Beige is your bae if you’re a billionaire. A New York Times headline in April 2025 declared “Beige is the Color of Money.” It reported that “neutral hues” are the choice for the ultra wealthy who “don’t want to show off”. But beige is also their camouflage to be “invisible” to anyone outside their global clique. The billionaire beige trend has moved from fashion to interior design and trickled down to growing mass popularity.

The range of “limited tonality” beiges includes yummy sounding shades like cafe au lait, butterscotch and cream. Pantone’s 2025 color of the year – Mocha Mousse – is another foody shade that evokes comfort, elegance and security. Wealth experts say all the beige shades represent “authenticity over showiness” and “power”. The good news is that beige-based interior design is not a “beige flag”. The even better news is that rugs for beige interiors don’t need to be beige themselves. Read on to discover why.

Billionaire interior design that the public is allowed to view is often beige, and it often features not the beige rugs you might expect, but antique Oriental rugs. Meghan Markle’s Netflix series “With love, Meghan” wasn’t filmed at the southern California chateau she shares with Prince Harry, but at Montecito Orchard Private Estate – a more modest luxury home designed in the Farmhouse Modern architecture style. Its interior design features the same billionaire beige Meghan chooses for her fashion and her interiors. The Duchess also films Instagram reels at neighboring luxury San Ysidro Ranch owned by billionaire Ty Warner. The interior design of the resort’s charming cottages is based on a warm palette of beiges with antique Oriental rugs as focal points.

Farmhouse Modern style – created by Joanna Gaines more than a decade ago – is the accessible, democratic version of billionaire beige. This style also focuses on a limited palette of warm neutrals, and it too often features vintage or new Oriental rugs. Our rug suggestions will help you achieve either a full-on billionaire beige interior or the democratic Farmhouse Modern beige interior. First up is our antique Persian Shiraz with a desirable worn pile that resembles the mysterious finish of an antique mirror. Our hand knotted vintage Persian Hussainabad features shades of beige, while our hand knotted wool and silk Modern Abstract Design has just enough pattern to stand out in an all-beige interior. If you prefer “invisible” billionaire beige, then go for our hand knotted silk and wool Plain Line with its overall soft beige coloring.

Luckily, we can choose to cosplay billionaire beige style without experiencing billionaire problems. Pity the billionaire who according to recent news reports faces engineering problems building his moated “ring of fire” fortress complete with cannons to set the moat alight. Or the problems of the fictional rich in White Lotus where ultra wealthy Timothy Ratliff wonders if he has to tell his children “we’re poor now and daddy’s going to prison”. Count your blessings, beige lovers! Billionaire beige can be your design jam just because you like it, and not because it’s a color that makes you “invisible”.

Dopamine decor is all about choosing design for your home that encourages “the feels”. Created in the human brain, dopamine is our feel-good reward system. Triggers for a dopamine rush range from the nostalgic comfort of Jellycats to foods high in fat and sugar (think donuts). If your life needs more pleasurable dopamine, but you want to avoid eating your way to a dopamine high or binge buying plushies, your solution is Dopamine decor. Read on to discover more about the look and how the tactile feel of an object (including rugs) helps achieve the ultimate in dopamine decor.

Dopamine decor (DD) is related to Newtro – the Gen Z reaction to digital dominance. Instead of hoping for a dopamine rush while doomscrolling, they turn to the comfort of “boring” old school flip phones, typewriters, cassettes and other analog (but often new) objects. And it’s not just Gen Z who want this pleasure – it’s multi-generational. The owner of a luxury textile brand recently bought a ruined 17th century Italian villa. He hasn’t refurbished or furnished it yet because his focus is rediscovering the “feeling” of “something that was a memory” from his childhood. He knows that decorating desires “are formed when you’re younger”.

DD is more than visual appeal, it relies on all five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Objects you choose should be based on what makes you feel good, not on trends. For many people, home decor that triggers dopamine is linked to positive childhood experiences. Maybe your color preferences link back to watching a Studio Ghibli animation? Or does a green palette remind you of playing outside? Do your texture choices remind you of the softness of a security blanket or object? Or maybe you get the feels from the organic scent and soft pile of a wool-rich rug that takes you back to the pleasure of playing on the floor while you ate fruit snacks?

Rugs we recommend to help you achieve DD include our vintage hand knotted Persian Heriz. Its cozy red color is highlighted by four ivory corner motifs that create a feeling of safety and enclosure. Our celestial blue hand-knotted wool Shah Abbas runner has a luscious floral vine motif that is perfect for anyone who gets a dopamine rush from lying in a meadow and looking up at blue skies. The soothing pattern of our Trellis design hand knotted Moroccan wool rug is amplified by high and low pile that is sure to spark dopamine as you walk across it barefoot.

Interior designers are welcoming Dopamine decor. Isfira Jensen of Jensen & Co Interiors told Elle Decor magazine that DD reflects our “yearning for spaces that are more vibrant and emotionally uplifting” and that “embrace what simply feels good.” Neurobiologists know that our brain’s reward center creates dopamine when we experience love. Love is the answer for how we design our homes. Follow your instincts. Choose color and designs for your home that you love and you’ll be well on your way to delightful Dopamine decor.

Future Dusk – an otherworldly shade of purply blue – has been crowned the top color for 2025 by trend agency WGSN and Coloro. This bewitching color includes numerous shades which have already been spotted in trendsetting interiors. Mauve and plum were seen throughout the fifth edition (2024) of the Kips Bay Dallas Decorator Show House where almost all the 23 designer rooms included vintage Oriental rugs. WGSN believes Future Dusk aligns with “themes of moving from darkness to light”, but we believe it’s a color that encourages us to transition into a comfortable zone of dusky darkness where we can feel safe in our cozy retreats. Whether you want to audition Future Dusk in one room or your whole home, read on to discover one of the delightful aesthetics that allies with the color, and how vintage and antique Oriental and Persian rugs anchor the look.

Continue reading “Future Dusk”

Younger generations are discovering and rebranding established interior design ideas including the concept of transitional design. TikTok exploded when interiors influencer Taylor Simon rebranded pops of red in interiors as the theory of “unexpected red”. Her theory remained true to the traditional concept, but the opposite is happening with the concept of transitional design. The traditional transitional concept has been redefined into a look we can call “new transitional” which is defined by neutral colors. Both “traditional” and “new” transitional concepts rely on rug choice to complete the look.

Whether “traditional” or “new” a transitional space is a blend of antique or vintage and new art, design, and furnishings. Actor Jennifer Aniston’s home office designed by Stephen Shadley mixes old and new neutral furnishings to create a “new transitional” space. The room’s focal point is a large antique hand-knotted Tabriz rug in shades of tawny brown. When traditional designs and motifs are updated with new colorways, materials or design alterations, these too are classed as “transitional”.

Who deserves credit as the “inventor” of transitional interior design? In 2011 legendary American designer and interior decorator Bunny Williams described to Elle Decor magazine how one of her recent interior designs was “neither contemporary nor traditional”, but a mix of the two. She decided to call the style “transitional.” Williams celebrates her 80thbirthday in 2024, but her influence continues to filter down to emerging interior designers and decorators.

The difference between a Bunny Williams “traditional transitional” interior and “new transitional” is color. Striking use of color is a consistent feature in Bunny Williams’ transitional interiors. She may paint an entire wall a vibrant blue or add a subtle pop of color with a rug, but color is a key element. The main feature of the transitional style popular on TikTok is a neutral color palette. Design Daddy describes transitional design as a “harmonious blend of traditional and contemporary” where neutrals create a look that is “almost like a hotel room”. Another TikTok influencer echoed Design Daddy’s viewpoint by stating her transitional goal is to create a “soothing and calm atmosphere” using “soft neutral” colors.

Whether you are a fan of traditional or new transitional interior design, rugs can help you achieve the look. Transitional rugs are not new, but have been around for centuries. Rug weavers have always adapted, altered and evolved traditional designs, colors and materials to create a visual bridge between the past and the present. Transitional rugs include antique, vintage and contemporary. This ongoing tradition of transitional rugs means there are almost limitless choices available for you to choose from whether you want a rug with a pop of color for a traditional transitional interior or a rug with a soothing sea of neutral shades to anchor your new transitional room.

Storytelling has always been a big component of interior design and nothing tells a more compelling story than a vintage rug. Whether it is an updated vintage rug of some age or a new vintage style design, it can offer a customer more than just a lively statement for the floor.

Continue reading “Using Vintage Rugs in Modern Decor”

How we decorate our homes is not only a choice in functionality but also a way of expressing ourselves. That’s why it is so important to choose home furnishings that are not only practical, but also distinctive, as a way to make your home your own and set it apart from the rest. A rug is a simple and effective way of adding character to any room in the home without the need to paint any walls or buy a whole new matching furniture set. The right rug not only ties a space together, it also makes a room instantly more inviting and creates that cozy, welcoming feel. Choosing the right rug for your space depends on a wide range of elements ranging from personal taste to how a room is meant to function. Still, whether your taste is eclectic, contemporary, vintage, or elegant there is a perfect rug for adding that unique flare and extra character to your living spaces.

Eclectic and Colourful

Rugs like this handwoven flat weave Afghan Kilim with bold, geometric designs provide a colourful surface that instantly brings life to a space to life. These rugs are perfect for daytime spaces as well as those designed for entertaining, as the fresh, lively pattern provides an uplifting energy. Not only that, this rug is easy to clean and reversible – ensuring the colours will keep their lasting power for years to come.

 

This Hand-knotted, organic wool Moroccan Berber is a great example of a unique, asymmetrical design that successfully blends eclectic and contemporary. This plush, soft rug provides a youthful yet sophisticated energy that is great for transitional rooms. Pair it with a pastel or neutral couch or warm wood tones.

 

 

 

Neutral and Elegant

For a more neutral approach, rugs such as this hand-knotted Tabriz Vase with Flower Design, which features a delicate floral design, offer an elegant yet contemporary charm to your living space. What’s more, the subtle range of blues, purples, and reds on an ivory base also allow rugs such as this to pair easily with most furniture or décor – whether it be neutral or vibrant.

 

 

This hand-knotted, pure wool Ikat featuring an Uzbek design is another great neutral and elegant option with an organic, unbalanced design that is versatile enough to work in any space while still offering unique character. Wool is a hypoallergenic material, making this rug ready for everyone to enjoy.

 

 

Cozy and Contemporary

If you’re looking for something more contemporary without losing that at-home comfort, rugs such as this Overdyed, vintage Persian Tabriz are a great choice. Partially faded and distressed, these rugs create a homey, lived-in feeling that puts people at ease. The brighter pink shade blended with this traditional rug design forms a terrific marriage of classic and modern. Overdyed rugs are also available in a huge variety of colours, allowing you to select the one that best complements and accentuates your space.

 

Simple, contemporary designs and colours such as the muted tie-dye effect featured on this Handwoven colourful Durie Kilim are fresh and lively without being overstated or distracting. The timeless earthen tones woven into one another on this piece creates a nice blurred effect that allows for a more organic, soft finish. Pair this rug with golden, mustard yellows, chestnut browns, or creamy beiges to complete the cozy, contemporary feel.

 

Handmade rugs are unique pieces of art that offer an easy and fun way to add character to your home. Regardless of whether you like bright colours and bold patterns or neutral tones and subdued textures, there is a perfect rug out there that will suit both you and your home.

Every style needs a refresh now and then. The popularity of Farmhouse Modern is still strong, but the couple who can claim to have invented the Farmhouse Modern look – Chip and Joanna Gaines – recently announced it’s time the style had a refresh. The new version of the style is called New Farmhouse. Influences include a Japanese burned wood technique and tres chic French farmhouses. What hasn’t changed in the shift from Farmhouse Modern to New Farmhouse is a reliance on vintage Oriental and new monochrome rugs to anchor the look. Read on to learn more about New Farmhouse, and rug recommendations to help you get the look.

White is a key element of Farmhouse Modern style, and the blank canvas it provides is still important for New Farmhouse, the difference now is that black is a key accent. (Note to fans of the Gaines’s show Fixer Upper; the 2021 season reveals how the duo use black as an accent colour.) The importance of black to New Farmhouse – including in some cases all-black kitchens as seen in a recent French New Farmhouse home – reflects the rise in popularity of Japanese charred wood known as Shou Sugi Ban. The deep texture of charred wood is a far cry from the smooth white shiplap walls of Farmhouse Modern. Now rich textures and depth of field are key for New Farmhouse surfaces. The role of vintage monochrome Oriental rugs or new rugs that have a Shou Sugi Ban vibe are important accent pieces for New Farmhouse. Three of our favourite rugs illustrate this blog.

The final key to New Farmhouse is a dose of French je ne sais quoi. The flat white of Farmhouse Modern is now a layered palette of creams, sea salt, limestone, mushroom and fog plus the all-important black accents. Color injection is artwork on the walls while floors are anchored with monochrome vintage or new rugs. French New Farmhouse features patina and history. The famous 18th century Queen Marie Antoinette of France had her own bespoke “rural” farm village known as Le Hameu de la Reine, demonstrating that even royalty appreciate the charm of farmhouse style.

An example of French New Farmhouse was recently profiled in a British magazine. Each of the public rooms was anchored with vintage Oriental rugs overdyed in monochrome dark colors such as charcoal. The rugs offset the textured white stone walls creating a striking effect and a light reflecting space that looks refreshing. Instead of a huge antique wall clock (a feature of Farmhouse Modern that is now definitely out) the owners salvaged a large industrial wooden farm tool. Cleaned up and installed in the living room, it looks like a striking piece of modern sculpture. The ultimate take-away message from New Farmhouse is to mix old and new, traditional and modern, but keep it contemporary with an injection of black.

Not long ago the idea of having a handwoven or hand-knotted rug in the kitchen or dining room was an unthinkable concept. Statement handwoven and hand-knotted rugs were reserved for formal rooms – living rooms, halls and bedrooms – not potentially “messy” food-related rooms. No longer. The last few years has seen an accelerating trend to make a fashion statement in kitchens and dining rooms with semi-antique (1930s-1950s) and vintage (1950s-2000) handmade rugs and the trend shows no signs of fading.
Handmade wool rugs are perfectly suited for kitchens and dining rooms. Wool is stain, flame and mold resistant, and despite the hype around synthetic rugs which often feature a printed design that fades or wears away, woven or hand-knotted wool rugs will last a lifetime and make a beautiful addition to kitchen and dining room décor. Read on for how to get the look, plus a few tips on rug care.

Rugs in Kitchens

Continue reading “Cozy and Casual Chic: Handmade Rugs in Kitchens and Dining Rooms”

If we were to single out the most prevalent design idea we discovered at the 3rd annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach (1^st February – 1^st March 2020) it would be that all 19 designers – each assigned a different room or area of the house – bring aspects of the outside inside to create glorious tableaux of nature-inspired roomscapes. Read on to discover take-away design ideas from five of these designers that will inspire you to bring the outside inside!

The Design Dynamo Behind the Kips Bay House

First things first, before we get to some of the designers’ ideas, let’s look at the house chosen as this year’s Show House as we think its owner-designer is key to understanding the “green” trend within the Show House. The sprawling house was designed in the Cape Dutch style by its owner – famed interior designer and antiques dealer Lars Bolander. Although Bolander is not one of the house’s featured designers, his style and inspiration seeps through many of the designs in the house. Known for “theatrical simplicity” blended with Scandinavian influences and flourishes of nature indoors (think room-sized potted trees and lush plants), Bolander is a long-term resident of Florida but also one of Sweden’s foremost interior designers.

Bolander’s stores in West Palm Beach, New York City, and Connecticut all feature a relaxed, indoor-outdoor living style. His newest store has a room-sized tableau featuring sofas atop a large, dark red tribal rug over which hangs a delicate white paisley patterned indoor tent-style canopy – an outdoor-indoor look that works inside the home as well as on a patio or deck. So take it from us, the big trend from 2020 onwards is bringing nature indoors via blues, greens, natural textures (think handmade natural fiber rugs) and plants – lots of plants!

Natural Fiber Hand-knotted Rugs Help Bring Nature Indoors

Hand-knotted wool rugs are a chief example of how a carefully chosen featured décor item can instantly transform a room. Choose rugs that echo nature through color (greens and blues of course but also cloud-like whites) balanced by an abstract design like one of our hi-low pile hand-knotted rugs or through more realistic, nature-based designs like the ever popular “Tree of Life” motif. Time to read on for nature-based design tips from the designers at Kips Bay Palm Beach!

Key Designers and their take-aways from Kips Bay Palm Beach

• Kevin Isbell Interiors– his “Writer’s Retreat” guest suite features a tribal rug next to the bath and a swirling abstract rug next to a tent-style bed. The tent bed brings the outside in as does the tropical palm tree panoramic wallpaper. Notice how Isbell’s choice of a strongly colored rug enlivens the bathroom’s black and white theme which looks like it was inspired by the narrow black and white decorative band in the rug’s design. Or maybe the black and white theme inspired Isbell’s rug choice? Either way the take-away is clear: a strongly patterned rug like a tribal can work with other strong patterns if the rug does the heavy-lifting color-wise, while the other patterns remain “neutral”, a role which black and white achieves in this room.

 

 

• Light on White, directed by Alizée Brion, changed the home’s entrance into an allée of tropical greens and trailing plants hanging from white pots held securely by ’70s style macrame slings. Called “Le Jardin” by Brion, the hall is dominated by shades of green and accented with over-sized fern frond wallpaper.

 

Sarah Blank Design Studio– the colorful blue kitchen cabinets are accented with large red terracotta urns displayed on an open shelf below a center island. Far be it from us to suggest a change, but we can’t help wondering if a tribal runner atop the wooden floor between the island and the sink might be a preferred choice rather than the blue runner the designer chose? A runner with striking colors would refer back to the terracotta urns while grounding the blue cabinetry, rather like how the earth “holds” the blue sky in nature.

 

• Branca Inc, directed by Alessandra Branca– blue and green are two colors associated with nature, but in Branca’s serene bedroom, shades of blue predominate while green is reserved as a punctuation point via a single large-scale potted philodendron. The drama of the green punches up the blue without overpowering the delicacy of the blues. Branca’s plant choice is yet one more example of the inside-outside trend.

 

• Brady Design directed by Brian and Alexandra Brady– transformed the entryway of the house using yet another panoramic palm tree wallpaper, this time one designed by Jim Thompson.

Bringing the outside inside is more than a trend. We predict it will shift from trend to a standard design element for years to come. And while “Classic Blue” is Pantone’s 2020 color of the year – a choice meant to instill calm, confidence, and connection” – we interpret the prevalence of blue-green themes at Kips Bay Palm Beach as an indication that we’re all yearning for more of the natural world, and no better way to help your home reflect this aspiration than with a natural fiber, handmade rug.

Can texture in our home design increase our health and happiness? Daylight, wood and green plants are great ways to create an ideal indoor environment, but according to a wellness design article inElle Decor2019, the key to creating space with health and happiness benefits is “tactile” surfaces – in other words textures, and lots of them.

Read on to discover our top 3 rug textures, plus our texture tips for your home.

Texture: new discoveries

As experts in handmade and hand-knotted artisan rugs, we’ve known for decades that texture is a key component in interior design, but what we didn’t know is that new research says “biophilic” design – textures and colors that mimic Mother nature – results in high levels of serotonin (the “happy” brain chemical). An abundance of serotonin helps create the same subliminal feelings of wellbeing we experience when we’re outside enjoying the real Mother nature.

This is big news. It means that even though the outside world is full of anxiety prompts, with mindful buying of the right rugs and textiles for our homes we can give a positive assist to our psyches. And who doesn’t need that?

Texture: a bit of background

An English trade magazine published in 1937 reported that texture was the most requested rug feature. Surface design has long since overtaken texture as the most requested consumer feature, but texture remains the interior designer’s go-to secret. Why? Because texture is a key way to balance the interrelationship between rugs, furniture, fabrics, objects and overall design while it also incorporates a key biophilic design element.

Some contemporary techniques we use today to create textured rugs are the legacy of Manhattan-based Stanislav V’Soske (1900-1983). His fine arts background gave him the idea to create new rug textures. His texture techniques included hand carving, but he also created texture illusions using dye and color. For example he used a wide color selection rather than weave to create his “Chalk” rug which created the illusion of the soft, “crumbly” texture of the white stick of rock we all know as blackboard chalk. Design illusion is another key element in creating a textured environment.

But enough history. From the tactile pleasures of tribal rugs with purposeful knots and chunky weaves, to mixed fibre rugs (like our popular Oxidized Collection), to the sheen of silk rugs, texture in handmade rugs has been around for centuries. Here are our top 3:

1. Sari Silk –

There’s no denying the tactile and visual allure of silk. Our Rothko-style sari silk rug is hand-knotted with textured wool to create an incredible tactile ensemble of two distinct fibers that increase the overall texture. The visual qualities of the design recalls the depth illusions of American artist Mark Rothko which contributes to the rug’s remarkable tactile quality, while the mix of wool and silk creates a Rothko quality of “inner light”.

2. Carved pile –

Carved pile is “sculpted” by hand into high and low rug areas by artisans using scissors. (Our artisans always use scissors, but be aware some rug sellers use mechanized carving tools.) Carving can accentuate a pattern or it can BE the pattern in a single color rug. Our hand-knotted “Blue Heaven” contemporary design rug in 100% wool is a perfect example of how two colors – gray and ivory – can be carved to create a textured overall pattern.

3. Kilims and flatweaves –

These traditional tribal rugs are highly decorative and pleasingly textured. Flatweave is the category name and includes other types of handwoven rugs, while kilim is the subcategory characterized by bold colors and patterns. Created by interweaving warp and weft fibers these rugs do not have a pile, but do have a wide variety of textures. The bonus of kilims and flat weave rugs is the ease with which they can be layered in a room whether several on the floor, or draped on a sofa. Layering textiles and rugs will accelerate a room’s visual interest while adding tactile qualities.

 

And finally a few texture tips for your home

• Texture is literal and figurative, in other words texture in real physical objects like rugs, but also our perception of the visual texture in a room
• Opposite elements can increase the perception of texture, for example a bold tribal rug layered across the back of a nubby white boucléwool upholstered sofa.
• Texture can be monochromatic and still be visually warm and biophilic. Look for rooms designed by Swedish designer Lotta Agaton for inspiration. Her rooms are layered in shades of white, and it’s her many layers of texture that shift white from cold to cozy.
• Rug texture can be amplified by a wall of books. Each differently colored book adds visual texture to your space. Want more texture? Add objects in between some of your books.
• Another sometimes overlooked way to create texture in a room is with the walls. Wallpaper can achieve this, but even better is a 3D wall such as board and batten or coffered.
Remember, texture is the interior designer’s secret. Learning how to layer texture in your home with handmade rugs is the first step towards creating a “biophilic” design or what we prefer to call a cozy and nature-inspired home.