AbbeyK — On Interior Design

Antique Rug Shopping in NYC -- Doris Leslie Blau

We continue on the pursuit for antique Persian rugs for one of my projects. Options get limited locally. Boston is a small pond. So, with a family visit planned to my sister in Manhattan, I tacked on a few days to do some work while in the city. I brought my 8-year-old niece, Jasmine, along for the first annual, "take your niece to work day." Here is one of the rugs we looked at, an antique Sultanabad.

 

First stop, Doris Leslie Blau. Muffie Cunningham, was great to work with and so sweet to my niece. 

We have mostly been considering blue/red Persians, but my client asked to see some other color ways. We had been considering rugs with a center medallion for the living room, but he also wanted to consider rugs with all-over patterns that could still transition to red/blue. The one below is a Tabriz. Stunning.

 
At Doris Leslie Blau, Jasmine had many questions. I mentioned to Muffie that my client liked blue/red Persian rugs, but not anything too geometric. He doesn't for example like Caucasians. My niece whose father is from Senegal, West Africa asked, "Why doesn't your client like white people?" Good question actually, and a wonderful moment to explain some geography and history.

PS Here's an example of a Caucasian rug. This one I have not seen, in real life, but it's from Double-Knot.

 

Jasmine was pretty into the retractable tape measure. I don't think she's ever had much opportunity to use one. She wanted to measure how tall she was, how tall I was. There is some down time while you are waiting for the 100 lb rugs to be unfurled. When Muffie said one rug was 18' long, Jasmine measured it herself by placing one foot heel to toe, one foot after the other, until she had covered the whole length. Then she proclaimed the rug was in fact 28 feet. We took out the tape measure and measured her boots to be approx 8". So then I explained.

It's easy to forget how much decorating has to do with history, geography, math... and who knew? All in one showroom visit. 

Antique Persian Rugs, What's Not to Like?

Working with Landry & Arcari on a rug project. We are focusing on Antique Persian Rugs of the stunning variety.

We brought many rugs to the house for the first viewing. We need rugs for the study, living room, dining room, entry, hall, office, and maybe master bedroom. These rugs are great in real life, but for some reason, the more beautiful the rug, the worse it looks on screen. Some of the subtly of color and pattern is lost for some reason.

   

 

Once you identify what you like in the shop, then you have to identify what looks good in the space. The dining room rug we loved on site turned out to be a hair short, so we are trying to find longer ones in the same style. We're Goldilocks-ing it and looking for rugs that are just right. Round 2, next week hopefully.

We want the colors to flow but have different styles from room to room. You can see how these rugs go together but are the different. That's our goal.

It's not uncommon for one room to be more challenging to solve. For the living room, the client thought he wanted a rug with a giant center medallion, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that an all over pattern is better for that room. So we are onto that.

Oooh, I love doing rugs. In an ideal world, you pick the rugs and then build the whole color palette around it. Also lucky for me, this client happens to have good taste and I love all his selections so far.

Got Color? ABC Carpets' New Color Reform Rug Collection

Recipe: 

1) Take some old rugs that no one wants. 

2) Neutralize them to remove their old color.

3) Over-dye them to give them uber-vibrant color.

Result? Really bold and beautiful and unique rugs. 

    

 

These are what I like to call in the Popsicle family of colors, but if you crave dramatic and love colors ranging ranging from neon pink to electric green to saturated yellow, search no further. Look closely and you'll notice partially faded motifs emerging through the color, adding complexity and interest to each piece.

You can check out the Color Reform Collection on the 6^th floor At ABC Carpet & Home in NYC or shop online at ABC Carpet & Home. Prices begin at $799. 

What I Like about Starting Decorating Projects

There's something exciting about new projects. I love meeting new people, figuring out what they like, how they live. How they want their home to feel. But there's also a sense of exhilaration. (or is it panic?)

I go into a meeting not knowing any of the answers and somehow after a process it sorts itself out. This process, trusting the process, is very satisfying. I have no idea what clients will want or how I will solve their design challenges. But I always know that I will solve it. So I guess it's a panic wrapped in confidence. The two work well together, actually.

It's like in art school. Each project you start with the worry that you have no idea how to solve the assignment and then you do. That panic/worry drives the creative process for me.

Coming up with a color scheme that makes a client's heart sing is so fun for me. So how do I start from nothing? How do I get the vision? I have a designer friend who walks into a house and sees it completed. The first time she walks in the door. I do "see" it completed, but not on the first visit. How do I get there? Many clients ask and I can only sort of explain. There's no exact science to it, but there are steps:

I start with a floor plan. Architecture drives a lot of layout as does a person's lifestyle. While I am working on that, I work on color scheme for the fabrics. I look to what undertones people like and what kind of patterns...If you like grey-ed out color, or pastels, for example. If you hate green (sad but sometimes true), if you only like cream and shades of tan, if you like patterns that don't actually match, if you like high contrast, low contrast, geometric patterns, regular patterns, irregular repeats. Then there's the type of weave you like: chenille, woven, damask, etc.. Unless you are a designer of some ilk, these considerations may not even come into your consciousness -- really who goes about thinking about these things? I do. Every day, actually. I am a design geek.

Most people are consistent in their taste, and after a few fun exercises, we sort it out. All the options go in. The solution comes out like a sieve. It's so exciting and fun to figure this out with my clients. One of my current clients says: how do you know that about me? Well, that's what I do for a living and hopefully she doesn't feel too analyzed. :)

Thought I'd share with you a current project. I am totally excited about it. Here's the gold, grey-blue and rust color scheme. These colors will run through the house in different proportions in different rooms. It's really pretty, don't you think?

Repeating colors is not boring. It feels good and is consistent. It's not a color palette that is fashion-forward. I had a hard time finding any fabrics that contain all the colors, so we are mostly mixing solids which can be pleasing done in the right proportions. Here are the fabrics laid out on the sectional in the family room.

I still have some fabrics to find. Bed skirt fabrics, a chair in the library, but it's coming together and we are so excited. I'll post as we go a long.

PS The rugs on the floor are choices for the stair case that will be in the entry way. We need to look at it all together in the new house -- next week. Can't wait!

Is it Wrong to Love a Rug?

Full disclosure. I think I need therapy. I have become obsessed with decorating my new condo. But I haven't done much yet. Just made lists of what I can afford, prioritize what I can do now and what I can do later....And think about rugs. And think about drapes and think about blinds. Over and over again.

A friend came by the other day and said: this is ALL you've done? From the looks of things, I could see why she said that. Not much has been done since right after I moved in. Steps, just not much to show for it yet.

Here's what I have done:

1) Taken down the God- awful vinyl shutters in the DR and kitchen. They literally shattered when I took them down so to the garbage they went. They were not even re-installable somewhere else. What a shame.

2) Had my electrician over to take down the equally God-awful sconces in the DR and the LR. Take down the bathroom sconce to see if there is enough slack in the wiring to move up the fixture so I can get a Robern Medicine Cabinet in there. Those are the Rolls Royce of medicine cabinets. The answer by the way is yes. So now I need to order the Robern and the sconce. I think I am going to get this Ginger light fixture. One of my favorites.

3) Had my window treatment guy to measure for new blinds and hardware. Good news: my DR drapes look great in my bedroom and my old LR drapes work in the new LR. I'll make some pillows from my old bedroom drapes. Cuz I love the fabric and they are not faded. They will become euro shams. (How recycling of me.)

4) Had my carpet guy come to measure the bare stairs to the basement. Made calls around to find a remnant (hopefully for a good price).

5) Ordered bath accessories and a water filter for the kitchen and called my plumber about installing it.

6) Made a call to my contractor about doing some built-ins and installing the accessories, getting a screen door and other misc. stuff.

6) Hung the DR drapes. (OK had them hung.)

7) Took down the closet doors in the office. Better with them open.

8) Put in a garden

9) Put up (and moved) art on the walls. not that much up yet. a lot of things leaning.

But mostly I have been obsessing about rugs.  Here is the rug I think I might get for my DR. I thought I would get a new table and chairs. But now I am thinking, I might be happier keeping the table and chairs for now and getting new drapes and a rug. It's sort of one or the other.

Watch AbbeyK on TV.

Hey folks, just a bit of shameless self-promotion here.

Was asked by the folks at the Boston Design Center to spend the day shooting a segment for New England Dream Home. The segment to air on TV starting 6/15 was just posted on their web site and you can view it here or click below.

Happy viewing. And no I don't sign autographs. (tee hee.)

Thanks BDC and Dream House staff for this wonderful opportunity.

Sale, Antique rugs from ABC at 1stdibs

300 rugs from ABC Carpet & Home will be up to 65 percent off at 1stdibs.com (a Turkish rug, originally about $2,500, will be about $900) April 18 to 29.

If you are in NYC, the sale runs longer -- April 30 to May 17 at 888 Broadway (19th Street),(212) 473-3000.

Oh and if you've never been to 1st dibs, it's a great source!

8 Reasons to Go Green with Flooring

From Green Floors. Just a tidbit of good information about flooring. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Eight Reasons To Choose  Green Flooring

Green Flooring... 
1... is recycled and reduces dependency on oil.
2... meets government regulations for recycling.
3... can last longer than conventional flooring.
4... creates pride in ownership and contributes to a better world.
5... is safe for you, your family and the environment..
6... is recyclable to prevent needlessly filling up our landfills.
7... can save you time and money and makes you look and feel good.
8... ensures a healthy environment for future generations

Another Big Rug Sale at Odegard Outlet

Another high end rug vendor is having a sale. What a great time to buy!!!

The sale is running March 24 to 29. The outlet showroom, at its new permanent location, is at 30-30 47th Avenue in Long Island City, NY. or here -- Odegard Warehouse.

Big Rug Sale at Tufenkian Outlet

Maybe you are in the market for a little something? Looking for a rug at a great price? Tufenkian is having a sale at their outlet. Coupon's are available for extra discounts, too. Tufenkian has many styles and types of rugs available from traditional to Tibetan. I sell them from time to time.

They have a test drive before you buy program -- 1 way shipping for a 6 x 9 or above.