Rugsville Bamboo Olive Green Silk Carpet 5' x 8'

Olive green is one of the harder colours to land in a hand-knotted rug. Push the dye too far toward yellow and the rug reads acid; pull it toward grey and it reads camouflage. The bath this fibre was lowered into was tuned over six trial dips before the master dyer signed off. The result is a deep umber-leaning olive that holds steady under tungsten light and warms slightly under daylight, the way oxidised bronze warms under sun.

The piece was hand-knotted in India by two weavers over close to four months. Bamboo silk pile worked on a cotton foundation, every knot tied by feel using the Tibetan asymmetric loop that the silk fibre demands. After tying, the rug was sheared three times, washed once in a low-tannin solution, and sheared again to bring the pile flat to within half a millimetre across the entire surface. That last shear is what gives the silk its directional shimmer.

The composition

A single field of olive green running edge to edge. A faint bamboo-leaf striation runs vertically across the surface, visible only when the light strikes the pile at an oblique angle. The colour is not flat. It carries an undertone of warm ochre that pulls forward at sunset and recedes under cool morning light. The rug is built to act as a quiet ground for natural materials, leather, walnut, brass, raw linen.

What you are buying

A hand-knotted bamboo silk rug at 5' x 8' (152 x 244 cm) is a piece of work, not a purchase off the shelf. Comparable silk knot work in Western showrooms sits well above this clearance price. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating. The pile flattens slightly in the first year and then stabilises into the long-life sheen that makes silk worth the trouble in the first place.

The piece in a room

5' x 8' (152 x 244 cm) is the right scale for a primary bedroom under the bed, for a reading nook with two armchairs and a small table, or as a centred island in a study. The olive carries beautifully against off-white walls, against unfinished oak, and against deep teal upholstery. It pairs poorly with pure black or against cool blue-grey walls; the green flattens.

Conservation

Silk does not forgive a beater bar. Vacuum suction-only. Blot spills with a soft white cotton cloth and avoid any solvent stronger than mild dish soap diluted in cool water. Have the rug professionally hand-cleaned by a silk-trained conservator every five to seven years. Rotate the rug twice a year to keep the lustre even across the field.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted bamboo silk on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 152 x 244 cm (5' x 8')
• Construction: Tibetan asymmetric knot
• Hands: 2 weavers, 4 months
• Pile: 8 mm bamboo silk
• Origin: India

Free shipping anywhere in India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange after receipt.