Category Archives: Designer’s notes

Rug design, interior design, decorating ideas, what’s new, travelog & anecdotes

Do You Know Who Really is Cleaning Your Oriental Rugs?

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Antique Kerman Rug Before and After Photo

Trust the care and repair of your Rugs to the Experts at Nejad Rugs

The purchase an Oriental Rug is an investment that will last your family for generations if properly cared for. One of the most important things you can do to ensure the longevity of your rugs is to have them professionally cleaned once every five years.

For almost thirty years, Nejad Gallery has been the most trusted Oriental and Persian Rug cleaning and repair company in Bucks County, Montgomery County, Lehigh Valley, Mercer
County and Philadelphia. Most importantly, we do not send rugs out to be washed by anyone else. The majority of rug cleaning companies use industrial machinery that generically processes each rug in the same way. Because handmade rugs vary greatly, each rug needs to be carefully inspected and hand washed based on age, weave, wool and dyes. It is impossible to perform this level of care any other way.

When you choose Nejad Gallery to clean your Oriental rugs, you can be sure that your rugs will be expertly cleaned in our own facilities by our highly trained and experienced
staff. As designers and manufactures of handmade rugs, we understand exactly the amount of work it took to create and weave each rug and the wool and dyes used, therefore we
take the time and effort to ensure that the very highest level of service is performed for you rugs.

For more information please click on our Youtube Video or call 215-348-1255.


Bucks County Oriental Rug Cleaning, Wash, Repair, Restoration – Doylestown, PA

Sotheby’s Sets New Record High, Persian Rug Sells at $33.7 Million

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Clark Sickle-Leaf Antique Persian Carpet

We have been seeing a considerable increase in the demand for high quality antique Persian Rugs over the past two years. This market is dominated by very exclusive high-end professional interior designers and architects in addition to serious rug collectors.

Yesterday’s Sotheby’s record setting sale of the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet at $33.7 million dollars, more than triple the previous rug auction record set in April 2010
by Christie’s for $9.6 million dollars, is a good indicator of how hot this market is getting.

In our Nejad Gallery in Doylestown, PA on our second floor we have what a renowned New York interior designer called a “jewel box” of fantastic antique Persian, Caucasian,
Turkish, Indian, and Chinese oriental rugs. This collection has been meticulously accumulated over the past three decades and represents our family’s commitment and passion
for magnificent rare Oriental Rugs.

As with all fine art and antiques, it is especially important that you work with the most respected and reputable rug dealer. It can take a lifetime of study and experience to be able to distinguish rare finds from the rest. The acquisition of the “right” antique oriental rugs can enrich your living space as well be a wonderful investment.

Happy Rug Shopping!

Bold Patterns are Best Left for Oriental Rugs

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Designing a room can very easily go wrong when the investment in an expensively upholstered sofa with a strong fabric pattern derails all other design choices. This is a scenario I have encountered too many times too count. 

What originally looked great in a fabric book or on the furniture store’s display sofa can become a nightmare when trying to choose a complimentary Oriental Rug.  The odd color in a chintz or the bold design in a large floral pattern can significantly limit your choices for a suitable rug without incurring the costs of a custom made rug.

As a rule of thumb, I advise clients whenever possible to first purchase their Oriental Rug and then use the colors of the rug as a guide for their fabric selections for furniture, window treatments and wall coverings.  My professional preference is to use fabrics on large furniture pieces that have wonderful texture but are monochromatic or simple tone on tone designs.  Rich chenilles, damasks, velvets, mohair, leathers and suedes are my choices for sofas and sectionals.

A plain neutral sofa, a gorgeous Oriental Rug and complementary “pops” of design and color from upholstered side chairs and ottomans and accessories such as throws, pillows, table cloths, valances and art work make a well designed room.

Happy Rug Shopping!

Storm Sandy & Water Damaged Oriental Rugs

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The Northeast Coast and especially our communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York have sustained heavy damage from Storm Sandy. My family’s homes, as with many of our neighbors and clients, are still without electricity and have been dealing with relocation issues, logistical problems and storm damaged property.  All of this pales in comparison to those who lost loved ones and our hearts and prayers go out to each and every one.

As trying as the past few days have been, it is always important to remember that our health and well being are what is most important.  Everything else can be repaired or replaced. 

At Nejad Gallery we have been diligently working long hours assisting our clients with their water damaged oriental rugs. Prolonged exposure to water can cause your oriental rugs to color bleed, stain, mold or rot. Time is extremely important when dealing with wet rugs. The sooner you drop off your rugs or have us pick them up and we get them back to our expert wash facility for treatment and cleaning, the less likely damage will occur.  Mitigating your loss will also bode well with your insurance company.

We are also there to help make the process of submitting insurance claims go as smoothly as possible.  We document the condition of the rugs as they are brought in and can supply current market replacement values if needed.  We have extensive experience of almost three decades working with insurance adjusters and insurance companies nationwide.  Nejad Gallery is relied upon as an expert Oriental Rug Cleaning & Restoration Company & Appraiser by most of the leading insurance
companies including Chubb, State Farm, Travelers, Erie, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Allied, Hartford and Farmers to name a few.

Please call 215-348-1255 – we are here to assist you with all your Oriental Rug needs.

Down Sizing & Oriental Rugs

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What to do with too large or too many oriental rugs when downsizing to a smaller residence can be a bit of a decorating dilemma.

Recently I have been working with clients in Philadelphia, New York, and Princeton, NJ, all of whom have beautiful sizable oriental rugs and are moving from large single family homes into smaller retirement communities.  The decision as to what to take, give to family members, sell or donate can be very challenging. 

My first task is to identify the oriental rugs the client absolutely loves and prefers not to part with.  If at all possible I will incorporate these rugs into the new home as floor coverings, wall art or even bed covers (if the weight and texture permits).  If we cannot place a rug, I will recommend trading it in for a similar rug from the same country of origin with similar design and colors but in the appropriate smaller size. If I do not have a particular rug, being a member of the exclusive Oriental Rug Importers Association allows me access to enormous inventories across the country and overseas. Over the many years, I was able to find many clients the perfect Oriental rug.

Even treasured rugs that may seem too worn or damaged can be easily repurposed into ottoman covers, pillows or even framed wall art.  For one client from New Hope, Pa, I cut and hand binded a beautiful old but damaged Persian Ghasghie kilim into a stunning one of a kind long table runner.  For another client in Newtown, Pa I used the borders of a damaged antique Persian Kashan rug as trim for gorgeous drapery panels.  I find many of my clients get great satisfaction and enjoyment from innovating new uses for what they may have otherwise thrown away.

As for the rugs that are not favorites or cannot be placed, I encourage clients to trade in these rugs towards an Oriental rug in the finest quality afforded and make this piece a very special addition to their new home and new life.

Happy Rug Shopping!

A Thousand Shades of Grey … and Blue … and Yellow

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When designing a space, one of the first and most important decisions you will make is the selection of your color palette. Once chosen, these colors should be repeated in their various shades throughout the room in rugs, upholstery, window treatments, wall coverings, paints and accessories such as throw pillows, lamp shades and matting on art work. This repetition of color is fundamental to creating a beautiful, well balanced room resembling the professionally styled interiors you find in national decorating magazines and television shows.

To help you with your palette, I recommend using a “generator” to provide inspiration and guidance with your color selections. The generator can be a focal point piece of art or a treasured antique, but if you have decided to incorporate an oriental rug in the space, your rug is the perfect place to start. This is another reason why I always advise purchasing your oriental rug first.

Most oriental rugs have a dominant color in the field and a secondary color in the border. The accent colors in the corner spandrels, medallion and design motifs may or may not impact your color selections and will usually depend upon the percentage of a particular color used in the overall rug design.

Once you have your generator, you can easily make a color chart matching the colors in your oriental rug or any other item with paint chips easily found at home improvement centers.  This convenient color chart is an extremely useful tool for your design decisions such as shopping for furniture or fabrics. 

By using the same shades of color, you can also vary the texture of the materials incorporated in your room. I am particularly fond of textured grass wallpapers and faux paint techniques such as Venetian Plaster. The light play on large surfaces adds richness and depth, subtle changing throughout the day. Even monochromatically designed rooms benefit from shade and texture variations. 

Whatever your color preferences, there are hundreds if not millions of shades from which to choose. Color is often the most significant element in a room with the ability to elicit joyful and calming emotions. When designing your home, I hope you find your shades of happiness.
Happy Rug Shopping!

Thread Bare Oriental Rugs – A Growing Trend in Interior Design

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If you happen to skim through recent issues of interior design magazines such as Architectural Digest, Elle Décor or Veranda you may have noticed a growing trend of very prestigious designers incorporating worn or even threadbare oriental rugs into their gorgeously appointed rooms. This trend seems to transcend styles ranging from very formal and traditional to transitional and even contemporary.

In my own Nejad Oriental Rug Gallery in Bucks County, PA, we have seen a surge in the number of designers and clients, especially from Philadelphia’s Main Line, Princeton New Jersey, New York and Washington DC suburbs, purchasing antique Persian Rugs that have a good amount of wear and fading. Earlier this month, a client brought in the recent Wall Street Journal Magazine June 2012 featuring renowned furniture maker and interior designer Christian Liaigre’s home on the Rue de Verneuil in Paris. One of the photographs highlighted a beautiful antique threadbare runner in his hallway.  This rug had exactly the look my client wanted for his Manhattan apartment and with our enormous inventory of Antique Persian and Caucasian Rugs he had a fantastic selection from which he purchased several small and large area rugs.

As a designer, I always find it interesting to watch how these early trends find their way into the broader furniture and accessory markets. One example is the recent launch of Restoration Hardware’s Deconstructed Furniture Collection which is made to look unfinished or old shabby chic. Another example is the increase of distressed finishes offered by leading furniture, lighting and accessory manufactures.

Embracing this trend, this month I have begun preliminary designs for a new rug collection that will feature traditional Persian Rug designs such as Heriz, Serapi, Mohtashan, Kashan and Mahal in muted vegetable dyes with plenty of abrash and simulated wear. I am working closely with my master weaver on the best techniques to accomplish the look of wear without compromising the structural integrity and longevity of the rugs. If all goes well, I should have the first samples of this collection in Doylestown by the end of the year.

Happy Rug Shopping!

Contemporary Tufted Rugs Selling for $15,000.00

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Clients often ask me which artists inspire me the most.  Having created more and more contemporary and transitional rugs over the past few years, I would have to say that I have most frequently revisited the works of 20th Century modern artists.

My own family boasts two accomplished modern art painters and although both have now passed, I can still feel their guiding presence when I visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the modern art galleries in The Philadelphia Art Museum. As much as I am delighted by Picasso, Salvador Dali and Matisse and enthralled by Rathko, Kandinsky and Klimt, I must say it is Yaakov Agam, the great experimental Israeli artist, with whom I really feel a kinship.

World renowned for his kinetic sculptures and prismatic “agamographs”, Yaakov Agam also had several of his fantastic innovative designs made into area size tufted rugs. These textured masterpieces are sought after by international art and rug collectors and sell at auction for $15,000.00 and more.  Mr. Agam’s fabulous rugs have been featured in retrospective expositions at the prestigious Guggenheim and the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, France.

Like the great Yaakov Agam, I also decided to design many of my modern rugs in the tufted quality using strong abstract geometric movements in bold colors I design my rugs so they can be used as both floor and wall art and the tactile nature of tufted rugs works very well. I find the impact especially dramatic when one of my rugs is used as the central focal point of a monochromatically designed interior. My main ambition when designing my contemporary rug collections is to create a feeling of transcendence and balance within a space. Although it has always been very difficult to explain verbally, modern art can communicate an artist’s inner vision and I have been told by many clients that my rug designs speak to them and that gives me a great sense of well being.

Happy Rug Shopping

Doylestown’s Memorial Day & County Seat Bicentennial Celebration

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One of the most charming small towns in America has to be Doylestown, Bucks County and if you thought it was a special place before, wait until you see all of the celebrations taking place over the next few days commemorating the Memorial Day Holiday and our County Seat Bicentennial. 

I have always felt very privileged to have our Nejad Oriental Rug Gallery right in the center of town at Main and State Streets.  For almost thirty years, I have had a front row seat to enjoy all of the town’s wonderful seasonal festivities and talk with the many out of town visitors about the rich history of Doylestown and our treasure trove of cultural attractions.

For this very special Memorial Day and Bicentennial, the Doylestown community of residents and business owners really came together to create numerous events for the entire family to enjoy. Kicking off the long weekend is an exciting 2012 5K Race through Doylestown with an expected eight hundred runners showing off their patriotic spirit by wearing the colors of red, white and blue.

One of the major highlights of the celebration is Doylestown’s Memorial Day parade.  The oldest Memorial Day Parade in the country, for 144 years spectators have honored the soldiers who sacrificed so much to serve our great country.  My father and uncle were both World War II veterans and this parade has always been a proud and emotional event for me.

Also not to be missed activities include a very interesting lecture at The Doylestown Historical  Society discussing the Native American Alliance of Bucks County and The Lenape Nation, a fascinating slide presentation at the County Theater by Milton Rutherford and a talk by Bob Goodman portraying President Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 presented at Puck’s located at Printers Alley.

 For those longing for a bit of nostalgia, you can attend Doylestown’s antique car show at Font Hill Museum, a special art exhibition at the Gratz Gallery featuring paintings of the changing landscape of Bucks County and a 200 Years of Fashion event at Eldie Mansion.  We’ll even have a “Best Old Time Moustache” contest resurrecting the men’s style of the day.

You can also discover Doylestown by guided Horse and Buggy Rides, taking you back to the turn of the century when riding in carriages was the way to get around town.  Or if you prefer to go it on foot, you can join one of the Crossroads and Courthouse walking tours to learn about Doylestown’s architecturally important historic buildings.  Also not to be
missed is The James Lorrah Memorial home built in 1844, opening its doors and welcoming visitors to explore the birthplace of renowned archaeologist and historian Henry Mercer.

Nejad Oriental Rug Gallery is in located in one of Doylestown’s oldest and most important architectural historic buildings dating back to 1833.  As part of the celebration, we will have on display numerous magnificent handmade oriental antique rugs form the turn of the century and we will offer talks about the interior decorating styles of the day.

I hope you and your family take advantage of many of the above events and enjoy all of the best Doylestown has to offer!

The Divine Inspiration of Genuine Antique Oriental Rugs

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“Oh Wow” is a phrase uttered over and over again when clients visit our Doylestown Bucks County Oriental Rug Gallery and ascend the back staircase to our expansive second floor antique rug showroom.  This gallery has been the crown jewel of downtown historic Doylestown for over 27 years, drawing architects, interior designers, rug collectors and clients alike from across the country.

The enormous amount of genuine centuries old antique rug inventory is at first both overwhelming and exciting. Glorious antique Persian Serapi and Heriz rugs grace numerous walls.  Super fine Persian Kashan and Sarouk rugs are piled high along each corridor.  Mansion size Persian Farahan and Persian Kerman rugs cover the expansive hardwood floors.  Exquisite antique French Aubuson tapestries hang next to antique Chinese Nichol and Peking rugs with exotic oriental motifs in scrumptious colors such as gold, lavender and robin’s egg blue.  Large thick rolls of Turkish Ushak, Shirvan, and Sultanabad rugs line every wall.  The most decorative antique Caucasian Kazaks and Turcoman kilos drape ceilings high above pile after pile of even more one of a kind antique rugs.  It is simply wonderful.

This is the space I adore.  It is the culmination of a life time of the travel, assembling a treasure trove of magnificent antique oriental rugs.   This is where I lose myself for whole days, studying the design and weave techniques of these stunning works of art.   Surrounded by such splendor, I find it divinely inspirational and one of the most inspirational to design new rug collections. 

“Oh Wow” is right.

Happy Rug Shopping!