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Monday, December 13, 2010

Gifts From A World Traveler

I love this time of year when I am on my way home and driving through the neighborhood in the late afternoon and I see boxes and packages sitting on front porches waiting to be brought in from the cold. And when the doorbell rings and it's a visit from UPS or Federal Express aka Santa's elves, well isn't that just the best? As luck would have it, there were deliveries for me on Friday too!


Detail of master bedroom rug


One of the perks of having a husband that travels all over the world is the treasures and gifts he brings home from far away lands.  The past 2+ years he has spent a great deal of time in Afghanistan and has brought home some of the most beautiful rugs I have ever seen. These rugs are all made by hand, and the larger ones can take up to a year to complete! I have several that I love, including the first one that he brought home about a year and half ago. The light side is truly a pale beauty of slate, cream and aubergine. It looks like an antique rug and currently resides in our master bedroom.



A&A master bedroom rug
 
Here is what arrived on Friday:



It will be a struggle to part with any of these!
 

I could easily become a rug hoarder, switching out one beauty for the next, but instead as word got out (from visits to our house) I've become an unintended rug seller to friends and clients and I truly love that these works of art can be shared!


Aqua & orange-sold!
 When my husband arrived home in November after weeks of traveling, he told me some rugs would arrive in a few weeks, but I also heard a few other things rattling around in his luggage. Santa Baby said those are gifts for under the tree!

24 comments:

  1. The rugs are gorgeous!
    You have the best husband :)

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  2. Gorgeous rugs, send one here. I really need a good rug! Your husband has good taste. XO

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  3. The hand made carpets are lovely. I love rugs, too, purchasing two large carpets while in Turkey and various others, including kilims from Afghanistan, China and Turkey. They've had several favorite spots in the house and some have become gifts to special friends and family. Your cache is exciting.

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  4. My mouth is shaped in a circle like "Ohhhhh." Wonderful beauty, wonderful husband, wonderful wonderful wonderful. (I bet you miss him so when he is away) I love this well written and sweet post. The images are the bonus.

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  5. I'm afraid with what my boyfriend would come home with LOL! Looks like the hubby has great taste and the bedroom one would look perfect in mine LOL! Lucky for you....I've always wanted to travel in that area and Turkey as well for rugs. My boyfriend grew up in Saudi for sometime (his dad worked for the military) and he has some beautiful ones but unfortunately they are too small for our place. Anytime you want to get rid of one just let us know.

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  6. These are all gorgeous, but that aqua and orange rug is beyond fantastic. I'd hoard these, too.

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  7. Absolutely beautiful - all of them - but I like the very light one (the first) best. I am totally in love with exotic rugs - a pity that I don't have more space...

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  8. How sweet...my father was like that and bought tons of rugs in all of the various places we lived, you at least get to sell them. My dad also had an obsession with porcelain rabbits, crystal creatures and cut crystal bowls in various patterns. You should see all of the goodies my dad has hidden around the home...I keep on trying to get him to display, but my mom puts up a fuss for some reason. xx Danielle

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  9. The rugs are beautiful and it sounds like you are one lucky girl!

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  10. Love the rugs. Is there a better sound in December than the Mr. UPS ringing the doorbell?!! Love a delivery!

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  11. I love the washed out tones of the first rug, but goodness, they're all perfect! What a thoughtful husband!

    H.H.

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  12. Lovely rugs,
    lovely hubby,
    lovely SANTA : )
    Oh, and let's not
    forget to throw a
    little love to the
    UPS man {or Fed-Ex
    or USPS} as well!
    Fantastic rugs.....
    Happy Tuesday,
    xx Suzanne

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  13. Wow! Based on these, I can't wait to see what else Santa brought you! ( I hope you will share it here) Your master bedroom rug is perfection!

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  14. Stunning!! Lucky you and your friends!!

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  15. magic carpets! gorgeous!
    santa baby knows how to shop!
    did he really pick those out all by himself?
    pve

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  16. P&F,
    I hear this all the time from friends!

    PVE,
    Fortunately after 23 years of marriage, my husband knows what I like and understands the style of our home. He buys with the intention the rugs will find a place in our house, but knows that due to color and size, they may not. All these purchases are on the spot decisions and cash only, so I have learned to have faith in his good taste and so far it's worked!

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  17. Wow! These are gorgeous! I'm glad his time away yields special results for you too.

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  18. now that's a good husband! I love your bedroom rug- gorgeous colors!

    happy holidays,
    joan

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  19. What a fab husband you've got! Love the colors in those rugs, so beautiful--hoard them!!! Doing a giveaway today of really adorable purses perhaps you can have another UPS delivery next week...!

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  20. I echo the admiring comments - beautiful rug, wonderful husband. But let's get down to business - when will you be opening your online rug store? I'd like a 10x14 similar to your bedroom rug please - name your price!

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  21. Tina,
    More than I could ever express!

    Kate,
    Much to my surprise I was flooded with emails with similar notes. I have thought about it before I even did the post and actually spoke to another blogger about this very thing. But I can't say at this time if I'll branch out into a full online shop. The larger rugs are in big demand, especially in the lighter colors, so I'll pass this information on to my husband and see what turns up in his future travels!

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  22. The rugs are spectacular. It's nice to see not everyone succumbs to the use of poorly made and mostly unattractive rugs by retailers such as Pottery Barn. You should sell them. Homes everywhere will thank you!

    Also, I really like the carpet under the first rug. Could you possibly provide the color and brand?
    Dan

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  23. Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments!

    Anon/Dan,
    Thank you! The carpet is by Ralph Lauren and as soon as I find the information on the style/color I will post it. As far as Pottery Barn rugs, I get your point, but I think some are attractive. More importantly they work well with smaller budgets. We actually have a 10x14 rug from Crate & Barrel in our family room that I like very much. That's not to say I wouldn't like to replace it one day with something different, but it is great with teens, a big dog and the colors are wonderful.

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