Rustigian Rugs

Rustigian Rugs Handmade Area Rug Gallery and Designer Carpeting Showroom on the East Side of Providence. Proudly serving Bristol County, MA, and surrounding areas.

With 90 years of experience, an expansive rug and wall-to-wall carpet showroom, and friendly and knowledgeable staff, we invite you to visit us because, quite simply, we know rugs. From Oriental, Persian, Hamedan, Kilim, and Stark style rugs to Wilton and Sisal carpets, we’ve got the widest selection of custom-designed area rugs and carpeting in Rhode Island. We specialize in area rug cleaning, service, and restoration, our expert staff can assist with all your needs. Contact us today!

03/12/2026

Thank you once again Mr. Trump....on top of tariffs we can now enjoy transportation surcharges.

It does not escape me that the logic underlying in this price increase notice is fairly sketchy...especially the supporting arguments of the timing cited.

But if we have the grifter of all times setting the example...why should industries not follow suit?

TDG Customers,
With the recent events in the Middle East and the resulting rapid increase in energy costs, our domestic freight carrier partners have implemented significant increases in fuel surcharges. These fuel surcharges have led to freight increases of 17% since the first of the year and 15% in the past 4 weeks alone.
To offset these freight cost increases, TDG will be implementing a temporary freight increase of 16% effective March 16, 2026. This is a temporary increase which will be adjusted as we see changes in the surcharges being assessed to us.
The surcharge increase will impact soft surface orders with prepaid freight, which includes most orders of DH Floors, Masland, and Fabrica carpets. Other orders, including hard surface and freight collect orders will not be impacted.

Roz again...TEMPORARY MY ASS

An appropriate rug for the week....
03/05/2026

An appropriate rug for the week....

There are certain impediments to our being open today. Hopefully, we will see you tomorrow!
02/25/2026

There are certain impediments to our being open today.

Hopefully, we will see you tomorrow!

Chapter Two of deconstruction
02/21/2026

Chapter Two of deconstruction

Can you say renovate!!!
02/20/2026

Can you say renovate!!!

02/16/2026

In the matter of the $70,000 rug sourced by the State of Rhode Island from an out of state vendor, I have a few thoughts based on roughly 45 years in the rug industry.

If you are a tax payer, you might be interested.

Handmade rugs and carpet manufactured on broad looms (hence the word) are best squared off when patches or seaming is needed. In this instance and with the particulars of the "error" in manufacture, the emblems will have to be re-woven and two sizable squares taken out of the carpet to correct the design flaws. One of the first places that wear shows on any installed carpet is at the seams...not to mention that they are often unsightly. So, the useful, attractive life of this gem may be limited.

All that said, this is LIKELY NOT THE FAULT of Stark Carpet. Those of us familiar with the custom rug process KNOW that in at least two people's desks are the renderings that are routinely produced prior to production and which are tendered with authorized signatures and a deposit to the vendor BEFORE production begins. If there was a designer on this job...it is even worse or, optimistically, there is recourse.

How utterly slipshod, amateurish and just plain stupid.

Roz

Who the hell is pondering this while the world is falling apart?
01/18/2026

Who the hell is pondering this while the world is falling apart?

See Below!

Happy holidays to one and all!
12/25/2025

Happy holidays to one and all!

The promise of tomorrow
12/15/2025

The promise of tomorrow

12/13/2025

Turn on Rachael Madow If you can’t Watch the rerun. Her defense of democracy is astounding and reality changing.

Have a wonderful day!
12/10/2025

Have a wonderful day!

Address

1 Governor Street
Providence, RI
02906

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 5:30pm
Thursday 10am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+14017515100

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Our Story

Rustigian Rugs was established by V. George Rustigian in 1930 in the midst of the Great Depression. "Rusty" graduated from Brown University in 1928 and continued on to Harvard Law School. The fall of the stock market compelled him to find a way to support himself and his mother. Prior experience in the oriental rug business in New York and New Orleans prepared him to take advantage of the familial contacts his mother had in the industry. The rugs he bought and borrowed from his benefactor, the Michaelian family in New York, formed the core of the Rustigian Rug shop which began in the family home on Benefit Street in Providence.

Business was good. Over the years, Rusty plied his trade in both new and antique carpets. Predictably, the business expanded in scope and for many years Rustigian’s was also a specialty vendor in the sale and installation of wall to wall carpeting. The 1802 Federal style house adapted to these changes: after WWII the basement of the Benefit Street house was excavated by hand so Rusty could have an office proper. The four-car garage became a showroom for rolls of carpet and, ultimately, the building which used to house the family horse (Gertie) was converted into a dry room for the rug cleaning operation. On a summer day, it was not unusual for a passerby to see the house literally draped in customer rugs – drip drying on fences, basking in the sun on the driveway and roof and hanging from specially built steel railings!

📷 Open for business at our original Benefit Street location

Rustigian Rugs flourished for 50 years up until Rusty’s death in May of 1980. That’s when Rosalind Rustigian (Roz to her friends and customers) stepped in and found she was able to maintain relationships with many a customer who remembered Rusty so fondly.