I tend to put the rug down and let the chips fall where they may

Love,love,LOVE the blue LR, and don't find it to be too much pattern. I find pattern gives a coziness to a room whereas a solid or too bare of a room is boring or cold, IMO. ;o)

One trick I've learned is that certain rugs can be flipped to show a paler version of the pattern from the reverse much like using the "wrong" side of a fabric. If you had that kind of rug, you could use the more muted side when you had brighter bedding and the brighter side when you were using muted bedding.

On the other hand, have you looked at the bedroom that Sarah Richardson did in season 3 of Sarah's House that mixed bright patterns with an oriental rug? I've provided a link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bright bedroom with oriental rug

I had the same challenge. I have three small oriental rugs in my bedroom and I always had a plain white duvet on the bed because I couldn't figure out what pattern I could work in. Florals definitely felt like they fought with the rugs. I looked for stripes, but didn't find any that I liked. When I decided to paint the room purple, I went looking for gray sheets and stumbled across a duvet with a huge central medallion that I absolutely LOVE. This photo is when I first got the duvet; the down comforter isn't inside yet, and you can only see one of the rugs, but you get the idea...:

I'm with Pal--the rug's a constant, and the rest follows along. I think a genial mix of patterns is interesting.

Pal, I am inspired by the kilim - never really have looked at those sorts of rugs, but in that hall with the yellow Parsons table, WOW. I like.

Oh, and I love Sarah Richardson. There. I said it. But, I think what is keeping me from throwing caution to the wind and just throwing down a rug I love is all those nasty critics of the room. I love neutrals, but I don't love blah and I seem to have sort of boxed myself into blah unless I really try (and then I fear failure since I have limited funds...)

So far my favorite room in my house is my daughter's with the aqua bed, red dresser, crazy fabric pouf, striped quilt...her room feels "evolved" but still has (and needs) space to grow with some drapes and art pieces, etc.

Arlosmom, I see where you're going with the medallion and I've seen other images of your room and your different rugs. Warm.

I think I was already in a rut with the "Persian/Oriental" thinking.

Sashasmommy, I think I am scared that my room might end up with that Corbis room vibe - less the headless, full height naked statue - which is why I am *scared* to mix patterns. Honestly, the blue living room doesn't do it for me, either. :-)

I'm always so glad I post here for guidance.

For me, it is about using the same colors. I guess that makes me kind of matchy matchy.

This is a pic of me deciding colors:

To me, it doesn't' feel right to have colors in the rug that dont' work for the rest of the room. it just looks jarring to me. Unless of course it is a layered room in which case there is so much pattern that it doesn't matter. :)

I love that living room above!

That first room is pretty colors and soothing neutrals, but everything too matching for me. LOVE Pal's rooms. Pal what is that on top of the chest? Love your mix of old and modern pieces. Arlosmom's room is very pretty also.

I think one thing that can help with a pattern upholstered piece on a patterned rug is using a piece with no skirt - you have space and legs breaking up space between the piece of furniture and the rug.

tina

Thanks. The other thing that I think helps is that the pattern is Very different than what it sits on. I went through a very color-matched period in my first house and found it is little unsatisfying for me even though it looked nice. It was also harder to add or subtract things.

The yellow table was bought with the intention of relacquering it but we got used to it. We do have some people who ask why we haven't painted that ugly yellow table yet :)

On top of the chest is my collection of danish modern candlesticks. It grew rapidly at first and now I only add ones that are different, somehow. There are about 70.

Honestly, the other thing I want to do is get rid of the bedskirt we have. For some reason, I don't really like them. Of course, when you have two sets of golf clubs, out of season clothes, and extra linens in mismatched plastic under bed boxes, you sort of have to go the bedskirt route :-)

boopadaboo, I really like your rug and your room. I suppose it's "matchy" but I think there's different levels of matchy: 1) Hey, I just bought all this stuff from Pottery Barn today or 2) I really love how this floral fabric I found complements my grandmother's Oriental. I think your room would be in category 2 :-) I think I'm trying to achieve category 2 using the method behind category one because I *need to get done* (I am breaking a Magnaverde rule and then, as promised, buying things that ultimately don't work, or that I really don't like because I'm tired of looking and want to start *enjoying*) My mother-in-law just moved to a new house and it looks great because she a) hired a decorator and b) has had quite a few more years than me to acquire pieces. My husband assured me that in his youth her homes never looked quite so polished - in fact, her antique English armoire that she saved for had to co-exist with his dad's 80's black lacquer and brass bachelor furniture in at least two houses :-)

I've found quite a few patterns that I think look great with a kilim - a few stripes, a tonal paisley, a floral. But they all share some similar colors - mainly a plum, a sage, a faded red, and the sandalwood. There's an occasional gold or cream, Some have more pattern, some have less. But everything's basically greyed down. Now I'm wondering if my casual silk drapes are going to work. Because those I really like.

I personally wouldn't combine a busy floral with an Oriental rug, but there are plenty of patterns out there that are not busy florals. I think it probably takes a degree of experimentation for most of us. As in, bring a few home and see what works. I'd look at stripes, tone-on-tone patterns, possibly quiet paisleys, damasks, etc.

In the blue living room above, that pattern on the chair doesn't work for me... and that room is arranged strangely, isn't it? Is it just me?

arlosmom, I want to hang out in your bedroom with a good book! So cozy and warm.

What pottery barn bedding are you going to get? Knowing that would probably help with rug suggestions too. That, and I just like looking at bedding :-)

I think the reason that these rugs are considered neutral is because they lend themselves to just about any color you find in the rug. Put any of them on the walls, and it looks just fine.

And because these colors somehow work together in they rug, they cooperate with eachother in the room. The rug cross-pollenates the colors. Even the ones you would never willingly pair up: aqua, navy and red anyone?......

For me, unless everything in the room is a neutral or monochromatic and the rug is colorful, the rug isn't the first thing I notice in a picture or when I enter a room.

I have a blue/cream damask pattern RL comforter on our bed. Reversible, so great for me since the dog sleeps on it in the daytime. :-/ Karastan rug also has several shades of blue and browns (golds and rust/brick) that blends with everything else in the MBR:

Two other bedrooms in the link below have rugs (one oriental, one Soumak). The DR and Great Room have Soumaks too, if you want to see them go to the first part of the home tour:

(btw, currently writing a post for Monday on a pair of French chairs, so new Great Room photos will be shown then.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Tour of my home

Seems like you might be caught in a version of the same rut I get caught in. I tend to obsess on details too much. As I put it, "I'm too focused on match and need to focus on go." Some of the best advice I've gotten came from a friend who is an amazing artist. He favors impressionist art. I was asking him about how he gets away from exact colors, building details, etc. Obviously that guy's skin isn't purple, but it looks so right in your painting... He told me to squint my eyes so that I could just barely make out what I was looking at, and could only really see things as smudges of color and ambiguous shapes. He said that when we look at things with our full vision, we see details. But when we really see things, we see impressions. And full details just get in the way.

Look at Allison0704's last picture. My first impression is that it's beautiful, and I need to stop there. And I can with other people's stuff. :) But with my own, I focus my eyes way too much and start looking at things like "roses and trees don't match, the vase needs to have sticks or the painting needs to have roses" or "blue shade and white shade" or "arch over the bed vs. angles in the rug pattern". I'm making a very conscious effort to be more squinty, so I can move past roadblocks like that.

Oops, I meant to post the above into a different thread that linked to this one... not to this one directly. Dang multiple windows. If there's a mod, please delete these two messages. I'm going to paste it in the proper thread.

I heard a TV decorator say that as a rule of thumb it is better to find a rug first and then decorate than to try to add the rug in later. There are millions of choices in paint, thousand in silks for panels, and hundreds of bed duvets. If you pick everything out first your choices of rugs will be more limited. Still I have picked rugs after the fact and loved my choices.

When you say oriental rug that encompasses many different types of rug but the rug in Sashasmommy's example is not an oriental rug. That is either an Aubusson or embroidered rug. They are lovely, flat weave type rugs and if you don't have a lot of heavy traffic aren't bad in a bedroom. They can be very expensive and it can be tough to find a bargain. Many decorators say that a fine oriental is a neutral but mine doesn't. She paid strict attention to color when choosing a traditional oriental Persian carpet for my foyer. Still the dominate color in that rug (bright red) isn't repeated in the room and it still looks stellar. I have two French bergere in bold gold and cream stripes that I think you stellar with it.

Some oriental rugs are made in fashion colors and those are probably the best to use if you want that matched look. However the traditional rich colors of oriental rugs will stay in fashion longer giving you the longevity you desire and I recommend the traditional rug colors. With all the neutrals in that room you describe you can easily mix a floral duvet with a traditional oriental rug.

When mixing colors and patterns pay attention to the intensity of the colors rather than just the shades so that the two will work well together. If the blue or red in your oriental isn't repeated in the room it won't look out of place if the color is the same saturation as your other colors. Both Allison and Beboopado's rooms are balance through similarity in color saturation. If all your colors are watered down or fashionably greyed then you might want to choose a washed out antique rug. Those can be gorgeous but expensive. The best looking ones were naturally faded from sun and cleaning but some newer rugs are chemically faded. They can look lovely too but they shouldn't command as much money. Nothing looks better than true age on a rug.

I don't know where you live but here in Atlanta we have an antique market (Scott's Market) and they offer many vendors under one roof and the prices are very competitive. My decorator and I went to Scott's and bought home 10 rugs to choose the one I now enjoy. Each one was prettier than the next (my decorator has a great eye) but the one we picked stole the show. It just looks beautiful in that space. I would recommend only choosing a rug you can return and trying many different rugs before making a choice. Only buy the rug you love. You really can spend a fortune but you absolutely don't have to overspend to get a good rug. I recommend finding a show with many vendors. At Scott's you can leave without paying for the rugs. You just bring them back the next day. Some merchants will come to you and bring you rugs to unfold in your home. If there is no mart or decorating shows in your area I recommend finding a merchant you like and can trust through word of mouth. Pick a budget and stick to it strictly. Tell them not to bring anything that is over your budget.

Pay less attention to the fineness of the rug (when choosing) and more with the color saturations and how the rug looks overall in the room.( Pay attention to fineness on paying.) I LOVE Avesmor's squinty outlook advice. That is precisely how to pick the right rug. Squint! Don't get caught up in details and trust your instincts. There is an artist in all of us. Trust your eye.

Another option to consider is layering a small persian over your sisal rug. I don't like rug on rug looks unless it is a sisal or seagrass on the bottom then it can look very polished. Then you can fold up your rug(good Oriental rugs fold up, you don't roll them) and put it away for a fresher look in the Summer. Good luck! Your room sounds like it will be lovely.

Kaththee,
Great advice ... but ... the original post was from 3 YEARS ago!

I hope grlwprls sees this resurrected post and returns with photos of the MBR. I think the last pictures we saw of her house were of the foyer and dining room .... Surely she has done something since then, knowing her energy! Also the screening issues with the house next door.....please come back and tie up these loose ends, grlwprls!

With so much available commercially now, antique stores and flea markets everywhere, I find the real challenge to decorating is to take the things one loves from the mass availability and mix it, patterns, textures, etc., and arrive at a very lovely space, a very inviting and cozy home.

This may include mixing of colors that one does not anticipate, a surprise leopard throw over a sofa adjacent to a patterned chair atop an Oriental rug. It is an artform to mix and match textures and patterns, and that is what makes decorating an adventure and a beautiful experience. It is like mixing metals (jewelry) and textures/colors in clothing, putting an embellished fascinator with an old pair of jeans, a vintage Hermes scarf as a belt, stilettos, and a great white blouse and looking chic. JMHO.

I haven't read every post in here, but I do not consider Oriental Rugs NEUTRAL. I think it mostly depends on the color and the pattern of each rug.

Because I own a few of them from over the years, I have already asked for help to match fabrics for one of my favorite Orientals in a separate post.

IMO Oriental rugs are a neutral decor feature in that they work with many styles. However, they should not be considered neutral from a color perspective.

Of course I don't believe everything every decorator or designer says. Wish I had saved the link but I once read a designer considered the color red a neutral!

I think as long as you take the colors of your rug into consideration when choosing the colors of other more changeable accessories and use patterns that work with your rug it will be fine.

Oriental. Kashmir, Peshwar, Afghan, Persia, Tabriz, Mumbai, Kazak, Pakistan, Kilims, Bokhari. Lots of rugs.