Chic and adaptable, a neutral handknotted wool carpet serves as a perfect canvas to show off a prized painting, or an amazing view. Choosing a subtle color for your area rug allows you to experiment with texture, style and composition. Tibetan wool rugs in organic cream, beige, and white can add brightness to a room, while earthly blend-in tones can set the stage for unexpected design additions and accent colors. Try a deep palate of neutral walnut, navy or charcoal in a traditional rug to add dimension without distraction.

When one thinks of how interior designers are masters of color we start with bright, bold hues—magentas, emeralds, cyans, and other trending, electric colors that together craft the fodder of shelter magazines. Yet great design is also about the minuscule differences in shade and tone easily missed by an untrained eye, and they bring this color finesse to neutral area rugs as often as those that are brilliantly colored.

For example a kitchen with neutral rugs is a soothing environment to spend time in, and neutral area rugs make the food and people in the space look glamorous. What could be more neutral than a neutral carpet in a Swiss Chalet?

A neutral carpet may have waves of beige, taupe, gray, and green hues swirling through them. One can introduce luxurious natural materials to make the decor around neutral rugs more dynamic such as accents in green, parchment, straw, fennel or art or iron elements accented with bronze.

For neutral rugs to be successful they need depth and complexity to be special, so picking everything in a matchy-matchy strategy will fail, so watch out! It is important to remember when decorating with a neutral are rugs that the point is to bring in as much texture to neutral area rugs as you can using wool, silk, linen, hemp, or bamboo silk fibers as is possible to generate interest and layers – important just like cooking food when strong flavors are absent.