OAKLAND, CA.- “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” While this quotation has been attributed both to Will Rogers and Oscar Wilde, it is less important which of them first used it than is the truth of the insight. And it is particularly apropos when discussing the entry halls of elite homes and residences.

When Jan David Winitz, president/founder of Claremont Rug Company, is involved in a multi-rug project with a client, the axiom often becomes the inspirational guideline as he advises on the choice of the foyer carpet to set the scene and create the ethos which represents the individual taste and artistic eye of the homeowner.

“Invariably”, he says, “I guide clients to keep in mind what happens when the front door is opened and a visitor is invited in.”


Reception hall of a vineyard estate owned by an antique rug collector who, when not hosting large groups, enjoys laying out pieces from his collection in it, such as this extraordinarily fine woven 19th century Persian Motasham Kashan.


“For my clients. an exceptional rug in the entry is requisite, establishing the tone that they wish to carry throughout the public areas”, he says, “It conveys to visitors both a welcoming atmosphere and an implicit level of taste and character.”

He added, “And my clients tell me that finding the right entry rug has a tremendous impact on their own satisfaction as well,” he says. “Most choose rugs with dramatic center medallions as an opening crescendo.”

For his three recent installations of a grand contemporary vineyard estate, a gracious Southern manor and a 19th century New England mansion, Winitz relied on his almost 40 years of experience of creating memorable suites of antique carpets to show clients a series of appropriate entry rugs to choose from. One of them, a prolific art collector, told him later that she comes through the front door more often just to get the “wow effect” that her entry rug affords.