a room in a Boston institution is a large and beautiful, but worn, rug. The room and the rug have an interesting story. From the 1920’s to the 1980’s the room paneling, the rug, and the other contents graced a financial office in New York City. In the 1980’s the room was dismantled and relocated to Boston.

The 18 x 28 foot rug in the room is a type known as Karaja, named after the village in far Northern Iran where it was woven. Karaja rugs are similar in many ways to the better known Heriz rugs, but differ in structure. By this time the rug was worn and repaired many times. Our client requested Landry & Arcari to recreate this rug in the same size and design.

Landry & Arcari arranged for a new rug to be woven in Northern Pakistan by Afghan Turkmen, who have been expert rug weavers for countless generations. We documented the rug in photographs and computer renderings. To provide the weavers with the colors, we matched the colors in the rugs with color samples. The colors of the new rug, like those of the antique original, will be from indigo, madder, and other plant dyes. The new rug will be sturdier than the original, even when it was new. The weaving technique of the Turkmen creates a denser, firmer rug than that of the Karaja weavers.

We will be receiving pictures from all the stages in the creation of this rug. We start off with dyeing, shown below. We hope to post other pictures here as the rug takes form.

Matching the Colors

The Dye House

The Master Dyer

The Madder-Dyed Yarn

Custom Rugs: The Peacock

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:40:00 GMT

Rug

For many rugs being woven now, fabrics, rather than traditional rugs, are the inspiration for design. We have recently had a wonderful example when clients brought in a sample of their upholstery. The major decorative element of this fabric was a peacock. The clients were interested in a 8 x 16 foot rug based on this peacock design.

Eric, our graphics designer, created a rug incorporating images of four peacocks. Then, he and the clients reviewed our inventory of hundreds of color swatches to select the colors to use in the rug being created.

The next step was to test out the design in a sample. We then sent the rendering of the design and the codes of the selected colors to our weavers in Nepal. Within six weeks an air package arrived from Nepal. It contained a 2 x 2 foot sample of the design. Our clients immediately came in to check the results. We received an e-mail later in the day stating “we LOVE LOVE LOVE the rug” and placing an order for the full-size rug. They also very kindly offered to let us photograph the rug in their house when it arrives. When we do so, we will share the photograph on this blog.

The Inspiration: Upholstery Fabric

The Rendering: The Design of the Rug

The Strike-off: Woven 2' x 2' Sample of the Peacock Rug

Origins of Rug Designs: Khotan

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:21:00 GMT

Rug
J24351, 5' 5" X 8' 0", Hand-knotted in Turkey

Many of the rugs being woven today use traditional designs. Although Persian rugs form the most important source of the traditional designs, there are others. One of the most intriguing sources are the three towns on oases on the old Great Silk Road. Although we frequently refer to these designs as “Khotan”, all three towns, Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar wove rugs. What makes these interesting is antiquity and complexity of design. The desert climate has preserved rug fragments almost 2,000 years old. Being in the major east-west trade route, Khotan designs reflect influences from Persia, China, and India. Also, they add a local touch by frequently including pomegranates in the design. The following blog article provides a nice summary of the history and rugs of this area: http://tea-and-carpets.blogspot.com/2010/11/khotan-carpets-and-lost-legacy-of-silk.html.

Below are images of some rugs in our inventory. Some are close representations of Khotan designs, others show various degrees of influence.

J27968, 9' 0" x 11' 5", Hand-woven in Turkey

J24672, 8' 3" x 9' 7", Hand-woven in Pakistan

J21630, 4' 1" x 5' 1", Hand-woven in Turkey

J24353, 1' 10" x 11' 10", Hand-woven in Turkey

J24349, 4' 10" x 6' 10", Hand-woven in Turkey

J25149, 8' 0" x 9' 7", Hand-knotted in Turkey

Custom Rugs: Changing Colors

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:13:00 GMT

Rug

One of the major benefits of creating custom rugs for our customers is that they bring a fresh eye to our designs. One of our customers selected the design of our wool and silk Tahiti, Taupe, rug, but wanted it in green. Coincidently, we had created a sample in green shades, but never got around to have room-size rugs woven in that color. (We are always experimenting with new designs and colors.) The customers loved this sample and asked us to weave it for them in a 9 x 12 foot size making some adjustments in the highlight shades. It would be perfect for their Florida winter home.

The rug arrived this week by air from Nepal. When we unpacked and opened the rug, we were immediately struck by its beauty. We wondered why had not previously woven this rug for our own inventory. The next day we placed an order for this design in three different sizes. We are looking forward to seeing them here in about five months.

The surface of the rug is mostly Tibetan wool. In the customer's rug, the blue and gold highlights (flower and leaf veins) are silk. In the sample, the blue highlights are wool.

Above: "Tahiti, Taupe"

Above: "Tahiti, Sage", 2 x 3 foot sample

Above: Custom-woven, 9 x 12 foot, Tahiti, Sage

3-D Rugs: Rugs of Felt Stones

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:28:00 GMT

Rug

Imagine a carpet of naturally worn river or beach stones. It may be beautiful, but not comfortable to walk on barefoot – unless it is our new Cobble Wool rug. A producer in India makes these especially for Landry & Arcari. Last January, when attending Domotex, an international carpet and rug conference in Germany, Jeff Arcari made arrangements to have these made for us. We have just received our shipment.

Each “stone” in is a ball of felted wool, about two inches long and an inch and a half thick. The weaver sews these together to form a rug. Since the weaver decides how to combine the different colored stones, each rug is unique. We have two available background colors – pale grey and pale beige. We are thinking of other possibilities. If you have any ideas, please let us know.

We have Cobble Wool rugs available in the standard sizes starting from 2 x 3 feet to 9 x 12. The rug would look great with modern furniture in a contemporary living room or would provide extra comfort for bare feet in a bedroom.

Above: 2 x 3 foot example of the grey background

Above: 4 x 5 feet example of the beige background

Above: Detail

Afro-Tibetan Fusion Rugs

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:11:00 GMT

Rug

The growing popularity of Tibetan-weave rugs has expanded the design pool of hand-woven rugs dramatically. These rugs are often categorized as "contemporary" or "transitional" whether they have original designs or ones base upon some other tradition. We at Landry & Arcari have produced several rugs based on the rich, but under-appreciated, African textile tradition. If you are in the vicinity of either our Boston or Salem, MA, showrooms, check out these rugs.

Below are three rugs that are African designs interpreted in Tibetan rugs woven in Nepal. All three these rugs are approximately 6 feet by 8 feet 6 inches in size.

The Kuba and Shoowa people of the Democratic Republic of Congo have long been producing exceptional works of art in wood carving and textiles. Of particular interest to are the raffia cloth embroideries. Raffia is a fiber made from a number of species of palm trees indigenous to Africa. The embroideries are small squares incorporating abstract geometric figures, various shades of brown, and variations in texture for the design.

Our "Shoowa" is a 100 knot rug using Tibetan wool, mohair, and silk. The silk in the rugs shimmers. The striped lines throughout the design are silk.

Our "Raphia" is also 100 knot rug also using Tibetan wool, mohair, and silk. However, instead of a large-scale design it emphasizes texture. As in the Kuba inspiration the rug has variations in texture and random placement of color.
Each of the pile diamonds in the design is surrounded by a flat area.

In North Africa we find a different esthetic. The Berber nomads in the Atlas Mountains produce shaggy rugs with random lines. Often these rugs depend on natural wool colors to form the design.

Our "Ruafa" rug is a 60 knot rug of 100% Tibetan wool pile. It is not a reproduction of a Berber rug; it is definitely a Tibetan rug. However, it has a simple abstract design that reflects its Berber inspiration. It also has the advantages that its shorter and denser pile is more practical and that it can be made to almost any size.

Oriental Rugs in a Historic Home: The House of the Seven Gables

Thu, 07 May 2009 16:37:00 GMT

Rug
Because of our store's location, in an area rich in antique homes, we often supply Oriental Rugs to owners of historic properties. One of our more recent fascinating jobs was working with the curator of The House of Seven Gables in Salem, MA, to supply period-accurate rugs not far from our Salem store, the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion was built in 1668 by the wealthy merchant John Turner. The house is known popularly today for the novel of the same name by Nathanial Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables. It is the oldest surviving seventeenth-century wooden mansion in New England. Opened up to the public in 1910, the property is on the National Register of Historic Places. For more detail about this marvelous house see: http://www.7gables.org.

The house itself was remodeled and restored over the centuries, and just as the house evolved, so too did the furnishings. With this in mind, the curator decided to furnish the rooms with period furniture and rugs from the mid 18th to mid 19th century. The original rugs from the 18th century were long gone, so the curator approached Landry & Arcari Oriental Rugs and Carpeting to help them find suitable antiques or reproductions of rugs in a style that would have been common in this period.

There was no documentation on exactly what sort of rugs were in the house originally. However, since the Turners were very wealthy at the time and both owned and dealt in fabrics from all over the world, we can assume that the family would have had access to the very best rugs. The curator concluded after research that Transylvania rugs would have been most appropriate for a wealthy home of this period. The museum gave us pictures of old Transylvania rugs that they wanted us to emulate and in consultation with the curator, we arranged for reproductions of three rugs in the Transylvania style to be made in Turkey for the museum.

The name itself for this style of rug is misleading, because the rugs most likely did not originate in Transylvania (region in northern Romania). They received their name because so many of them were discovered in the Lutheran churches of Transylvania. Rug scholars believe that most of these rugs were woven in Turkey and most likely ended up in the region due to trade throughout the Ottoman Empire.

The reproduction rugs that we had made for The House of Seven Gables are now on display in three rooms of the museum.

Here you can see a Transylvanian rug used in the parlor of the museum. Note how bright the wallpaper, paint, and rug colors are. The palette for this particular rug was developed to match the period accurate wallpaper.

The largest rug appears in the dining room. Again, note how the rug colors coordinate with the wallpaper. All of the wallpaper in The House of Seven Gables was based on the original paper which was found on the wall under centuries old layers of wallpaper and paint. The reproduction wallpaper itself was made using traditional techniques, as were the Transylvanian rugs that were woven by hand in Turkey, using natural plant dies just as a rug of the 18th century would have been made.

Finally, the museum commissioned us to have this smaller rug made for one of the house's bedrooms.

Original Transylvanian rugs can be found in museums and in important collections. We are also proud to offer a terrific contemporary copy of a Transylvania rug.

Technorati Profile

Bringing Education to the Cottage Rug Industry

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:20:00 GMT

Rug
We're a big fan of Design New England, a magazine focusing on the best in architecture, interior design, and garden design around New England. We are especially pleased then to be a part of the January/February 2009 issue.

Design New England, January/February 2009 - see page 104

Rug weaving has long been a "cottage industry" and although workshops have been the source of many rugs, the homes of the weavers are the source of many more. Weavers weave outside their homes on portable looms. The weaver may sell her rugs at the local market place, under contract to an exporter, or hold on to the rugs until the family needs money from their sale. The original "at home" business, cottage rug weaving operations have employed families for centuries.

Jeffrey, our Oriental Rugs Manager, makes frequent buying trips to Southeast Asia. In his travels to work with his overseas rug productions, he found that most of the local children of the rug weavers involved in the cottage rug industry were unable to attend school because of the high cost of school and the prohibitive distances to get there. To improve the lives of our carpet producers and their families, Landry & Arcari Oriental Rugs and Carpeting made a substantial donation to have a school built in the Bhadohi district of northern India. Now serving 200 children, the free school has made education available for the children of the community, most of whom are the first generation in their family to attend school.

Art Deco and Contemporary Rugs at the AD 20/21 Show

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:23:00 GMT

Rug
We were pleased to participate last week in AD 20/21 - Art and Design of the 20th and 21st Century - at The Cyclorama at The Boston Center for The Arts in the South End. Landry & Arcari was one of 50 exhibitors offering rugs, fine art, furniture, glass, ceramics, decorative arts, photography, sculpture, jewelry, and other items from the 20th and 21st Century. When we weren't tending the booth, we reveled in beautiful examples of art nouveau, arts and crafts, art deco, mid-century modern, and contemporary pieces.

Jeff Arcari at the Landry and Arcari booth

The fun kicked off on Thursday, March 26 at an event to benefit the Boston Architectural College. Catered with live music, all of the proceeds of the opening went to support the BAC, New England's largest independent, accredited college of spatial design. The event was a rousing success -- the gala preview raised more than $100,000 for the Boston Architectural College. As part of the fundraiser, we raffled off $2,000 towards a custom rug.

Here are some images of the most popular rugs at our booth:

Two new designs from our own production line: Nishikigoi left) and Nouveau (right)

Chinese Art Deco Rug, Circa 1930

Look for more information on Art Deco Rugs and custom rug production in future posts.

Picking the Right Size Rug

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:09:00 GMT

Rug

When figuring the size of your rug, consider the size of your room and your decorating tastes. How much floor space do you wish to show?

Would you like your furniture on the rug for a warm feeling?

Would you prefer your furniture off your rug for a crisper look?

A small area rug can provide a focal point.

When placing a rug under a dining table, remember to leave enough room so that the chair legs remain on the carpet when pulled out. About two and a half feet beyond each dimension of the table should leave enough room.

A room-size rug sets the ambience for the room.

Don't forget comfort too - for example, installed broadloom in a bedroom, hallway, or family room insulates while creating a comfortable place to relax and play.

Rug Design 101: The Range of Rug Designs

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:32:00 GMT

Rug
There is a vast and diverse range of rug designs available - from ancient, traditional patterns that have been passed down through centuries to contemporary designs that reflect a modern sensibility. Whether choosing from handmade oriental rugs or broadloom carpeting, a world of choices awaits you.

Would you like something formal such as a Kashan design rug with fine and intricate detail (left)? Perhaps you would prefer bold and geometric such as a Heriz (center)? Maybe a rug relaxed in design and weave such as an Oushak best reflects your tastes (right)?

All of these Oriental rug designs are natural complements for fine antiques. However, don't let that limit you; traditional rug designs also look splendid with contemporary furnishings.

You won't believe the range of contemporary designs now available in rugs. Some contemporary designs show bold geometric patterns (left). Others have little or no pattern and emphasize texture (center). Maybe consider a gabbeh rug, an ancient, tribal design with a contemporary look (right).

And just as traditional rug designs can be used with contemporary furnishings, so too can contemporary rugs be used to great effect with antiques. Don't be afraid to mix it up!

Consider also the increasingly popular "transitional" rugs that use designs that are derived from fabrics. Like fine fabrics, these rugs often emphasize wonderfully luxurious materials, such as silk and mohair. As in fabrics, the designs can vary from cozy to cutting edge. They offer an updated color palette in a wide range of tones, from very soft to strong. And since the designs derive from fabrics, you will easily find upholstery and curtains to match.

Don't be overwhelmed with all these choices; a fine rug showroom can assist you in picking out colors and styles to find the perfect rug for you. Try out rugs in your home to see what fits best. And if you don't find the perfect rug, an experienced rug dealer can look for you or even have one custom-made to your exact requirements.

Using Carpet Color to Set a Mood

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:10:00 GMT

Rug

Color draws us in and creates a mood that soothes, uplifts, and inspires. When choosing a rug, consider the tone of the rug's colors. Do you want a soft or dark look? Bright and vibrant colors? Or something more neutral and muted? A soft-toned rug can brighten up a room; a darker rug sets a more intimate mood.

The lighting in the room is critical. Before purchasing a rug, see how it looks as the light changes throughout the day. A reputable rug dealer will let you try a rug at home before purchasing. If you are considering broadloom, lay the sample on the floor where it will go and view it at different times of day to see how the color changes in response to the changing light. And remember, a handmade rug will appear lighter or darker depending from which side it is viewed.

All the knots in a hand-woven rug face in one direction. The images above show the same rug from opposite directions. If you look at the rug from the end where the knots point (left), the rug will appear darker because the ends of the knots absorb the light. If the rug is viewed from the other end (right), the rug will appear lighter because more light reflects off the sides of the yarn forming the knots.

Rugs: A Foundation for Great Design

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Rug

How best to integrate all of your various design elements to achieve the style you want can be overwhelming. To unify your look, consider choosing a rug first. Once you have selected your rugs and carpeting, the rest of your décor – wall colors, upholstery fabrics, furniture, window treatments, etc. – will follow. Your rug is the foundation of the room. If you love your rug, you will love your room.

This blog is dedicated to living with rugs. As owner/operators of Landry & Arcari Oriental Rugs and Carpeting, a rug store in Boston and Salem, Massachusetts, we've had the privilege of experiencing the world of rugs through the people who own them, the weavers who handcraft them, the designers who use "art underfoot" to create compelling and livable designs, and the countries and cultures they come from. Through this blog we hope to share some of the unique joy that we’ve experienced as we’ve traveled this world, both literally and figuratively.

Postings will explore trends in design and carpeting, and reflect on the sources around us that inspire us. Blogs on the beauty, history, and manufacturing of rugs will hopefully serve as a primer on the ancient and fascinating world of rugs. And because we know that rugs are practical as well as inspirational, we plan to include concrete advice about choosing, using, and caring for your oriental rugs and broadloom carpeting.

If there are specific topics you’d like us to address, let us know. We hope that by sharing a bit of our world we will encourage you to share yours too.