Yes, you should definitely put a vintage rug in your modern kitchen
A New York City galley kitchen with a vintage Hamadan Persian runner rug. Design: Time & Place Interiors
You’ve moved into your renovated New York City condo or loft. The kitchen is sleek and sexy, with gorgeous stone and luxury appliances. But it needs a touch of personality — something to make it truly yours.
A great way to give a sleek luxury kitchen character is through a sophisticated vintage rug. Now, I don’t mean a “boho”-looking reproduction. I say go for the real deal instead: an authentic vintage rug, dating to 60, 70, or even more years in age. (Veranda Magazine recently tapped me for advice on this topic, actually.)
A vintage rug will add visual depth to your kitchen. Its handmade quality will lend an artisan touch, and its unapologetic signs of wear will balance out cold new surfaces of contemporary cabinetry, stone countertops, and appliances. Specifically, Persian rugs are the highest quality vintage rugs, and are deserving of a luxury kitchen’s setting. Use the rug to pull through an accent color… or offset the tones without any matching at all.
From a practical perspective, vintage Persians are one of the most resilient kitchen rug options. (They’re good for hallways too, by the way.) Their tight weave makes them sturdy and resistant to wear. It’s no wonder they survived for so many decades! Persian rugs take spills well and dry naturally; plus, their patterns camouflage stains. And unlike synthetic rugs, whose chemicals emit harmful VOCs, the natural wool fibers of vintage rugs support healthy indoor air quality in your home.
Below I’ve put together inspiring interior designs using vintage rugs in modern kitchens. You’ll see how tasteful distressed vintage Persian carpets look against modern spaces.
Special thanks to my friends at Gallimore Fine Rugs for their help identifying the origins of these vintage carpets.
A distressed vintage Persian Karajah rug adds texture to a luxuriously renovated marble kitchen of a 1920s Kalorama Heights apartment in Washington D.C. Design: Nicholas G. Potts / Photo: Jennifer Hughes
Placing a vintage rug under the kitchen island anchors the space. Here’s a Turkoman Bohkhara rug in a kitchen sporting sandblasted oak and hemp inlay cabinets. The backsplash tiles are Moroccan zellige. Design: Studio Ezra / Photo: Amelia Stanwix
Warm elements like an over-dyed Persian runner rug and rustic candelabra sconces make this unconventional kitchen feel more like a living space. Design: Cassandra Ellis / Photo: Catherine Gratwicke
This Anatolian rug (it’s actually Turkish) picks up the pastel colors of the mint green cabinetry. Design: Martha Mulholland / Photo: Laure Joliet
Multiple vintage rugs, including a Persian Shasavan, cover the kitchen floors of this Greek Revival house in the Hudson Valley. The pair of cabinets are restored Italian vintage burlwood. Design: FIG NYC / Photo: Gieves Anderson
The kitchen in a once-industrial Brooklyn condo building has simplified materials, with the exception of the Persian Hamadan rug that gives warmth and textured comfort. Design: Meredith Winfrey with Opa architects / Photo: Perry Hall
Designer Robert Stilin chose a muted Persian Veramin rug in his masculine Hamptons kitchen.
Old meets new in a renovated kitchen where original cabinets were stripped and painted, then topped with honed Carrara marble. The vintage Balouch runner rug ties together the black and white theme. Design: Krissy O’Shea / Photo: Justine Hand
A Persian Tabriz rug pulls in subtle colors from the custom white oak cabinetry of this oceanside kitchen. Design: Studio Gutow
To bridge the space between rows of cabinets in a broadened Brooklyn brownstone kitchen, a Persian Hamadan rug was placed on wide plank wood floors. Here’s another appearance by zellige tiles. Design: Bangia Agostinho / Photo: Nicole Franzen
Want to make your new, sleek kitchen feel like your own?
Time & Place Interiors is a New York-based interior design studio that combines sleek, modern design with vintage accents to create layered spaces. Founder Ksenya Malina loves bringing artisan touches to new build condos, or adding modern design to historic homes. Use the link below to schedule a free 20-minute information call with Ksenya to discuss the next step for your design goals:
