Despite the plethora of contemporary design rugs on the market, traditional patterns never truly lose their appeal. For many companies, reimagining the beauty and elegance of antique patterns brings great inspiration to new rug designs. The concept of recreating old designs with a contemporary twist—whether it be with a modern colour scheme, a repurposing and manipulation of pattern, a melding of different ideas—continues to drive the rug industry into fresh areas of production. There remains a desire to keep one foot in the past whilst celebrating what is new and innovative. Here are 5 nods to tradition from our COVER Curates companies, each with its own interpretation and style.
Persian Vase, 17th Century collection, Knots Rugs
In a recent interview with COVER magazine, Bonnie Sutton of Knots Rugs commented ‘We are still seeing an upward trend towards traditional rug designs.’ Knots Rugs’ 17th century collection first launched at Domotex Hanover in 2014 to great acclaim. Expanding upon this exciting collection, the new limited-edition 17th Century Persian Vase design is based on ‘the most expensive rug ever sold,’ an antique Persian carpet which sold for $33 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2013. The stunning design features beautiful vines, flowers, and sickle shaped leaves in rich jewel colours on a deep red wool ground and has been finished with an oxidisation technique, which creates an extraordinary 3D effect.
Design 24421, Homage collection, Rug & Kilim
Rug & Kilim’s Homage collection now has more than 150 patterns that reimagine iconic designs from diverse sources, offering ‘an encyclopaedia of designs’. Rug 24421, with an elegant design featuring butterflies and florals, has a distressed finish and was inspired by Japanese deco pictorials.
Bamika, Treasures of the Future collection, Oritop
For COVER Curates, Oritop are presenting the Treasures of the Future collection, a group of rugs hand-knotted in Afghan villages featuring high-quality hand-spun, naturally dyed wool and using the traditional knotting technique. They satisfy a passion for antique rug and textile patterns and the need for sustainable living. Three of the designs on show, including Bamika, are all derived from Kaitag textiles from Dagestan.
Design 24979, JTN Rugs & Home
At JTN Rugs & Home, the well-perfected production processes are all done in-house, from spinning and dyeing wool, to weaving and then washing and finishing the rugs. All processes are also unique to this production, including its proprietary blends of yarn, the eight-step washing process and the special method of over-dyeing, In Design 24979, JTN overlays a traditional Persian rug pattern onto an undulating field of tones, which gives the design a great sense of depth. Add an eye-popping colour scheme to the antique pattern and this design has a great contemporary aesthetic.
Design 6742, Bohemia collection, Sambhav
In Sambhav’s new Bohemia collection bold shades of upcycled sari silk emerge from more neutral backgrounds, delighting the eye with fractal reflections and reassuringly familiar but fresh repeats. Vivid, mysterious and intriguing, its designs recall the flash of colourful sarees worn by women on special occasions in India, a reference to the material silk at the heart of the collection. The collection is part of the company’s drive towards a more sustainable future. In Design 6742, the mirrored antique pattern disintegrates into a field of bright blues and purples, giving it a contemporary edge.
Design 6742, Bohemia collection, Sambhav
