Our Story
Family expertise, since 1931.
A family business rooted in Lebanese immigration, an eye for exceptional rugs passed down by hand, and over ninety years at one address in Cedar Rapids.
Doug Nassif carries forward a family livelihood built on hand-knotted oriental rugs. The family came from Lebanon and earned their place in this country the hard way — traveling with rugs across the Midwest, one living room at a time, building the business that has stood in Cedar Rapids since 1931.
Doug learned the trade the way it has always been learned: by hand, and by eye. How to read a rug’s origin in its knots and colors. How to judge quality by knot density. How to recognize the rare piece in a stack of good ones. There is no shortcut for that kind of knowledge, and no algorithm that replaces it.
Since 1931, Nassif Oriental Rugs has served homeowners, interior designers, collectors, and estate professionals across Iowa and the greater Midwest. What sets the store apart is simple and increasingly rare: every rug on the floor has been personally selected by Doug — not ordered from a distributor, not pulled from a catalog.
Beyond the rugs themselves, Doug provides professional appraisals for homeowners, estate executors, and insurance professionals, along with washing and restoration for treasured pieces. Whatever brought a rug into your life, we can help you care for it.
“I can’t sell you a rug I wouldn’t put in my own house. Never have.”
The thread, generation to generation
- Early 1900s
The Nassif family immigrates from Lebanon, carrying an eye for hand-knotted rugs.
- The early years
The family peddles oriental rugs door to door across the American Midwest — building a reputation for quality and honesty.
- 1931
The family opens its doors in Cedar Rapids. One address, one standard, for over ninety years.
- Today
Doug Nassif personally selects every rug on the floor and serves homeowners, designers, collectors, and estates across the region.
Still here
The same family. The same floor.
Ninety years on, you’ll still find a Nassif behind the counter and Doug’s eye behind every rug on the floor. Stop in and say hello — we’d love to meet you.