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Rug Insider Magazine
News for the Rug and Carpet Professional 
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the rug industry began to see an increased number of traditional broadloom showrooms expanding into the area rug market, thus adding another layer of competition to the specialty rug showroom that continues to this day. This was a logical next step—the natural progression if you will—as the broadloom industry sought to capture more sales.
Carpets have been layered over wall-to-wall sisal, upon one another in aristocratic garden parties, and sprawled in Bedouin tents. They’ve been used as the top—and most beautiful—layer covering beds, laid on tabletops at a time when their rarity all but forbade use on the floor, and have now—though the look is far from de rigueur—been featured layered in countless films, television shows, and noted interiors.
Using an antique carpet in an interior setting should not be an intimidating affair. Sure, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is filled with rare and early examples that aren’t suitable for day-to-day use, but there are enough available antique and vintage rugs on the market to cover the globe end to end.
It may be cliche to emphasize the de rigueur palette of the season for a trends section, but what are trends if not simply a collection of similar things. As varied as the rug and carpet world may be—different qualities, materials, constructions, and so forth—color serves to unify, bridging the chasms.
