We recently acquired what technically is a third location for us. It is tiny and our other two locations serve very specific purposes (and at many times multi-purposes like our flagship store that is also our office and where we do most of the behind the scenes web work - this will likely change soon too though). So this third location, while not a huge storefront in Brooklyn, it is still a huge milestone for us! I call it the little shed that could, but it is really the mini ONH photo studio, designed specifically to do what our full size barn studio does on a smaller scale - to store many of our rugs but also have the ability to photograph them within it.

Beginning our kids room redesign with figuring out the rug size needed and then laying down the perfect rug for the room.

Tone on tone carpets strike a cord with us, especially those that are sunned and faded. A seemingly completely washed-out rug may appear absent of design from the light side from a distance.

However, a walk just a few steps closer to one end and the story may change. Go around from that end to one of the nearest corners, perhaps the hint of an intricately woven pattern may be slowly exposed.

Continue circling a corner to one full side, the design and tones may pop a bit more. Go all the way around another corner 180 degress from where you were, standing at the other end of the carpet, you see the full contrast and maximum depth of colors. Light is now being absorbed into the tips of the cut wool pile, and you are seeing full saturation.

If you are able to distinguish the subtle differences in faded earthen colors and pastel tones at the first corner rounded, you've probably already connected with the piece. To some, there is nothing to be seen.  In a true tone-on-tone rug, these soft, subtle differences will be detected by keen color awareness within the first few seconds. If the subtleties can be perceived that quickly, you are identifying well with the rug!

It never ceases to amaze us how shimmering gold or predominantly ivory carpet has almost completely changed based on the unique character of hand knotted rugs. A soft lemon-beige may transition into a saffron-gold. A silver grey may transition into a dark charcoal black. A few delicate faded and blanched pastels such as a pale seafoam green or soft baby blue are clearly delineated as a livelier oxidized copper, or shade of near aqua. The carpet looks like it was kissed by the sun on either side, and it is gorgeous!

Decorative carpets evoke a feeling or emotion. We select all rugs in our shop because each has a place in our decorative dreams. 

For us, a faded or blanched carpet brings us to a calming place. Rugs softened in tone have a relaxed way about them. Sometimes you just need a hint of something to get the full sense of it: Like water with a hint of lemon instead of a full-on lemonade. With a tone-on-tone carpet, you get the true sense of a color: How might a shade stretch when diluted in saturation? To what extent may pigment be drawn down before you lose the essence of the shade.

Identifying and embracing with the sensation of connecting to a shade or even adjacent shades (such as just one area of a rug) is part of the process of finding the right rug. The appreciation may just start with the love for how two colors seem to co-mingle as they buffer each other around an intricate design as outlines thin and thicken. Perhaps that identification is just in small hand-size area. It almost does not matter if the rug has a medallion or is an allover design, you may just find many areas where some field and outlines just have a harmony about them.

We look forward to introducing a few room size rugs in the upcoming weeks. These carpets draw upon the character of tone-on-tone with soft bursts of wooded browns and pastels in "sun kissed" fade.

David + Melissa

I chatted with an antique business owner recently and he said something that really struck me -- he said while he likes putting old rugs in his windows for display, he would never choose a traditional motif rug -- like a Sarouk or Kashan. He looked physically ill even talking about these types, for him it was tribal all the way. We each have our own tastes and preferences but I really and truly do believe that "traditional design" Persian rugs are very underrated. They can feel grandma-esque if you have the plastic covering over your couch to match but if you pair your traditional rug with modern or eclectic decor, it no longer looks so traditional or old lady but actually takes on a very cool and playful presence. A handmade rug is a work of art so it has to mix and match well with your style and other art but just as you would pick out pillows to have pops of color or interesting lines and shapes, your rug can be the perfect inspiration for a multifaceted kind of room. I read an article where they compared a classic oriental carpet to a classic Chanel suit -- they both truly never go out of style!

Here are my picks for awesome pairings of traditional rugs with hip and/or non super traditional decor.

Now off to decorating my own house!

xoxo,

Melissa

After a couple weeks of traveling all over Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama to see family, photograph a wedding, and shop for some ONH additions of course, I cannot even begin to express how good it feels to finally be home! Even though we journeyed high and low and made tons of new connections, we wound up acquiring only one new piece for the shop. But what a piece it is! While it awaits being photographed, I find myself daydreaming about it constantly. It is a unique size vintage light red Lilihan rug that is just so incredibly sweet and stunning at the same time. If we had a space for it in our home, naturally it would be belong to me but alas, it does not have a perfect spot in our dwelling and it awaits someone else falling in love with it! But needless to say this rug has gotten me thinking about the types of carpets and designs in general I am consistently attracted to. Oddly enough I like the traditional type of designs -- that of the Kerman and Sarouk rugs. I like geometric and tribal as well but I am always oohing and aahing over those dainty and feminine more traditional varieties. And red, always with the red. A good blue is always nice but man, does that red speak to me in the home. I don't if it is the bold or if all of my other decor is light and so I yearn that pop of color, but I simply cannot get enough. Seems I am not alone either as many people are drawn to adding the vibrant red to their home decor. Here's a look at some great interiors with red rugs + accents as well as my pile up of some awesome rugs with red of our own. 

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1. Photo from noctomic.com 2. Photo from RugRag.com 3. Photo from lonny.com 4. Photo from noctomic.com 5. Photo from lonny.com

I especially love how red can fit in with so many different home styles. It is versatile yet bold. Here's to a colorful week with lots of cozy time in your homes!

xoxo,

Melissa