Needs Assessment of Using Iranian Handmade Carpets in Iranian Interior Decoration Products

Carpet has been the visualization of the culture and art of Iran during different periods of history. It is the sign of an age-old, strong culture with the capacity of absorbing alien cultures and the power to give them an Iranian look. On the other hand, carpet is a nostalgic product. Studies show that nostalgia is a mechanism for dealing with the future anxiety. This means that the use of carpet is very useful in terms of physical and mental health. Nostalgia and its role have a significant place in other cultures as well. These cultures have tried to somehow establish a link between old values and the present ones, and therefore managed to make this sense of connection between the past, present and future. This is where you come across an artist named Kintsugi. In Kintsugi philosophy, the importance of the past and experience is very evident. Unfortunately, the unusual use of this unique product in Iranian homes offers a variety of other products from the family of furniture with non-Iranian designs. The use of handmade carpets is necessary to be restored in any way, not because of its economic value, but due to its unique visual features and its obvious positive effects on Iranian souls. In this regard, knowing the reasons for this replacement and studying the consumer’s interest in this product can be a great help to find a solution to include Iranian carpets in homes today. In this study, interest in using carpets among the Iranian youth, carpet substitute products, as well as the livelihood factors felt from carpet was studied. The survey instrument of this applied-qualitative research was questionnaire and a sample size of 200 people from 25 to 40 years old was selected randomly-snowball. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was calculated to be 0.749, which means that it is a reliable tool for scrolling. The findings showed that although many target groups did not use handmade carpets, 80.19% of them considered the carpet as a product which has a special value. This particular value is not limited just to its economic value. They believed that the value of aesthetics, and then the spiritual value and identity of this product are of particular value. It was also found that the phrase "soft and flexible" could include emotional perception of the Iranian carpet. Respondents considered open-curved lines and spiral curves as essential elements in Iranian carpet in the field of ​​the creating lines. Cranberry (15.18%), chocolate (10.16%), main red (8.45%) and dark blue (7.76%) were the exemplified colors of Iranian handmade carpets, respectively. As a substitute for carpets, the majority chose rugs and moquettes (44.98%), followed by parquet and wooden products, (28.71%) as the top priority. It was also found that the representation of handmade carpets in furniture and interior design products could be as acceptable as possible in terms of acceptability and sales. Based on the findings of this research, several examples of applied products that can represent Iranian handmade carpets are designed and presented.