Abaca Patterson Flynn

Schumacher is an esteemed American textile company known for its fine pillows, wallpaper and carpets. The family-owned business is still managed by its founder’s descendants. While committed to its history and traditions, the brand has evolved to maintain its vaulted status for more than 130 years.

Schumacher was established in 1889 in New York by Frederic Schumacher, who was born in France and moved to America that same year. By 1898, the Gilded Age elite were patrons of the company’s exquisite imported European fabrics. Schumacher became one of the first to produce luxury textiles in America and its fabrics began appearing in upscale properties like the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

Schumacher grew in prestige in the early 20th century due to its partnerships with top designers such as Josef Frank and Dorothy Draper. Its textiles graced the White House and captured the attention of leading decorators, including Edith Wharton and Elsie de Wolfe.

In the 1920s, Schumacher was a favorite at Mar-a-Lago estates and Newport’s ritzy summer cottages. In the 1930s, French fashion designer Paul Poiret helped usher in the company’s Art Deco era. Schumacher textiles could be found on the sets of Hollywood films, most notably the Hydrangea Drape wallpaper in Gone with the Wind.

After World War II, Schumacher began a decades-long partnership with designer Vera Neumann, whose scarves were worn by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. In 1955, legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright developed a textile line with Schumacher. Known as the Taliesin line, it was the first commercial venture of the architect’s career.

In 2011, Andrew and Stephen Puschel became the fifth generation of Schumacher’s descendants to join the family business. The company continues to exemplify a spirit of innovation by partnering with exciting modern designers like Miles Redd, Mary McDonald, David Kaihoi, Veere Grenney and David Oliver. Under the creative direction of Dara Caponigro, Schumacher has also partnered with the biannual luxury interiors magazine Cabana.

On 1stDibs, find Schumacher textiles, wall decorations, rugs and more.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Antique, new and vintage area rugs and carpets are a simple way to add warmth and style to any space. Area rugs can be seasonal or changed with other decorative objects to refresh an interior. Carpet piles materials can vary from wool and cotton to silk and synthetic fibers, and the purpose of a floor covering can range from reducing noise to offering a place to sit.

Vintage rugs can ground a space, and arranging furniture around them creates a measured focal point. Key furniture pieces can be placed on the rug or just the legs, such as with furniture like coffee tables in your living room.

So, how can you tell if a rug is high quality or vintage?

The three main components that determine the quality of a piece are the dyes, the wool and the number of knots per square inch. Ultimately, however, if you want to be sure the rug you’re buying is truly an antique, it is best to consult an expert.

If you want a creative design that stands out, area rugs or carpets can provide layers of color. Rugs and carpets reflect a global heritage of textiles and weaving, such as ornately patterned Persian and Indian designs. Visually striking Chinese rugs can add a delicate touch of color, while modern rugs make a statement with their geometric patterns.

Turkish rugs, with their ruby reds and misted blues, their entwined botanical designs and rhythmic geometries, are as beloved today as they were in the 13th century. The West’s current infatuation with Moroccan and North African tribal rugs stretches to the mid-20th century, when modern furniture designers embraced bold geometric patterns and even bolder palettes as counterpoints to form-follows-function interiors. Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier were among the designers who used these rustic, natural rugs to offset austere interiors.

If you properly maintain your antique and vintage rugs, they will last for many years. When you’re thinking about how to clean a rug, it is important to keep in mind that your vacuum is not too harsh for your favorite floor covering. Frequent vacuuming is in fact necessary to remove everyday dirt that otherwise wears down the pile. Omri Schwartz of Nazmiyal does, however, stipulate that “it’s best to use an ordinary suction vacuum without bristles, as the bristles can damage the rug’s pile.” Rotating the carpet every couple of years is also recommended — it ensures that the rug gets even foot traffic.

On 1stDibs, find a vintage rug or carpet to add a layer of beauty and function to your room.