Great post to show the versatility of oriental rugs! I am searching for a reddish one for my living room, similar to pics #2, #5, and #10--would love suggestions for where to shop (online or NYC/NJ/CT) and not spend a fortune (no more than $1000 for an 8 x 10)!

@Merkerville, look at Overstock.com's handmade rugs. I collect rugs and so have a lot of "serious" ones, but I bought an Iranian tribal rug at Overstock for an area that was going to get hard use. It was remarkably inexpensive for the quality. It's a lower knot count, and not an heirloom, but it's pretty and has more character than a machine-made rug.

I have seen some very nice rugs in Ikea's handmade section, as well.

Terrific photos. I've always loved oriental rugs in any setting. Merkervil, we got our rug on Ebay and it was just shy of $1000 including shipping, and it's a bit over 8 X 10. I looked for sellers who included detailed photos of their rugs, including the underside.

Beautiful images.

I recently scored a 9x11 hand-dyed, handmade soumak rug on Craigslist for $200! Deal of the century.

I have Oriental rugs all over my condo and I decorate with a Mid-century modern look. I've gotten some great antique rugs at the Ann Arbor Antique Market and believe it or not, some beautiful handmade rugs at Ikea. That was about 6 years ago and I haven't seen rugs of that quality at Ikea for a while. It is worth a look though.

Merkervil, my friend has great rugs in NYC in your price range. He posts them to classifieds here at Apartment Therapy under Relevant Furniture.

@Merkervil -- Check auctions and estate sales; sometimes you can get very lucky!

I'm so happy to see them making a comeback; I'm tired of plain, simple designs and appreciate the depth and complexity of traditional oriental carpets.

I almost thought the rug in pic #2 is a twin of mine - I had to run to the LR to check it out.
OK, so twin it's not but a cousin for sure.

@Merkevil, I got in on eBay for $1000 + delivery and it is close to 9 x 12.

@Gwendolyn, it IS a deal of the century. Well done!

thanks all! glad to find some fellow fans :)

@merkervil - ditto on the previous comments... eBay. sometimes you can also get lucky on craigslist, but there is more to choose from on eBay.

I am in NYC and just got a beautiful 9 x 11 Karastan rug for a client. I think the seller was Bucks County Traders. Even with the cost of delivery it was well below the expense of a new rug of the same quality. We even budgeted for cleaning, just in case, but it was fine without.

A quick search turned up this one.

Good luck!

I love my carpets. We bought a very small one in Turkey several years ago - it's silk and my cats also loved it, so now it hangs on the wall. The other 2 are wool and we bought on a later trip. I was amazed at how the store could pack them into such a small package and my husband carried one and I carried the other. We roll them up in the summer and put them down in the winter. I think they look wonderful in almost any decor.

For those buying second hand rugs, how do you get it clean? Not to be all germphobic, but something about the carpet being in someone else's home weirds me out a bit. It makes me wonder what stinky feet or liquids and dirt were on it. I'd love to get one second hand, as it seems to be the only affordable way, but how to get past the ick factor?

I have an Oriental carpet that my dad sent home from Saudi in about 1955 . A naughty but still beloved dog damaged it. I would like to know how I can tell if it's worth repairing. Any advice would be appreciated.

Love them! I have big 8'x11' silk Kashmiri carpet from India in my bedroom. I'd love another Oriental carpet in my living room. But a good quality one is so expensive here in the US and I don't know when I'll be back in India.

I have a hand-me-down very like the rug in photo #9. Not sure where my family picked it up, but I remember that during my childhood it sat in our front entryway as a large 8x11-ish size that a housekeeper put in the WASH to clean and shrank to a petite 3x4-ish size, which I now keep beside my bed. I also love them and long for more... someday.

Look at ABC. Also, some smaller stores around NYC carry nice rugs, sometimes on sale. Also, some larger furniture stores sell them as well, sometimes on sale. You don't have to get used antique ones....new ones can be found that aren't crazy expensive. You don't have to have the highest quality ones, just ones you like the colors, look and feel of. Just keep looking until you find one you just love ... you'll know it when you see it. Love mine ... can't imagine my place without them.

We inherited a LOT of oriental rugs from my husband's family, and are having a tough time figuring out how to make them work with our existing furnishings and art. Most of the pictures you show feature white or grey walls. It would be great to see some examples of how they can work in rooms with more color.

Muesli, when you buy an oriental carpet, they are often old. One of ours is probably 70 y/o, another is maybe 30. I guess I'm not germaphobic, because to be honest, it never occurred to me to worry about them.

My husband and I love the beaten up, thread barren pre-1900 oriental rugs. We just scored one on ebay for 200 bucks that's about 8x11. ebay is the way to go!

They must look much better in person because the majority of the photographs make the rooms look super unbalanced. In fact I think the first and last photos are the only ones that look like they are working without trying too hard.

I'm interested in buying on ebay since I haven't had much luck looking on craigslist (and have a limited budget), but since I don't know much about rugs I'm intimidated by buying a rug I haven't seen in person. How do I know I'm not being taken for a ride?