We all want to be in tune with the trends, but when it comes to fine handmade area rugs, the rules are different than other style choices we make. It is ok to be very trendy with clothes if you so desire, because even if what you bought becomes a thing of the past within a couple years, it is still a minor investment; but you cannot afford to do this with area rugs that last for generations and are expensive. It is easy to decorate with the trends of our times, without your expensive purchase looking dated in a couple years.
FADS: Don’t follow extreme fads in colors or style of rugs. It is great to want to look in tune with the styles of our times, but fads that are really “in” now will be really “out” in a short while.
DESIGNS: The single biggest thing you can do to achieve this is to avoid extremes; If contemporary designs are in, then go more transitional rather than modern; a design that looks like the product of a geometry set or whipped out by a computer will not be timeless and will look dated soon, while a transitional design that may use traditional motifs, but arranged in a very contemporary style, will achieve the purpose of looking contemporary, but in a timeless manner.
COLORS: Same applies in colors; instead of choosing extremely strong colors or extremely light colors, go in between. Choose beige or light brown instead to almost white or dark Mahogany. If you want to use Grey because it is really “in”, then find a rug that has grey as one of the primary colors, rather than a rug that is just grey.
CLASSIC: Even if you want to be very “trendy” in certain rooms of your home, it is still ok to go traditional in other rooms. The whole house does not need to follow the same style. So if your living room, great room, family room etc. are very contemporary, but you end up decorating your study, bedroom or casita in a traditional décor, then that’s not only ok but also a break from the monotony of the same design throughout. But, make sure the rooms that are visible together, like the great-room, family room, dining room etc., are following the same style.
By Saeed Aslam
