Karastan in Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West Home

Karastan carpet was chosen for the restored living room of
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West.
Photo by Donna Yeaw.

I was not surprised to learn that in 1955 the architect Frank Lloyd Wright considered
designing rugs and carpets for the renowned rug and carpet manufacturer Karastan. (Karastan is now part of Mohawk Industries, the world’s largest flooring manufacturer and a Carpet and Rug Institute member.) Several highly-regarded artists of the day, including the artist Henri Matisse, (see related blog post Mattisse Rug Donated to Carpet and Rug Institute) designed rugs.

According to a story in National Floor Trends magazine, titled Karastan rugs featured in Frank Lloyd Wright's home, those early discussions between Wright and Karastan led the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to choose a Karastan product for the newly restored Taliesin West, Wright’s home in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“The reason we selected Karastan for the living room of Taliesin West was because of the color selection available, the quality of Karastan’s carpets and Wright’s relationship with Karastan. Wright talked to Karastan in 1955 about collaborating on a line of carpets with the Wright design,” said Doug Volker, the foundation’s director of licensing and product development.

Matching the carpet in historic photos, Karastan donated 1,495 sq. ft. of new carpet to bring the Taliesin West living room and adjacent dining cove back to their former beauty. The carpet selected for the restoration project, Karastan’s Cambridge Shores in Glazed Wood color, was custom made and bound into five rectangular rugs to fit the space.

Wright began building Taliesin West in 1937 as his personal home, studio and architectural ampus, and no doubt was still making changes in 1959 when he died. Each year more than 150,000 visitors tour this historic property in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains to admire the genius of the man who continues to impact interior design, architecture and ideas about sustainability and green living.”

The Robie house in Chicago, built during the early days of the architect’s career, also has carpet designed and manufactured by a CRI member. (See related blog article Carpet in Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House.)

Congratulations to Karastan for contributing to this historic project. The Karastan carpet looks right at home in the beautiful desert setting.

~Bethany

Photo Credit: National Floor Trends. Photo by Donna Yeaw.