Fashion Mode

Area rugs have had an increasing impact on all fields of interior design, no longer being just the hand-stitched oriental piece of high art, the use of them has been extended to schools, offices, to even daycare centers. It is the precious softness of this special rug that sells, as well as the luxurious background of it, even though they have become more accessible in more affordable price ranges.

Still, however, there are those top of the line rugs, the diamonds of the trade so to speak, that would make the budget of just your average Joe to crumble into pieces, but that the big spender chooses as a centerpiece in front of his Aspen fire-place. That is when the rug has ceased to be something you just put on the floor, and has grown into an art installation, and also a good investment.

A Whiff Of The Orient

The up-scale rugs come in different styles, based on traditions stemming from days long, long ago. And the most tradition bound rug of them all, is of course the one stemming from the orient. The image of this type of rug as something larger than life has been with us since we first heard stories from "A Thousand And One Nights", were robber barons and flying carpets were as common as apples and oranges.

The handicraft in itself has also its roots in the oriental soil, and the technique of manufacturing them were only spread to Europe with homecoming crusaders with a taste for the fine things in life.

The European Cousin

The European variety leaned of course heavily on influences from the orient, but European manufacturers also added their own flavor to the table, and tried to beat the original rugs with a richness in the ornamentation that nobody had previously seen the likes of. They were also well-known for nature motifs, and adding architecture as a great influence to both motifs and the ambiance of their rugs.

The Modern Day Rug

There are a lot of collections nowadays focused on fusing the traditional with inspiration taken from our modern society, and all the exciting movements and trends when it comes to fashion and art, and yes, even music. All of these extra spices are added to the traditional stew of manufacturing, and with this exciting and creative environment, new styles and directions emerge.

The connoisseur can sometimes be seen frowning upon these new styles, as they on a quick glance can seem to not respect the traditions from which they stem. But going beneath the surface of a pattern that for the untrained eye can seem almost disrespectful, they live up to the same standards and adhere to the old traditional ways of manufacturing.

But it is the diversity of rugs that make them so appealing, and we do want those high-end rugs out there, even if they for most of us, will never be anything more than a beautiful dream. The truth of the matter is, area rugs will never go out of style.