A Touch of Luxury

Ahead of the Club’s annual Carpet Auction, one design guru Member highlights the aesthetic possibilities of a handwoven Persian rug.

"The home should be the treasure chest of living.”

So expounded legendary Swiss-French designer Charles-Édouard “Le Corbusier” Jeanneret, who urged people to surround themselves with carefully selected furniture and art that delights, soothes and stimulates.

“That’s the beginning of all design,” says interior designer and Member Cherie Jones. “What do you want the mood to be? How do you want to feel in that space?”

For months, Jones searched for a furnishing that would soften and feminize the sharp edges of the desk and bookshelves of her Tokyo home office. Then, at last year’s annual Carpet Auction (pictured), she found the perfect fit: a handwoven silk Persian rug accented in subdued rose and sage green.

“I absolutely love it,” says Jones. “Especially in the range of silk Persian carpets, there are very soft blues and greys that would feel more harmonious and give a tranquil, calm mood to a space.”

From understated patterns in step with Japanese minimalism to ornate and orthodox designs, there’s a Persian carpet to suit all personalities and homes at this month’s Connections-

organized Carpet Auction. Each handwoven rug is sourced by Singapore-based Eastern Carpets from Asian and Middle Eastern villages with centuries-long legacies in the textile trade.

For Members skittish about splurging on themselves: proceeds of each sale will go to support TELL’s mental health crisis hotline and counseling services across Japan, Animal Refuge Kansai’s shelter and pet adoption operations and the host of other charities supported by Connections.

While the uninitiated may find some of the bold colors and woven patterns of a Persian carpet intimidating, particularly if nothing else in their home seems to match their unique design, Jones recommends blending aesthetic influences to find the look that works for you.

“It becomes more personal when you’re integrating different styles,” she says. “It becomes more a reflection of your own personality, as opposed to trying to replicate someone else’s.”

Words: Owen Ziegler
Image: Yuuki Ide

Interior Tips

Do
•  Lay a Persian rug under a glass table to allow the vibrant colors to add depth to the room.
•  Leave about half a meter of space between a large rug and the walls.
•  Use different sizes and styles of carpet to zone areas of a large, open room for different purposes.

Don’t
•  Mix and match varying shapes when rugs are placed next to one another. 
•  Separate an undersized carpet from your furniture, creating a “rug island” in the middle of a room.

Carpet Auction
February 8 | 4:30–10pm