I have been searching for a great shag rug for our living room. We have white/creamy ceramic tile, white walls, ivory curtains and a beige sofa. Also in the room is a white desk and chair. We currently have a really gorgeous deep red wool 8×10 Gabbeh rug, which I love, but with all this white/ivory/cream in the room, I was thinking that it might be far more peaceful to go totally pale and get a big fluffy shag rug. After having worked in 2 home stores which carried Flokati rugs, I already know that that is not what I want.

Trouble is, what I do want seems to be a felted or woven wool rug, and being that I need an 8×10, they are out of my price range. I really need to spend less than $300-400 and for something nice, that appears to be out of reach.

My favorite so far is this twist wool rug from CB2, but the 8×10 is $599.00 and I’d really prefer to come in about $200 cheaper. NOt to mention… far less yellow. Can it be done?? We shall see.

So, I am looking for alternatives.

I took a look at this cotton shag rug at Target today. Although definitely in the right price range, it seemed sparce, lacked the lush fluff I was hoping for (despite the raving online reviews), and I’d have to put 2 together.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress. Any suggestions are welcomed!!


The ad for Fort Street Studio in Elle Decor caught my eye, and when I visited their website, I felt like I might have found an exquisite art gallery site instead, because these beautiful rugs are absolute works of art. Part of their “Classics” line, they are designed to be reminiscent of abstract watercolors with bleeding hues, and “painterly effects”. Hand cut and knotted, they are made of Dandong silk. Also of note are the 100% wild silk shag, tweed and relief rugs. The result of years spent in Hangzhou, China, artists Janis Provisor and Brad Davis blended the ancient art of the silk carpet with a modern concept to make carpets based on watercolors - painterly abstractions without the repeating patterns of most rugs or the usual hard-edged lines. The story of how they made that idea a reality is an interesting read in the History section of their site.

All of the carpets shown on the site are stunning. Prices aren’t listed. Highly recommended as eye candy and the stuff of my interior design fantasies.