Carpets

The road to Hratch Kozibeyokian's hilltop studio is rutted, and a visitor's ascent is accompanied by a chorus of roosters and dogs. Any doubts about having misread the map, though, disappear as a pair of room-size patterned carpets come into view. Spread out on the pavement between the spacious house and workshops, they look like palatial welcome mats. As owner of Kilim in West Hollywood's design district, Kozibeyokian was a well-known dealer and restorer of fine Oriental rugs. Ten years ago, he and his wife, Mira Assadourian, decided to devote themselves exclusively to restoration, selling the store and building Ko 'Z' Craft, their aerie in the San Fernando Valley community of Shadow Hills.

It's two days after the Met Gala, the Costume Institute's annual Vogue magazine-sponsored fundraiser, and the “Punk: Chaos to Couture” exhibition opening, and people are still buzzing about the red carpet parade - Miley Cyrus' spikey hair, Nicole Richie's grayed-out pompadour and pregnant Kim Kardashian's gloved Givenchy getup. Of course, there's much irony to the whole thing - the fashion world's most exclusive evening with every entitled celebrity on the planet gathered in the name of punk, an anti-fashion, anti-establishment movement of working-class heroes.

When a carpet crisis hits, toll-free menu help is available 24 hours at (800) 4DUPONT. For general spills, here's what experts at DuPont Stainmaster and Tiffany Bros. recommend: 1. Act quickly. 2. Scrape up solid material with a spoon. 3. Blot moisture with a clean towel. Never rub a stain; rubbing can ruin carpet texture. Always use clean, dry white paper or cloth towels. 4. Wash the area using a mild soap solution ( 1/4-teaspoon laundry detergent--not dish detergent--to 1 quart of water).

Could the world be a place where everyone knows your name? In the children's book "My Very Own World Adventure," absolutely. The illustrated book makes a good present for future travelers. It starts with a magic carpet ride to countries whose first letters spell out a child's first and last names. In each country, the pages show a child with a special gift from their homeland. For the name "Isabella," for example, the book starts with a harp-player from Ireland, a rose from Saudi Arabia, a musical instrument from Albania, a chocolate bunny from Belgium ... you get the idea.

Speaking of authenticity and exoticism, visitors to the Nash collection in the Ahmanson Building can treat themselves to the sight of one of the world's greatest artifacts on the way downstairs. Called the "Aradibil Carpet," it was 16th-Century Persia during a great flowering of the textile and book arts under the reign of Shah Tahmasp I. LACMA has owned it for years, but it is rarely displayed, partly because of its huge 23-by-13-foot dimensions. Brought out for just two weeks (to Nov.

Iranian authorities confiscated hundreds of silk carpets before they could be smuggled out of the country, then discovered the rugs were stuffed with jewelry, the official news agency said Saturday. The shipment of hand-woven carpets, the largest taken from smugglers in 10 years, was valued at tens of millions of dollars, and the jewelry was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the report said.

Carpeting adds softness, luxury and comfort to a room, conserves heat and provides insulation from sound. However, the many carpeting fibers, textures and patterns available make selecting the right one confusing. Here are some basics for consideration. Fibers The five most common carpeting fibers are acrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester and wool. Of these, only wool is natural; all others are synthetic. No one fiber is completely perfect.

A warehouse worker crushed beneath 1,500-pound rolls of carpet was identified Wednesday as Ignacio Reed, 25, of Santa Ana, who was reported missing by his family on Dec. 23, according to police. Reed, an employee of the Royalty Carpet Mill, was apparently working Dec. 23 when one or more of the large rolls shifted or fell on him, according to Irvine Police Sgt. Al Murray.

Standing next to piles of exquisitely hand-woven Persian rugs, Hossein Ghaseminia is confident his rugs, which cost as much as $50,000, can fend off cheaper Asian rivals and withstand threatened U.S. sanctions. One of Iran's best-known exports, Persian carpets made from silk, wool and cotton are traditionally woven by women in villages who use natural dyes derived from plants to color them in rich hues where red, brown and cream dominate.

Weary travelers may long to linger over a cup of coffee or snuggle under a plush duvet. But when it comes to airports, lingering is loathed, because it's synonymous with layover. When George Pendle found himself stuck longer than expected at a New York airport — braced for a transatlantic flight with a few gin and tonics and a Xanax — he found his mind, not surprisingly, altered. "I was in a Timothy Leary-esque state," he says, recalling the moment when his eyes locked on the spilled-soda-hiding pattern beneath his feet.

A state coastal commissioner who vocally supported banning beach bonfires along a stretch of Orange County coastline has resigned under growing pressure from two state legislators. William Burke was serving as both a member of the state Coastal Commission and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, agencies that are at odds about whether the Southern California tradition of beach bonfires should be extinguished from San Clemente to Malibu. Coastal Commission staffers have recommended that Newport Beach's proposal to rip out 60 fire pits in Balboa and Corona del Mar be denied, while the air quality board is considering a regional ban on wood-burning fire pits for health reasons.

A man charged with the cold-case murder of his San Marino landlady's adult son in the mid-1980s tried to sell an Oriental rug that appeared to have a bloodstain on it around the time the victim and his wife disappeared, witnesses testified Tuesday. Bettie Brown told the court that Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, whom she knew as Christopher Chichester, tried to sell the rug sometime in 1985 and that she told him there was a rust-colored spot that looked like blood. "He just rolled it up, rolled up the rug and left," Brown testified.

Rugs have been appearing on shoulders and wrists and backs, carried as colorful, one-of-a-kind purses and handbags. These modern carpetbags use kilim (flat weave), dhurries (hand-woven, vegetable-dyed cotton), suzani (embroidered cotton or silk) and other, often vintage, global textiles to create truly distinctive purses. Each one tells a story, which is part of the charm. Dhurrie messenger bag Bill Adler, owner of Will Leather Goods, found a collection of 75-year-old dhurrie rugs in the New Mexico hills and brought them back to his California workshop.

When designers Karen and Guy Vidal went to revive a concrete area along the back of an East Hollywood apartment building that they owned, the couple turned to an inexpensive DIY trick: stenciling a “carpet” directly onto the patio. “We wanted to do something fun,” Karen Vidal said. “We worked with the idea that a carpet creates intimacy. We weren't sure how it was going to play out, so we didn't want to spend a lot of money.” The goal was an inviting communal outdoor room for a 1920s Spanish building that otherwise had little alfresco space for tenants.

Can't wait to dish on who wore what to the 85th Academy Awards Sunday night? Listen in as Adam Tschorn talks Oscar fashion here at 2:30 p.m. Tschorn will discuss red carpet wins, flops and some surprises, with Anne Hathaway in Prada and lead actress winner Jennifer Lawrence in her Dior nosedive. Tschorn's also got the scoop on what fashion critic Booth Moore thought of Helen Hunt in H&M and Giorgio Armani ruling the red carpet. Oscars 2013: Winners | Red carpet | Fashion | Show highlights | Nominee list | Timeline See who had the best hairstyles of the night and trends we couldn't ignore.

It was like an Oscar flashback with all the Giorgio Armani gowns, Harry Winston bling and Veronica Lake waves on the red carpet Sunday. Then there was a Sharon Stone Gap turtleneck moment, when Helen Hunt revealed that her navy blue gown was from none other than cheap chic retailer H&M. (Apparently it was a custom job; Hunt worked closely with H&M designers exchanging sketches, fabrics and samples, according to the retailer.) PHOTOS: Oscars 2013 best dressed on the red carpet Back to Armani, though.

With warranties, the fine print means a lot. Often, the buyer of a product believes that any defect will be covered. But when the warranty is invoked, the producer may cite restrictive language--often in small print--or other reasons for declining to honor the guarantee. Irate consumers recently told me of two such cases, and I checked into both. My findings confirmed my long-held belief that warranties frequently are oversold.

With warranties, the fine print means a lot. Often, the buyer of a product believes that any defect will be covered. But when the warranty is invoked, the producer may cite restrictive language--often in small print--or other reasons for declining to honor the guarantee. Irate consumers recently told me of two such cases, and I checked into both. My findings confirmed my long-held belief that warranties frequently are oversold.

Several of the stars on the red carpet are turning on the sparkle with diva dresses. They are the naughty to the evening's cream puff gowns' nice. Naomi Watts is wearing an otherworldly gunmetal sequin Armani gown with galactic-looking cap sleeves, and her pal Nicole Kidman is in an all-over sequin gown by L'Wren Scott. Oscars 2013 red carpet photos Stacy Keibler's sparkly Naeem Khan has an Art Deco feel, while Halle Berry's sparkly striped long-sleeve Versace gown is graphic and fierce.

Though there was much anticipation about what 9-year-old lead actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis would wear on the Oscars red carpet Sunday, there was arguably as much intrigue about which puppy-dog purse she would select. She showed off her latest canine accesssory, which was decked out in a tiara, tutu and Swarovski crystals. Asked where she keeps all the purses back home in Louisiana, she said they're all tucked away in her room. And would she ever bring one to school? "Heck no!"