Whether it’s trendy or traditional, the right rug finishes a room
Wall-to-wall carpeting is passé. Contemporary tastes dictate mostly naked floors, but amid those acres of wood (or concrete), a rug or two will offer welcome respite for feet and eyes.
According to Ali Ghassemi, creative director of Weaver & Loom, we’re abandoning the erratic designs, funky patterns, abstract shapes and splashes of colour that have been popular. “Timeless pieces are in demand,” he says. “I use timeless in the sense of a rug incorporating elements of traditional patterns but with new twists,” he says.
“The really hot thing right now in Europe that’s slowly making its way to North America is taking something like a tribal pattern, simplifying the design, taking it from the very red jewel tones that you would typically see in the original and applying a softer greyscale palette with possibly some pastel interjected into it, but using the original design.”
Ghassemi is quick to emphasize that jewel tones are still in, especially such blues and greens as sapphire, emerald, cobalt. He’s also seeing a move into pastel tones in association with grey and away from such heavier earth tones as chocolate brown and cappuccino.
“We’re also going to see coloured fringe, taking one colour from a rug’s pattern, or using another colour altogether – for instance, a grey rug with a fringe in tangerine,” he says.
Over-dyed carpets are also popular, but Ghassemi suggests caution in choosing one: “In some countries they’re using just a surface wash, which gives the look but doesn’t saturate the fibre, and over time the colour will fade away. If you’re choosing an overdyed rug, look carefully at its front and back, then open up the fibres and look into the foundation to see if it’s dyed all the way to the roots.”
As for fibres, there’s nothing that beats traditional wool, despite the demand for exotic silks – banana, bamboo and sari silks – in the past few years. “Banana and bamboo silks are popular because of their sheen,” Ghassemi says. “Clients have been looking for shine and softness, and these fibres look great, but they’re high maintenance; you can’t vacuum them or wash them as easily as you can wool.
“We’re now mixing 75 per cent Merino wool and 25 per cent of sari or banana silk in the yarn. We get lustre and softness in something that’s as durable as if it were 100 per cent wool. You can safely vacuum it, clean it, remove spots.”
If you have an idea in mind for a rug but can’t find what you’re looking for, Weaver & Loom can customize one for you. “Area rugs are art,” says Ghassemi. “They’re an investment of money and time. We can make one as fun and vibrant as you want.”
