Farah Merhi, the founder of Inspire Me! Home Decor, will add fresh glamorous styles to her rug program with Nourison
at spring HPMKT. Shown, Brushstrokes (BSK-02)
NEW YORK -- Home decor influencer Farah Merhi, whose glamourous rugs by Nourison will be featured at spring HPMKT, has grown her Instagram page and following into a loyal customer base that snaps up her expanding lineup of home decor and furnishings.
In fact, Nourison, which debuted the Inspire Me! rug program in 2017, added several new rugs to the Inspire Me! Home Decor program at the January edition of Las Vegas Market, and plans to continue to grow the program in the coming months.
Merhi launched her popular @Inspire_Me_Home_Decor Instagram account in 2012 and today has close to 13 million followers. What began as Merhi looking for design and decor inspiration, and sharing her own home remodeling progress, has grown to a multi-million dollar home décor lifestyle brand, which originally included an exclusive line on QVC of her rugs, accessories, bedding and furniture. Her home products now sell on sites including Amazon and Wayfair. Additionally, she sells merchandise on her InspireMeHomeDecor website, offering a range of pieces in her signature style, which marries traditional looks with a contemporary glitzy twist at an attainable price point.
Farah Merhi's home is the staging area for her inspirational posts on Inspire Me! Home Decor. Shown, Metallic 01 rug.
"A rug is an investment -- It's something that you're going to want to get right," Merhi told RugNews.com. "The mission for Inspire Me! Home Decor, really, is to hold the customer's hand through the process of decorating their space -- to give them the tools that they need to make their house a home. So for example, every single rug in my collection is in my home. And I show them how I style them. I show them how I change things up for the seasons while the rug is still there."
Inspire Me! Home Decor launched its first licensed home decor products with the introduction of the label's Nourison rug program in 2017. The initial area rugs included the still-best-selling Elegance collection's marble-inspired power-loomed piece suited to busy households. In January 2023, Nourison added the Brushstrokes collection, which amps up the Inspire Me! Home Decor lineup by featuring metallic accents and high-low cut-pile designs with an ultra-soft hand. The top debuts from that collection include an abstracted painterly motif in a warm neutral gray and beige palette, which is also available in a more statement-making gray and navy option.
Inspire Me! Home Decor's BSK02 proves a best-seller for its statement-making textural motif accented with shimmering metallic.
"I show the same rug and furniture with different decor-- you can just accessorize and re-accessorize. And the rug will always be that anchor piece that is the focal point of the space."
Those initial area rugs continue to sell well, even after five years, because of the elegance they lend to Merhi's design aesthetic. "Every design that we put out there is a design that I can foresee someone putting in their homes for years and years -- and enjoying for years and years. It's classic. It's timeless. And I designed abstracts that don't feel like a commitment and that won't clash with other pieces in your home."
Designed to coordinate with other rugs in the Merhi lineup, the new Brushstrokes collection includes easy to decorate
with neutrals. Shown, BSK03
What's more, each rug in the Inspire Me lineup is meant to be versatile and work within a range of styles, from traditional to modern. They are also created to coordinate with one another and be appropriate in any room of the home.
"Our rug collections complement one another. They're adaptable to any setting," she added, noting of the latest additions, "We wanted to add more designs and patterns that are still classic and timeless to offer our customer base -- to provide them with more options."
Those options, however, were lacking when she began remodeling her new 5,000 square foot home in 2012.
"When my husband and I bought our own home and we started to remodel, I really discovered my passion for home decor and I realized that's what I want to do," said Merhi, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alongside her husband and three children. "I wanted to share my passion with others. I went on social media and I started an Instagram account -- I would see a lot of beautiful accounts sharing inspirational images, but everything was either way too modern or too traditional -- nothing really resonated with my style, which is more glamorous and timeless classic but without sacrificing a cozy, warm and inviting feel.
The Inspire Me! Home Decor rugs feature sophisticated looks but with an easy-care construction. Shown, BSK04
"That glam style was really not being spoken to and so I felt that was something I could be the voice for, or at least, I could share it and hopefully inspire those who would follow along," Merhi added. "The goal ultimately with Inspire Me! Home Decor is to provide the consumer -- my consumer that comes to us for those glamorous pieces -- with everything that they need and to make sure that everything ties together. We simplify the process of furnishing, decorating and designing a space."
Merhi's Inspire Me! Home Decor instagram page offers traditional designs with a glitzy twist. Shown center, Elegance
rug (FAR01)