Nomad Rugs

I went to two other rugs stores where all the rugs were rolled up and really difficult to see. At Nomad Rugs, almost everything is out on the floor and the staff will happily flip through the selection for you. The rugs are gorgeous, but we especially appreciated being able to first try the rugs in our home before buying, which we did with five of them. Chris was also very helpful over the phone to my out-​of-​town parents regarding the gift certificate they wanted to give us towards our purchase. We also appreciated the copies of the photos he provided (so we can create a customized thank-​you note for my folks), along with his candor about not needing to clean the rug too often, a service Nomad Rugs also provides. Loved the experience of shopping here, and we’re very happy with the rugs we chose. Thank-​you!

A selection of really tasteful, beautiful of rugs at this store. All hand made, etc. Once I chose my rug a quick negotiation without the song and show traditional rug sellers are famous for. The owner was knowledgeable, friendly, and apparently commissions his own designs for some of the rugs. If I were shopping for another rug I would come back here.

I highly recommend Nomad Rugs if you’re in the market for a beautiful rug. GREAT service too. Chris, the owner is highly knowledgeable about the history and culture of the rugs and is also clearly passionate about what he does. I most appreciated his no nonsense attitude — what you see is what you get. And boy is there a lot of beauty to see! Rugs seemed well priced and of really good value. I am super happy with my purchase. Absolutely no regrets. Feels like art under my feet.

Nice shop!
I enjoyed the selection of rugs and will be back here when I need to decorate for myself or for clients.

If you believe that a good carpet (or three) go a long way toward making life worth living, then I highly recommend checking out Chris Wahlgren’s Nomad Rugs in San Francisco’s Noe Valley. I bought my first tribal carpet from Chris years ago when he was still selling on the street. I’ve purchased several since and each time the experience has been deeply satisfying. The quality and prices are unbeatable. Visiting the shop in person is wondrous. If you’re not local, check out what’s available on the website. Free shipping! You really can’t go wrong.

I have dealt with Chris twice with purchases online. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with my purchases. Chris answers your questions right away and sends the items so fast it makes your head spin! I have NEVER had such a great experience with an online purchase ever. I hope one day to visit his store, meet him and his rugs in person. Thank you Chris for making such beautiful items available to your customers. This place is now my new best guilty pleasure.

Fantastic! The best rug shop in San Francisco. We had two rugs cleaned by Nomad one of which had been cleaned elsewhere before. Now they both look better than new with vibrant colors and they feel like pillows under your feet. A knowledgeable and friendly staff too!

Favorite rug shop in town. Chris the owner has been in the rug business for years and really knows his stuff. He also has a great eye and hand selects all the rugs in his store. A must go to if you’re in the market for a rug.

Great guy. Knows his stuff. Beautiful rugs — like being in an art musuem.

I stopped in here and chose a rug and a wall-​hanging to take home on approval. The rugs are beautiful. I ended up not buying the rug I had chosen but the people were gracious and took it back with no problem. I also had left my shopping bag at the store and when I got home, before I had even realized it was gone, they had looked up my phone number to call and see if it was mine. i definitely will be returning.

I was tempted to buy a rug online, but really gad I bought it local. Chris is a real professional who cares deeply about the satisfaction of his customers. Great rugs, great guy, great experience.

Nomad rugs is THE place to go for both tribal and modern rugs. Chris, the owner is extremely helpful, not only because of his knowledge of rugs, but also his deep interest and awareness of the region where the rugs come from. His selection is vast and ever changing, keeping up the what is au currant. His prices are competitive and after just returning from ABC carpet in NYC, I would run to Nomad rugs.

Where to start? Proprietor Chris Wahlgren is a natural for this business. He has such an appreciation for textiles, for the artists and craftspeople who create them, and for his customers who live with them. I’ve purchased a few kilims from him over the last many years. Most recently, I took my grandfather’s Navajo rug in for cleaning. Chris was honest about what could be done to clean it up, and not only didn’t pressure me to make certain costly repairs, but suggested I hold off on the repairs as they weren’t causing structural integrity issues. The rug came back looking absolutely gorgeous! Thanks, Chris!

As an interior designer, I am thrilled to have discovered Nomad Rugs as a valuable resource for my clients. I am based in PA, so I’ve been to many rug stores from San Francisco to Los Altos looking for rugs for my clients for the last 7 years. What distinguishes Nomad Rugs, is a wide selection of remarkable rugs at reasonable prices. The quality of the rugs is outstanding, many of them with subtle vegetable dyes and dense weaves. Chris, the owner, has put together a beautiful collection of rugs with really good taste! The colors and the designs of the rugs, really complement today’s interiors, whether it is a very elegant/​traditional, simple/​contemporary or rustic/​chic scheme. But what really will make me go back next time I need another rug, is his truly helpful, knowledgeable, relaxed and honest customer service. No pressure, no hard sell, just willingness to help.

What a great rug store! Chris, the owner, goes above and beyond the call of duty. He delivered the 3 rugs I bought for my downtown apartment himself, no charge. Because the elevators were out of service on one occasion, he climbed 4 flights of stairs to bring me my rug. His prices are reasonable, and Chris will take the time to explain rug quality and other fine points to a novice Oriental rug owner. Chris is also a very nice person and a pleasure to do business with.

I cannot believe I have not written a review of Nomad before as my husband and I have been buying rugs from Chris for over a decade — and have followed him to 3 different locations around Noe to boot. We bought our first rug from him, a gorgeous massive Afghan rug of Turkish tribal design, in 1999. This was our first time buying a big money rug that was not from Ikea or the like and it was sort of nerve-​wracking, but Chris made the experience so pleasant. At the time he had a tiny store front and came over to our house two blocks away twice! Now he has a massive and beautiful light-​filled space on 24^th street full of hundreds and hundreds of stunning rugs. My husband is nothing if not incredibly slow at buying things — he seriously takes forever to decide on purchases like this (and the rugs here are by no means cheap, but really good value for how high the quality is) — and Nomad completely caters to that. Every time we buy something, he lets us take multiple choices home to try them out. We had the last 4 for about a week before making our final decision. When you are spending a couple grand on a rug this is phenomenal service. We now have 3 Nomad rugs and could not be happier. The oldest is 11 and when clean (yea we have dogs, cats and toddlers) looks as beautiful as the day we bought it. The tight wool and natural fibers make it a breeze to clean and they seriously just don’t seem to wear at all. Beautiful quality and everything about Nomad is to be recommended: from the style, to the quality to the great service. Check them out — well worth the investment in quality rugs.

Great rug store
We bought 7 rugs from Chris to furnish our house and not only did he have just the right rugs, his prices were great too
Highly recommended!

I went to Nomad rugs recently and a few things turned me off and I think it will turn off a few potential rug buyers. There were dogs lying all over the rugs! I am not a pet owner and have allergies to pet hair and this was just unreal to me. How can you sell «new» clean rugs when filthy animals are rolling all over the rugs licking their balls. It’s foul! Be warned that these rugs are covered with dog hair.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are some serious advantages to being a woman. Free drinks at the bar, move-​up privileges in that long line at that trendy club … etcetera. If you want top service anywhere just be in the company of a crew of ladies! Learned this lesson well when I accompanied some girls on a rug hunt and ended up at Nomad. Insta-​service, super friendly «Hello» and «Can we help you find something?» Boomshackalak! Learned what to be waited on hand and foot meant. «You want us to unroll this rug? Sure no problem! … Want us to unroll these other thirty rugs? Sure no problem… You want to take that rug home with you and try it out for a few days? Sure no problem!»
«Dude, you’re really just going to let my friend here walk out of your store with this rug and um er test it out for a couple of days?»
Service here is awesome regardless of gender. Chris imparts sagely rug knowledge easily and, yes, in some instances, especially if you live nearby, will let you take a rug home to try it out!

Some fifteen years ago, enamored with the intricate designs of carpets he discovered during his travels, owner Chris Wahlgren began to import them, using his garage for storage and his sidewalk as a display case. He’s a natural-​born salesman — his obvious knowledge and contagious enthusiasm, rather than hard-​sell techniques, help him close a sale. He assured me two silk throw rugs I’d purchased in Turkey not only were the high quality the seller had claimed, but were worth about three times what I’d paid for them. Everything in his stock is a work of art, and priced accordingly. Feel free to browse, and be prepared to be fascinated while Chris explains the origins of and techniques used to create the many items in his shop.