The studio drawing for this rug is a contemporary composition held in red, brown, refined across several rounds of sample weaving before it was committed to a full-size loom. Tufted wool sits between flatweave and hand-knot in the carpet hierarchy, with the dense pile and short turnaround that makes a graphic statement possible at a working price.

The piece took 7 weeks to weave in India. Two tufters and a finisher worked side by side, drawing wool through a stretched cotton canvas with hand-held guns, sealing the reverse with natural latex over a cotton scrim, and shearing the pile to even relief by hand at the close. The yarn was dyed in small batches before it reached the loom so the field colours stay sitting next to each other rather than blending into a single mid-tone.

The composition

A field of red reads against the brown that carries the contemporary composition. The two values are placed at a contrast that holds at the far end of a room and rewards a closer look with subtle shading inside each block. The pile catches and releases light differently with each step across the rug, which is the optical property a tufted wool surface has that a printed alternative never reaches.

The piece in a room

The rug works under a sofa with the front legs resting on it, or floats below a glass coffee table where the pile relief becomes part of the composition. Pairs well with mid-toned wood, leather, brass, and woven natural fibre. Strong colour walls hold it forward; off-white walls let it breathe. Avoid placing it against strongly patterned upholstery; the rug is the graphic event in the composition and asks for a quiet ground around it. Light coming in from the side rather than directly above brings out the pile relief best.

Care

Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged. A beater bar will pull tufts loose from any tufted rug regardless of price. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth from the outside of the spill in, and dab dry rather than rubbing. Expect a small amount of shedding for the first month or two as loose fibre works out of the pile, which stops on its own. A professional dry clean every two to three years keeps the colour fresh and lifts dust from the foundation.

Reference

• Medium: hand-tufted wool, latex bonded, cotton scrim
• Dimensions: size as listed
• Pile: 12 mm
• Hands: 2 tufters and 1 finisher, ~3 weeks
• Origin: India

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