Oftentimes, what lies beneath our feet gets very little notice, but it’s certainly not the case when we’re talking about fine antique rugs. Whether the setting is classic or modern, we feel these venerable, handmade carpets add undeniable allure and luxury to any room lucky enough to hold them.

For the best of the best, our favorite source is Doris Leslie Blau, and we were thrilled when this renowned purveyor of handmade carpets recently asked us to collaborate on a very special project. To commemorate some of the finest pieces in their astounding collection, they invited a handful of designers to select a favorite piece and use it to create a mouth-watering inspirational vignette. With the rug as our muse, we each created our own tableaus, which DLB subsequently photographed and assembled into a gorgeous coffee table book. Continue reading →

Hermes is getting worried.  My favorite NYC resources keep establishing outposts in Hudson, so I’m able to do ‘city shopping’ in the country. I have even more excuses for my office absences (yippee).

So, Naga North is showing rugs from Doris Leslie Blau.  For the uninitiated, Doris Leslie Blau is to rugs what Harry Winston is to jewels—the best.  (OK, one of the best, but the list is short.  I can think of three….).  Mrs. Blau has been a powerful (loved and feared!) force in the design world for decades. Doris is elegant, refined, intellectual, and has a mouth like a sailor.  Love that.  Talk about a Man’s World—women in the rug world are rare.  She’s spending less time at the gallery these days (our loss) and Nader Bolour (of the Los Angeles rug dynasty) runs the show.  I was worried about that transition—there are a lot of designers that are very devoted to Doris—but Nader has won us over. Continue reading →