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    14 rugs that really tie a room together

14 rugs that really tie a room together

Rugs give us firm yet moveable walking surfaces, soft yet expansive seating and, as accessories, provide the creative injection our interiors need. Here are the deciding factors on rug choice.

antoniolupi
CSrugs

+6

By antoniolupi, CSrugs, Christine Kröncke and

July 4, 2023 | 10:00 pm CUT

Giant, colourful parrots sit in front of a rich palette in Yo2’s confident photographic rug collection Fantasmagoria, where an optical illusion creates artificial depth behind

Giant, colourful parrots sit in front of a rich palette in Yo2’s confident photographic rug collection Fantasmagoria, where an optical illusion creates artificial depth behind

Available in any shape, size, colour and tread, rugs are used to fill in empty space between seating elements or to conversely border other areas – such as dining spaces – encouraging and enclosing the activity within. More than this, however, when soft and deep enough, rugs provide additional furniture to sit, lean, lie, stretch out and relax on; they double up as hardwearing yet washable flooring that stands up to abuse from traffic; and, perhaps, most importantly, they pitch interactive artworks onto the floor, expanding an interior’s decor onto a fifth surface.
Christine Kröncke’s Touch Me rugs (top) and the Caméléon rugs from CSrugs (bottom), both blend multiple colours and shades together in a thick pile, enhancing the rugs’ depth

Christine Kröncke’s Touch Me rugs (top) and the Caméléon rugs from CSrugs (bottom), both blend multiple colours and shades together in a thick pile, enhancing the rugs’ depth

Blending colour and softness in thick- or short-pile rugs

A rug is forced to become makeshift seating when visiting company means a home’s incumbent furniture is in need of assistance, but even when more formal seating is available, the wide expanse of a comfortable rug gives low-seated users the space to stretch out and use however they wish.

The wide expanse of a comfortable rug gives seated users the space to stretch out

With a thread length of 30mm and the ability to blend up to three of 75 colour options together, the Touch Me rug from Christine Kröncke offers a visual depth to match its deep pile. The Caméléon rug range, meanwhile, from CSrugs, blends together various hues of different colours in its own thick, up-to-25mm-high pile to gradually change and bring focus to a certain point.
With a shorter, neater cut, rugs like Diagonal (top) and Delft Blue (bottom) from Moooi Carpets use the technique to produce more defined lines and patterns

With a shorter, neater cut, rugs like Diagonal (top) and Delft Blue (bottom) from Moooi Carpets use the technique to produce more defined lines and patterns

Alternatively, the more defined edges of colour that are possible in the neater cut of shorter pile rugs are visible in the Diagonal Gradient rug collection from moooi carpets. Meanwhile, the same brand’s dedication to the beauty of artistic ceramics transfers onto the floor in the Deft Blue range, which applies the original hand-painted, two-tone design to rugs.
Domestic Nature (top) is a stylised version of a traditional Persian rug design, using a single monotone palette, while Modernisme from Yo2 (bottom) takes its inspiration from modernist artworks

Domestic Nature (top) is a stylised version of a traditional Persian rug design, using a single monotone palette, while Modernisme from Yo2 (bottom) takes its inspiration from modernist artworks

Artwork for the floor: rugs that set the scene

Artwork of any typology brings visual interest to flat surfaces or 3D environments, but can also instantly set the tone and ambience of a space, whether it be intellectual and reserved, thoughtful and meditative, comforting and relaxed or joyful and optimistic – and many, many more. The effect is magnified, however, when art is applied to the interactive surface of the floor.
Nova’s version of abstract modernism is more calm and seductive (top) and Patchwork (bottom) combines cubism with African prints, both from Yo2

Nova’s version of abstract modernism is more calm and seductive (top) and Patchwork (bottom) combines cubism with African prints, both from Yo2

The recognisable patterns of traditional Persian rugs give interiors a feeling of affluence, but in doing so can also demand a certain propriety. By applying the same traditional patterning within a monotone palette, however, many contemporary rugs like Domestic Nature from Yo2 make themselves more welcoming. Hinting at the past while embracing the future.
Yo2 offers many other artistic styles in their rug designs meanwhile, from abstract modernism in Modernisme to a more minimalist version in Nova. And the bold colours, thick lines and geometric shapes of cubism combine with traditional African patterns in Patchwork.
OFFSET’s clean, simple hexagonal pattern (top) from Calligaris complements but doesn’t lead the scene, while Thibault van Renne’s Abstracts collection (middle, bottom) creates a random weathered pattern to get lost in

OFFSET’s clean, simple hexagonal pattern (top) from Calligaris complements but doesn’t lead the scene, while Thibault van Renne’s Abstracts collection (middle, bottom) creates a random weathered pattern to get lost in

Utilising uniformity and randomisation in the rugiverse

Rug designs inspired by stylistic artworks present themselves with confidence as soon as you enter the room. Whereas those with cleaner, more subtle and simplified geometric patterns such as the OFFSET rug from Calligaris, with overlapping hexagonal layers, for example, still have the ability to embolden spaces, without the demand for attention.

No matter how stain-proof a rug claims to be, the best way to cover up a stain is not to notice it

For any domestic rug in a well-used area, career-ending stains are but a small spill away. And no matter how ‘stain-proof’ the product claims to be, the best way to cover it up is not to notice it. Rugs with pre-weathered designs like Abstracts from Thibault Van Renne offer an abstract artistic style of their own, but also an opportunity to hide stubborn stains and decolourisation in plain sight.
The photographic effect of Yo2’s ultra-realistic Fantasmagoria rugs (top) and Moooi Carpets’ circular Walking on Clouds range (bottom) helps to position users comfortably

The photographic effect of Yo2’s ultra-realistic Fantasmagoria rugs (top) and Moooi Carpets’ circular Walking on Clouds range (bottom) helps to position users comfortably

The shape of things to come: directing spaces with shape and imagery

By applying modern art or graphic patterns to rug designs, they can be positioned anywhere and in any direction, but by defining the position of the rug with photography, such as Yo2’s Fantasmagoria rugs, for example, designers can easily direct how spaces are used, bringing homely psychological comfort when seen from a certain point in the room.
The long, straight lines of antoniolupi’s Geometrie Volanti (top) help move users along narrow spaces, while Yo2’s Deep Complexes range (bottom) gets creative with colour, pattern and shape

The long, straight lines of antoniolupi’s Geometrie Volanti (top) help move users along narrow spaces, while Yo2’s Deep Complexes range (bottom) gets creative with colour, pattern and shape

It’s not just what’s on a rug that changes how it’s used, of course, but also the shape of the rug itself. Long rectangular rugs or runners like Geometrie Volanti from antoniolupi can direct users through longer spaces like hallways, landings and the free space alongside a bed. But while rectilinear rugs are more common, homelier circular versions, like Moooi Carpets’ Walking on Clouds rug – which offers a new take on ‘weathered’ design, provide a contrast to square furniture layouts.

While rectilinear rugs are more common, homelier circular versions provide a contrast to square furniture layouts

In shape too, along with colour, pattern and design, there are as many options as you can dream of. Yo2’s Deep Complexes collection, for example, lets creativity spread not only in the restrictive shapes of a rug’s pattern, but in the exterior lines of its form, as well.

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Project Gallery

Giant, colourful parrots sit in front of a rich palette in Yo2’s confident photographic rug collection Fantasmagoria, where an optical illusion creates artificial depth behindChristine Kröncke’s Touch Me rugs (top) and the Caméléon rugs from CSrugs (bottom), both blend multiple colours and shades together in a thick pile, enhancing the rugs’ depthWith a shorter, neater cut, rugs like Diagonal (top) and Delft Blue (bottom) from Moooi Carpets use the technique to produce more defined lines and patternsDomestic Nature (top) is a stylised version of a traditional Persian rug design, using a single monotone palette, while Modernisme from Yo2 (bottom) takes its inspiration from modernist artworksNova’s version of abstract modernism is more calm and seductive (top) and Patchwork (bottom) combines cubism with African prints, both from Yo2OFFSET’s clean, simple hexagonal pattern (top) from Calligaris complements but doesn’t lead the scene, while Thibault van Renne’s Abstracts collection (middle, bottom) creates a random weathered pattern to get lost inThe photographic effect of Yo2’s ultra-realistic Fantasmagoria rugs (top) and Moooi Carpets’ circular Walking on Clouds range (bottom) helps to position users comfortablyThe long, straight lines of antoniolupi’s Geometrie Volanti (top) help move users along narrow spaces, while Yo2’s Deep Complexes range (bottom) gets creative with colour, pattern and shape

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