Is it reasonable to think that my rugs could, and should, be seasonal?
It’s hot and humid outside and my beloved Oriental carpets are feeling a little heavy. I do have a lot of them — the joke around here is that we live at “rug mart.” So, along with my reaction to what our pal Nancy of Silver Magpies recently defined in a comment as my post-moving “clutteritis,” I appear to be developing a taste for summer rugs, which explains why striped, flat-woven dhurries have been looking so cool and attractive to me.
This latest syndrome began the other day in our guest room where I parked the indestructible fuchsia Chinese Deco carpet purchased for my single-girl bedroom 25 years ago. Our extra bedroom is small and it would look lighter and fresher with striped cotton rugs on the floor. Back in the 19th century – when people could afford two whole-house looks per year — staff would have rolled up the wool rugs in May and put the cotton floor coverings in place until the end of September. What a lovely fantasy. Meanwhile, I went to my files to see what would be manageable in a strictly DIY XXI-century home.
It’s common to see striped cotton rugs set over sisal to introduce pattern, since the natural fiber helps keep the lighter weight textile in place. A black-and-white striped rug looks terrific in the great hall of this rural Alabama plantation house [top] where designer Betsy Brown used this favorite high contrast combo to tweak up a super-neutral space.
In sharp contrast, an orange and white striped dining room rug was cleverly married into a fun, paintbox-color scheme by New York designer Todd Klein. It took a minute to focus on something other than the rug of the star pendant light but when I did I thought “how smart to work the stripes into a genuine play of color that bounces between the rug and the blue, green, red and yellow textiles used for chair and sofa cushions.
It’s difficult to discuss flat-woven rugs without mentioning Annie Selke, the reigning home textile force behind Dash & Albert and Pine Cone Hill. The Dash rugs are becoming iconic American decorating pieces and not just because they’re affordable and available.
The rug below home-style editor Newell Turner’s dining room table looks like a dead ringer for D&A’s two-tone, indoor-outdoor (and very practical polypropylene) Side Bar rug.
Another Selke woven appears in a mixed blue room that combines turquoise and royal shades opposite classic brown. With so many possibilities, perhaps it isn’t far-fetched to think about a future approach to more seasonal decorating.
(Source: House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens)
Our resident rug maven Jane T also has written authoritatively about dhurries, stripes and cotton rugs here.
Hello Jane –
I’m so proud to have coined a new term!
I hope you are getting through the moving process.
I’m all for summer rugs…makes the house fresh. I remember 2 sets of slipcovers, winter and summer, in my mother’s house. Sigh, one day…
I’m sure a rug can be seasonal especially because the carpets from these pictures can’t keep you warm in the winter but are very comfortable in the summer. A persian carpet for example is perfect for winter but not so recommended during the summer. So you’re right about carpets being seasonal.
Hi Jane! Oh, you’ve picked some lovely snaps! Love rugs and I agree with the others that rugs can be seasonal. Hope your move is going well.
Thanks for popping in to see me and I had never thought of a disguised gadget. Hmmm….maybe an idea for the next party!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia
I enjoyed seeing the rug pictures. This is helping me figure out what would work in my house!
Hi Jane,
Thanks for the kind words! We do our best to keep floors happy.
Jess from Dash & Albert
I definitely need more rugs…Like some at all! These look fun, and it’d be a great lift to change them seasonally, I’d think.
Hey Jess,
You folks do a great job. I hope to eventually be seeing more of you during the summer in my house! Jane