The European Art Form of the 16th - 19th Centuries Is the Hot New Wall Decor Choice of the 21st Century

There is a saying, “what’s old is new again.” Fashion works in cycles, and what is popular at a certain time might fall out of favor for a while, only to be rediscovered some time later, and celebrated once again as the trendy “new” item of the moment.

Winter is here, and as we welcome 2024, we also say hello to all the “new” in the world of area rugs, as rug vendors are releasing numerous “new rug” designs to kick off the New Year. Flip through the pages of the winter issue of Rug Insider, and you will find hundreds of new rugs from different vendors, with a wide range of colors, styles, and designs. What you are less likely to see, but which is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the area rug industry, are details about the rug appraisal process, along with such related questions as what types of appraisals there are, what purposes they serve, who is asking for them, and what goes into preparing them.

What’s Hot this Summer in the New York City Area Rug Sector? Summer brings with it many things.  For most people, it’s the time when kids are off from school, and it’s time to head off to the beach, to the park, to vacation, or to otherwise rest, relax, and soak up the summertime sun.  New York City, however, being the ‘city that never sleeps,’ is also the city that keeps busy during the summer months, with plenty of red-hot activities taking place in the area rug sector, including trendy items, care and cleaning, exciting trade shows, and more.

Rug Insider's InAntiques kicked off 2023 with a look at various segments of the area rug industry, running the gamut from high end hand-knotted antique rugs to more economically priced machine-made and tufted rugs. Regardless of which end of the price spectrum one is looking at, an increasingly important decision for buyers and sellers has become not just what type of rugs they want to what locations they want to buy them from.

In the Summer 2024 issue of RUG INSIDER, we discussed the sustainability in the world of area rugs, and the idea of “Going Green.” For the portion of the rug industry that is focused on modern and contemporary rugs, being green and sustainable generally means being eco-friendly, and transitioning from the usage of synthetic materials, such as viscose and polypropylene, to more natural materials, including wool, cotton, and silk. Similarly, it marks a process of “going green,” and a transition from synthetic dyes to natural dyes, decreasing environmental impact.

In the summer issue of Rug Insider Magazine, the InFOCUS feature spotlighted the red rugs of today. When thinking of red rugs though, perhaps the first rug style to come to mind would be the red colors found in Antique Persian Sarouk carpets, which in many ways, are the true definition of the Classic Red Rug.

In this article, we will be exploring the history of antique Persian Sarouk Rugs, as well as some of the most prevalent variations of the Classic Sarouk Carpet, and what differentiates one type from another.