Rustic brick, wood floors and a classic Persian rug combine to give this closet-sized wine cellar a Mediterranean ambiance.  The rug’s modest 2×3 foot size is pumped up by a saturated field color of traditional madder-red.  Small oriental rugs like this one have always been my favorite because although petite in size, they add a [...]

Red isn’t a one-shade-only color when it comes to old vegetable dyed rugs. The two main sources from which red was obtained were the cochineal bug and the root of the madder plant. Varying shades of pinkish-red and reddish-brown were achieved by mixing in whey. Lighter salmon colors came from weaker dye baths — darker [...]