Four rooms defined by rugs

Long gone are the days when the floor was the ignored dimension of a room, a neutral offset to enhance other design elements. Today, handmade rugs have staked out their claim as effortless centrepieces of an interior. They frequently form the starting point for interior designers, who may build entire rooms around them. From traditional elegance to the whimsical, cozy or ultramodern – carpets set the tone like nothing else. As large canvases for creativity, they can be updated according to trends or treasured as heirlooms for generations.

Here are four stunning rooms defined by rugs.

Reuber Henning‘s Shallow Luna binds together other design notables in Arno Brandlhuber’s Antivilla on Lake Krampnitz outside Potsdam, Germany. The rug evokes the surface of the lake as well as the moon with its blue and grey tones. Its silky soft surface completely transforms the impact of the room, which otherwise looks to a concrete industrial aesthetic.

Photo: Michael Tewes

This creative home in Berlin embraces the whimsical while looking to the natural world with Rug Star‘s Eden 09 rug. The bold expanse of pink goes beautifully with the clean white walls and wooden accents and floorboards. Original artwork covers the walls, but for the real showstopper you need to look down.

Sometimes it all boils down to texture and colour. The weave of this Hemp rug by Belgian brand Papilio contrasts with the large expanses of glass and wooden design features, adding a tactile quality to a room of cool surfaces. The carpet is home to the colour scheme, harbouring the green of potted plants and outside elements as well as the neutral tone of the floorboards and yellow highlights.

Nothing injects warmth like a handknotted carpet. Rug Art International’s Riverpool rug is the focal point of an inviting lounge area. Proving that not only those who shout are heard, the subtle shades of grey and brown evoke water moving slowly through a landscape, creating an overall atmosphere of peace and harmony.