Carpets With Soul

  I recently purchased an antique Caucasion rug from Istanbul Rugs in San Rafael. I could not have been happier with the buying process which ended with me acquiring a stunning rug that looks great in my home. Ogi and his staff took the time to further my education in antique rugs and made the whole process easy and fun. They have a beautiful store well stocked with a wide variety of wonderful rugs. If you are in the market, I highly recommend stop by.

  Istanbul Rug is a family business, with multiple generations working in their two stores. I have bought two rugs on different occasions from them and have been extremely happy with my purchases. They have a beautiful selection and are very knowledgeable about each piece they carry - what country it's from, the symbolism within the design and what might be known about the specific weavers. They really bring each piece to life, in telling its story.
Istanbul Rug has excellent service. They are very kind, patient and not pushy.  They generously brought quite a number of rugs to my house, so I could see them in my rooms, which made all the difference in making my selection. After purchasing my latest rug, they delivered "just" a rug pad on a different day (which was at least a 45 minute drive, one way, for them to come to my house again) and installed it for me, after cutting it to the appropriate size on the spot.
The really stand behind their products - they've told me multiple times that if I ever decide I don't like or want one of my rugs anymore, they are willing to let me exchange for another, at any point in time! Also, I love knowing that they offer cleaning and repair services, should I need them in the future. I know we are well taken care of with them!

  Instanbul Rug has stunning rugs and a beautiful showroom. We live close by and I was so happy to see the space brighten up into a beautiful rug showroom. We have been in the market for a new rug for our living room, and decided to finally stop in the store, and we were blown away. Ogi and his team were super friendly, energetic, and knowledgeable (we were even served Turkish coffee!). They flipped through hundreds of 9x12 rugs for us until we decided on the one rug we loved. We also went in with a certain expectation of what we wanted, but after showing Ogi a picture of our room, and him understanding our criteria, he honed in immediately on what would look best. They have great customer service too, and are willing to work with you to make sure it is the right rug for you, and most importantly that you love It. And we do, 100%. I would go back to Instanbul Rug in a heartbeat. I will share a photo of the rug once we have it set up in our room. Just waiting for the new rug pad 🙂 Thank you, Instanbul Rug!

  I live in San Rafael and saw this rug store open where bananas at large had been. Quite a spectacular backdrop for the incredible inventory of this family business. I told them I was interested in seeing tibetan rugs and two men quickly appeared to roll back the rugs until I saw one that spoke to me. They were gracious and quickly picked up on my taste. This was an experience of discovery, education and getting to feel comfortable with these Turkish rug merchants. I told my new friends what my budget was and although the rug I chose was over what I wanted to pay, we arrived at a price that was a compromise. Once I put the rug down in my living room, I discovered everything had come together beyond my expectations. I couldn't be happier with my purchase and my experience. I am looking forward to dropping by for the Turkish coffee they felt necessary to celebrate our transaction.

  This week I bought two gorgeous rugs from Ogi at Istanbul Rugs.   I visited several other stores and compared prices and quality.   I ended up returning to Istanbul Rug because the price I was quoted was fair (and better than the other options I found while shopping around).  Ogi and his crew treated me with respect and didn't pressure me.  Thank you!

  After months of online browsing for a rug for our living room, I wandered into Istanbul Rug's new store in San Rafael. It is a beautiful, bright showroom. I was immediately welcomed by the owner, Ogi. He asked what size, style and colors I was looking for and then directed me to a collection of rugs that I might like.  No doubt, there were some beauties, but I also knew they were out of my price range, and we quickly eliminated them from consideration.  Yes, within their collection are handmade rugs that are a significant investment - It is up to the buyer to set your price and hold firm and not fall in love with a rug that is more than you plan to spend. Next time, I will heed my own advice...

Ogi is a great salesman and he knows his business.  He offered to bring several rugs to my home and I welcomed the opportunity to see them in place. This is one thing you can't do with shopping online (a bit hard to verify colors and order/return several rugs) and I believe that is an added value for which paying a bit more is reasonable.  Two rugs were beautiful in our room and, after a bit of negotiation, we settled on one. It is not only beautiful, but it is an Istanbul Rug original design. It is crafted in India, with bamboo silk, so be sure to ask for full details about rug origin and differences. I have some concerns that it is less durable than a wool rug, but it is in our living room, not a high traffic area.

We are very pleased to support a local, family owned business and Ogi and his staff were friendly and passionate about their trade. They are either very genuine in wanting to establish themselves for long-term relationships or very good salesman (Okay, Ogi is a very good and likable salesman.) I trust that he has made an investment in integrity for the long term, as he expands the family business into Marin, and we look forward to enjoying our rug for many years, as well the opportunity to return to Istanbul Rugs for future purchases.

  Friendly and knowledgeable staff with such a wide range and selection of different types of rugs, it's difficult to chose. The prices are very reasonable considering the time put into these handwoven beauties. I was amazed by how much there is to know about different types. They are art and each one is beautiful in its own way. It really brightened my living room. They are also goodweave certified which is important.

  Nicest rug showroom I have ever seen. I felt like I was in Turkey. As a local, business owner myself I had to check out the new
rug store in San Rafael. They have an amazing rug collection and unbelievable space... I ended up buying a Persian rug for my dining room.

  When I stopped by Istanbul Rug in San Rafael, I didn't think I'd actually be able to make a choice, despite the fact that they have a large selection of beautiful rugs. I didn't know much about rugs and I wasn't sure what I wanted. Ogi gave me some great tips on how to narrow it down. He and his staff very patiently went through the whole selection to help find the rugs that were good possibilities based on the comments I made.  I took several rugs home and found that one was perfect for the space.

Shopping here was fun, and I learned a lot. I'm looking forward to going back to find a rug for my bedroom.

  Just fair warning, this place smells like mothballs. I want to put that out there before anything else because it surprised me as I walked into the room. That first step aside, this place is AMAZING.

The place is ginormous, a great big open space with a selection wall to wall and stacked on the floor. Everywhere you look there are beautifully made pieces of art laid out or hanging. I was bouncing around like a pin ball looking at this piece and that piece trying to look at it all.

I think they have one that can fill most people's whole living room. They said it took 4 year to make and it was impeccable. The detail on the patterns were exquisite. I'll try to make sure to load the video of it. It's a bit too big for our space but WOW!

Bookmarking this place for a return visit after we measure our bedroom for a rug.