London Design Week 2026: Highlights from the Rug World

COVER attended London Design Week, where showrooms and guest brands unveiled their latest collections and design highlights

London Design Week 2026 returns to Design Centre Chelsea Harbour from 9–13 March, uniting more than 135 showrooms and 30 pop‑up House Guests in a celebration of contemporary interiors.

The event showcases the latest in rugs, furniture, lighting, textiles and materials, alongside a curated programme of talks, masterclasses and discussions that inspire and inform the design community. With its blend of new launches and thought‑leadership, London Design Week sets the tone for the year ahead in interior design.

On Tuesday, COVER Magazine visited these brands to explore their latest collections and innovations.
 

Jennifer Manners

Jennifer Manners creates exquisitely handcrafted rugs rooted in traditional craftsmanship and a thoughtful approach to sustainability. Working closely with leading interior designers and architects, the studio produces individual, made-to-order pieces for each project.

Rooted in the elegance of historic interiors, the Heritage Collection reinterprets traditional rug motifs with a modern sensibility, featuring a sheared pile, softened patterns and faded, time-worn colour palettes. Inspired by some of England’s most storied houses, the six new designs — Hever, Ashton, Highclere, Wentworth, Audley and Packwood — capture the character and atmosphere of their namesakes.

Designed to complement furniture, art, and architecture, Heritage II offers a versatile, enduring foundation that adds structure, warmth and quiet expression to any interior.

Obeetee

Design Centre’s newest showroom edition is Obeetee, founded in 1920 as a leading Indian carpet maker evolving into a full luxury home brand.

The new showroom highlights their impressive range of colours, textures and designs. With a pattern to suit every space, the rugs are made from sustainable materials, including recycled silk and feature a barcode giving information on the weaver of each specific carpet. This adds an extra level of depth to each rug’s story while showing the brand’s commitment to supporting the artisans behind their creations.

Featured is Boudoir by Smitha Zacharia x Obeetee, a narrative of self-evolution woven in wool and silk. Inspired by a woman’s journey from chasing rainbows to crafting legacies, the jewel-toned collection in citrine, ruby and sapphir, blends regal refinement with intimate warmth, celebrating the woman as her own crowning jewel.

The Rug Company

Since 1997, The Rug Company has partnered with some of the world’s foremost talents in fashion, art and architecture, while its in-house studio continues to create each design with exceptional skill and innovation.

Their Watercolour Collection is one of their most popular , with these two doing particularly well:

Tili Sea
Inspired by a hand-painted watercolour from our studio, the Tili Sea rug features muted, serene stripes. Hand-knotted in a wool and silk blend, its plush cut-pile adds depth and softness. Made in Nepal, the wool provides durability and comfort, while the silk adds a luminous sheen, perfect for low-traffic or accent areas.

Kali Umber
Evoking brush on canvas, Kali Umber features watercolour-inspired stripes in a luxurious wool and silk blend. Its cut-pile finish enhances tonal depth and velvety softness. Made in Nepal, the wool ensures resilience and the silk adds a shimmering, light-reflective quality ideal for low-traffic or accent use.

Jaipur Rugs

Jaipur Rugs, founded by Nand Kishore Chaudhary in 1978, combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design while supporting over 40,000 rural artisans through weaving employment and skills programmes, most of them being women.

The Gilded Age collection by renowned designer Peter D’Ascoli and the Playing with Tradition collection by Dutch designer Richard Hutten will be available in the showroom from March 2026. Also on display is the recently launched Princess Pea collection, as featured in our recent issue COVER 82, created with artist Natasha Preenja. All three collections feature hand-knotted rugs produced in villages across India.

Tania Johnson Design

Tania Johnson specialises in custom, contemporary hand-knotted rugs inspired by the natural world — from shifting light and shadow to the intricate details found in nature.

Drawing on her own photography, Johnson translates these images into intricately woven rugs crafted from silk and Himalayan wool by skilled artisans in Nepal. Each bespoke piece is certified by GoodWeave, ensuring no child labour is used. Designed with integrity from start to finish, every rug reflects a close connection between inspiration, design and craftsmanship.

Holmes Bespoke

Holmes Bespoke is a British luxury rug studio specialising in fully bespoke, handcrafted rugs, runners, fitted carpets and tapestries for residences, hotels and superyachts worldwide. Known for its collaborative approach, the studio combines contemporary design with centuries-old artisanal techniques and the finest natural fibres to create enduring, one-of-a-kind pieces.

On display are three collections: Meet Me in Como, a curated series of hand-tufted designs inspired by Lake Como’s rolling mountains and cobbled streets; In Bloom, a trio of hand-tufted wall hangings designed to function as both artworks and rugs; and Into the Wild, a hand-knotted collection informed by safari influences and abstract forms.

TopFloor by Esti

Award-winning founder Esti Barnes leads Topfloor by Esti, crafting bespoke contemporary rugs and carpets for private clients and designers. Her recent collaboration with Hashimoto Naotsugu, Monochrome Stories, was named Best of Year 2025 by Interior Design magazine in New York.

For 2026, the company introduces Londinium, a collection of four hand-knotted rugs — two mid-century and two abstract — in soft, muted tones inspired by London’s historic neighbourhoods.

It will also unveil new additions to its broadloom carpets, made from sisal, jute, abaca, wool and synthetics, suitable for everything from commercial spaces to luxury homes, indoors or outdoors.

The final day of London Design Week takes place tomorrow, so there’s still time to head to Chelsea Harbour and explore the house guests alongside the showrooms before the event draws to a close. Registration is free and can be completed online or on the day.

With cafés and bars dotted throughout the venue, visitors can sip champagne or coffee while discovering a diverse array of high-end rugs, textiles and interiors.

Words by Libbi Kettle