Ask around Central New York about oriental rugs in Syracuse, and sooner or later someone will mention Jacobsen. Maybe it’s the rug in your grandmother’s front room. Maybe it’s the one you walked past on your way to the dining table every holiday. Since 1924, Jacobsen Oriental Rugs has been part of those rooms, and the story of how it started is better than most people know.

How a Soldier Found His Calling

It begins with Charles W. Jacobsen, though almost everyone called him Jake. He grew up in Tennille, Georgia, and finished at the University of Georgia in 1915. Two years later the country was at war. Jake enlisted and went to France as an artillery captain.

When he came home, he needed a job. A former military superior showed him something he had never paid much attention to: what Jake later called the “strange but alluring rugs from the Middle East.” He was hooked. Once you’ve run your hand across a rug that someone knotted by hand, one knot at a time, it’s hard to look at a floor the same way again.

1924: A Rug Shop Opens in Downtown Syracuse

In 1924, Jake opened his own rug business in downtown Syracuse. He dealt in authentic oriental rugs, the hand-woven carpets that come from a long stretch of the world running from Turkey and Iran through to India and China.

His way of doing business was plain and personal. He sold rugs he believed in. He told customers where each one came from and how it was made, whether they asked or not. People trusted that. Before long, if you wanted oriental rugs in Syracuse, Jake’s shop was where you went, whether you needed a narrow runner for the hall or a big carpet for the dining room.

Most new customers came because a friend or neighbor sent them. Then they came back when they moved house, when their kids got married, and when a family rug needed some care.

Buying Trips From Turkey to Afghanistan

Jake wasn’t content to buy from catalogs. In 1932 he made his first buying trip overseas, to Turkey. Over the next few decades he kept going: to the wholesale markets of England and Germany, and to the places the rugs were actually made, including Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Those trips taught him things you can’t learn from a showroom floor:

• Where a rug comes from: why a Heriz feels different underfoot from a Kashan
• What it’s made of: how hand-spun wool and natural dyes change, and often improve, with age
• What it’s worth: how to tell a well-made hand-knotted rug from a machine-made copy

We still lean on that knowledge every day. When you shop for oriental rugs in Syracuse with us, you’re getting nearly a hundred years of relationships with the people who make and supply them.

Anzio and the Road to Rome

When World War II came, Jake went back into uniform, this time as an infantry colonel. He landed at Anzio and fought through the long, hard campaign up the Italian peninsula. He was one of the first American officers to walk into liberated Rome.

After the war, he went back to the rug business he’d built. The care and attention to detail he had shown in the Army carried straight over into how he ran the store.

The Books That Put Jacobsen on the Map

Jake didn’t just sell rugs. He wrote about them, and the four books he published became standard reading for collectors and dealers:

They’re all out of print now, but collectors still hunt for copies. They’re a big reason the Jacobsen name came to mean oriental rugs in Syracuse, and well beyond it. Jake lived to 92, and he’s remembered as a good citizen, a soldier, a businessman and an author.

Jacobsen Oriental Rugs Today

A hundred years on, this Syracuse rug store is still doing things Jake’s way. Today it’s led by President and Owner Faramaz “Frank” Asef, who has spent more than 25 years in the rug trade. Frank wants to bring the business up to date and grow it, without losing the one-on-one service people have always come here for. You can meet him and learn more on our About Us page.

Hand-Knotted Oriental Rugs for Every Kind of Home

We carry more than 150 hand-knotted wool area rugs in standard sizes, and we can have one made to fit your room exactly. Between our two stores, that’s a wide choice of oriental rugs in Syracuse and Saratoga Springs. Take a look at the full collection, which includes:

• Traditional rugs: Oushak, Serapi, Gabbeh, Heritage and Ziegler Mahal designs, all in our traditional rug collection
• Modern rugs: clean lines and softer colors for newer homes
• Transitional rugs: classic patterns in fresher colors, for when you can’t decide between the two

Rug Cleaning and Repair in Syracuse

A well-made rug can easily outlast the person who bought it, but only if it’s looked after. Our winters don’t help. Salt, slush and mud get tracked in and wear at the wool, and pets and spilled wine can leave stains that sink deep into the foundation. That’s why we offer professional rug cleaning and repair for handmade, vintage, oriental and modern rugs, from fine silk to hard-wearing wool.

Why 100 Years Matters When You Buy Oriental Rugs in Syracuse

You can buy a rug online in five minutes. But a photo won’t show you the real color, how thick the pile is, or how tightly it’s knotted. And if it’s wrong, sending back a heavy 9×12 rug is a real headache. Buying from a store with a century behind it is different:

1. Real advice: we’ll help you find the right size, style and price for your room.
2. Honest answers: we can tell you where and how every hand-knotted rug was made.
3. Care for the long haul: we clean, repair and restore the rugs we sell.
4. We’re right here: our showrooms are in Central New York, not in a warehouse three states away.

Still have questions about oriental rugs in Syracuse? Our rug buying FAQs cover types, sizing and care.

Come See Us in Syracuse or Saratoga Springs

Honestly, the best way to pick from our oriental rugs in Syracuse is in person. Stand on the rug. Feel the pile. See how the colors shift near a window. We have two showrooms:

• Syracuse: 225 Wilkinson Street, Syracuse, NY 13204, (315) 422-7832
• Saratoga Springs: 145 Ballston Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, (518) 583-2044

Both are open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get in touch if you’d like to ask about a rug, book a cleaning or plan a visit. We’ve been the home of oriental rugs in Syracuse for over a century, and we’d love to help you find yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Jacobsen Oriental Rugs founded?

Charles W. “Jake” Jacobsen opened the business in downtown Syracuse in 1924. That makes it one of the longest-running names for oriental rugs in Syracuse.

Who founded Jacobsen Oriental Rugs?

Jake Jacobsen. He was a University of Georgia graduate who served as an officer in both World Wars and went on to write four books about oriental rugs.

Where can I buy oriental rugs in Syracuse?

Come by our showroom at 225 Wilkinson Street, Syracuse, NY 13204, or our Saratoga Springs store at 145 Ballston Avenue. We’re open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Do you clean and repair rugs?

We do. We clean and repair handmade, vintage, oriental and modern rugs, including silk and wool.

What books did Charles W. Jacobsen write?

Four of them: Facts About Oriental Rugs (1952), Oriental Rugs: A Complete Guide (1962), Checkpoints on How to Buy Oriental Rugs (1969) and Oriental Rugs: An Updated Guide (1977).