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Bokhara rugs are popular textiles deriving from the ancient oriental cultures of Persia and Pakistan and other tribes in Central Asia.
Although you might have heard the term Tekke rugs referring to Bokharas, they come in many other styles too. Each style is named after the tribe that created them.
Bokhara rugs can inject a luxurious and warm feel to your home. The most common colors these rugs come in are red and green. As such, you can be sure to add charm and fanciness to your home through Bokhara rugs.
These rugs are mainly made of wool and are extremely popular in music studios as the wool contributes to the perfect distribution of sound, absorbs noise, and offers great recording quality.
Find out how these rugs are made and have a look at the most popular Bokhara rug decor ideas of 2021.
What are Bokhara Rugs?
|Bokhara rugs are Oriental rugs with innovative and creative designs such as geometric patterns placed in several rows. The talented women and men making Bokharas have placed the patterns and motifs over intense and bold colors such as green, blue, grey but mostly red.
These rugs are luxurious and quite durable. In addition, they are affordable and require very little maintenance. In terms of knotting, you will find most Bokhara rugs to showcase ingenious and interesting Persian as well as Turkish knots.
How are Bokhara Rugs made?
Bokhara rugs are hand-knotted using high-quality hand-spun wool. The foundation is cotton and the KPSI is 260. As such, you will find all Bokhara rugs in wool and cotton.
These rugs have a double-pile deriving from Pakistani tradition. The pile on top is longer than the rest in order to give a plush and luxurious feel to the rug. The knots are tied in Persian style and are clipped short.
Bokhara Rug Types
Bokhara rugs come in different designs and specifications. They are all unique and quite versatile.
Most historians would argue that the designs that feature rows of guls, originate from the Salor tribe that was later on assimilated by the Tekke tribe. The Tekke tribe then managed to develop these designs and create some of the most beautiful Bokhara rugs available in the world.
The most common Bokhara rugs feature floral and geometric patterns, which is expected with oriental rugs. What distinguishes them however are the Herati and Bokhara styles. These are repetitive oval or diamond shape motifs in symmetry.
The shape of the motifs varies according to the tribe that has made the rug. The most common ones are octagonal ones known as the elephant’s foot.
Have a look at the most common Bokhara rugs and what distinguishes them.
Tekke Bokhara Rugs
|Tekke Bokhara area rugs are some of the most precious Bokhara rugs ever, hand knotted. They display extreme precision and remarkable weaving technique.
What is unique about Tekke Bokhara rugs is that they are used as both decor elements as well as prayer rugs. The prayer rugs are mainly found in religious places and are known as Princess Bokhara rugs. The Royal Tekke Bokhara rugs on the other hand are used in living rooms to accentuate the feel of the space and give more character to the room.
These rugs are dominated by a deep red color and have a symmetrical design with octagonal and diamond shapes. The multiple shapes are positioned on numerous rows creating a repetitive design motif. This motif is also known as window pane.
Yomud Bokhara Rugs
|Like most Bokhara rugs, Yomud rugs are named after the tribe that created them. They are made with Persian and Turkish knots.
Yomud rugs can be distinguished through a Greek cross design. As such, these rugs are typically divided into four sections and come in a strong red color.
There are two popular design motifs when it comes to Yomud Bokhara, the octagon with white accents and the diamond lattice.
Salor Bokhara Rugs
|Salor Bokharas have an Afghan origin, from the Salor tribe that used to live near the border. What distinguishes these rugs is a symmetrical design with octagons, each with a diamond within, another octagon, and a floral design in the center.
Salor rugs are rare and powerful design elements for a room. They work really well as accent or throw rugs.
Pinde Bokhara Rugs
Pinde Bokharas come from the Turkmen area of Pinde. These are prayer rugs with prayer motifs on them. Pinde Bokhara rugs are very precious and unique, especially because there are only a few of these luxurious pieces of textile in the world.
Beshir Bokhara Rugs
|Beshir Bokhara rugs are also known as Ersari rugs. They are mainly knotted in Persian style but you can also find a few of these rugs with Turkish knots.
These particular types of Bokhara are distinguished by borders with zig zag patterns and rows of trees and diamonds. The background is red while the decor is yellow and blue.
Khina Bokhara Rugs
Khina Bokhara rugs are weaved in Afghanistan using Persian knots. They come in deep red with quarter octagons. You may also know them as simply Afghans.
Pakistani and Indian Bokhara Rugs
|You can also find Pakistani and Indian Bokhara rugs that have a higher pile and softer wool. These rugs come in more colors than the other versions, including gold, bright blue, tan, earthly tones, and orange. As a result, Pakistani and Indian Bokhara area rugs are very popular as they are easy to integrate into an interior design concept and color palette.
Bokhara Area Rug Colors and Examples
The most important feature of a Bokhara rug is its color. Most rugs feature a warm color palette, with bold and rich tones. The most popular Bokhara rugs are in red, while blue is not too far behind. You can also find them in green, grey, ivory, and orange, including rust and other shades of the same color.
Find out how to place each color in a room to make the most out of this impressive piece of decor.
Red Bokhara Rugs
|Red Bokhara rugs are amongst the most popular Oriental area rugs in the world. They offer an intense and romantic design accentuated by the bold and passionate red color of the background.
These rugs are mainly used in indoor areas and are particularly beneficial to monochrome rooms. Red Bokhara rugs can add an exotic character to the space and make use of their cultural inheritance to make the room have a deeper impact. In addition, they prevent a living room decor from feeling flat and dull.
Also, red Bokhara area rugs bring classiness and fanciness to a living room, bedroom, dining room, or even bathroom, through the red sheen and deep hue. You can think of these rugs as vintage or antique due to the great popularity they have had over time.
Red antique Bokhara rugs are quite pricey and are perfect decor elements for luxurious offices, hotel lobbies, or other areas that need to make a good first impression on guests and visitors.
Choose a large red Bokhara rug to anchor the furniture in a room. Place it underneath the legs of the couches to give the whole space a luxurious and graceful feel.
You can also place a red Bokhara runner in the kitchen or laundry room. The beautiful motifs of the rug will make the kitchen cabinets seem more appealing and also create a lovely atmosphere in the laundry room, allowing you to finish chores in a more inviting environment.
Green Bokhara Rugs
|Green Bokhara area rugs are exotic, vibrant, and utterly beautiful. These rugs bring a sense of relaxation as well as oriental beauty to a room. You can use them in living rooms and bedrooms, surrounded by white walls and different wooden accents.
Green is the color of nature, and this link is intensified in green Bokhara rugs. These rugs are made of 100% natural materials, mainly wool. As such, green Bokhara rugs are perfect for mountain cabins and rustic rooms.
Bokhara area rugs in green are more appropriate for traditional decors. Therefore if you have old furniture, you can place a green Bokhara to add some vitality to the room.
Grey bokhara rugs
|Grey Bokhara area rugs are made of natural dye and yarn. These rugs are soft and work perfectly in bedrooms, as cushions for your feet when you leave your bed in the morning. You can use them as matching runners on both sides of the bed. Their design introduces a beautiful oriental feel to your bedroom, making the entire room feel warmer and more inviting.
And here is a bonus tip: place a silver Bokhara area rug in any space of your home for a modern and classy decor. It works quite well with pink accents.
Ivory Bokhara Rugs
|Ivory is a timeless color that helps you bring elegance and even a contemporary vibe to the room, despite the antique and classic design of the rug. Bokhara rugs in Ivory come in a variety of decors, with patterns in pastel blue, green, coral, or grey.
These rugs are made of yarn and cotton and work perfectly in high-traffic living rooms as they are easy to maintain and resistant to spills. You can choose between different shades such as bisque for a delicate vibe or a Navajo for a crisp feel.
You can place an ivory Bokhara runner in the kitchen to add more Persian charm to the contemporary cabinets and give them a timeless look.
Coral Bokhara Rugs
|Coral Bokhara rugs are delicate and feminine. These rugs offer a sense of calmness and relaxation which is just perfect for beach houses.
You can use coral Bokhara area rugs to brighten up plain beige rooms without overwhelming the design. Coral is a balanced color that is very easy on the eyes. So even if you have a very rich decor, full of projecting elements, you can use a coral Bokhara rug to give the room a classy vibe.
You can also choose a peach Bokhara rug as a slightly different shade of coral, and match it with hardwood floors and a suede couch to create a fully enveloping living room decor.
Blue Bokhara Rugs
|Blue Bokhara rugs are vintage and pure. Most of these rugs are made of 100% yarn and come in a light pastel color that adds a traditional vibe to your home. You can also find them in a more deep shade of blue, intensified by the multiple motifs.
Use smaller Bokhara rugs in the entryway and set the tone for the rest of the decor of the house. You can also place them in a bedroom to accentuate a traditional look and make it feel welcoming and charming.
Blue Bokhara rugs have patterns in shades of pink, coral, and white that can help link their design to the rest of the decor of the room. For example, you can add throw pillows in coral and create a beach vibe through the combination of the rug and the cushions on the couch.
Blue Bokhara rugs look particularly beautiful over light hardwood floors.
Brown Bokhara Rugs
|Brown Bokhara rugs are warm and moody. Therefore, the best usage for these rugs is a bright room with white or cream walls. The dark rug will create a warm rustic atmosphere that pulls features from the earth and links the home to nature.
You can choose between tan, sienna, or a blanched almond color rug to give character to your space through contrast.
Lastly, you can opt for a very light brown, or even beige Bokhara with brown decor and motifs. This rug is very easy to match with surrounding furniture in any color, as well as other rugs in an open space.
As most Bokhara rugs, brown ones are made of yarn and are quite durable. The dark shade itself is perfect for masking stains and can provide a maintenance-free floor cover, which is perfect for high-traffic areas of the home.