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The Eastern Carpet Long Beloved By the West

Within the wide world of oriental rugs, one could rightly say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as each person has their own criteria as to what makes one type of rug more beautiful or desirable than another.

Is a rug’s beauty defined by the intricacy of its design, with the most intricate designs being the best? By the fineness of its weave, with the finest weave being the best? By the richness of its color palette, with the brightest and most colorful being the best?

Described by Jaipur Living as being “steeped in both history and modern style, the Reconnext collection by Jenny Jones combines globally-inspired motifs with on-trend colorways and re-imagined patterns,” Reconnext does precisely as the portmanteau implies: it reconnects us with the past as we look forward to what is next.

out·spo·ken  /ˌoutˈspōkən/
direct and open in speech or expression

Launched in April 2020, the inspirational hair-on-hide artistic rugs of Be OUTSPOKEN gained fast recognition—garnering five coveted home decor awards. This fall in High Point, the company will debut a special edition monochromatic series for its CHOOSE TO SHINE signature art design. Gold hues to warm light browns were created in custom pigments specifically for the colorway of the hide.

These are bold statement carpets designed to fill a perceived void in the marketplace. They are colorful, playful, and at times whimsical. These are bold statement carpets designed to fill a perceived void in the marketplace. They are colorful, playful, and at times whimsical. Above all, they reflect the ethos of firm principal and namesake Kate Thornley-Hall. 

It began as a novelty to encourage creativity during a spring interrupted by a pandemic. Created by RUG INSIDER Editor Michael Christie, the concept of #tableauxdepompoms is simple: recreate a commonplace scene from around the home or (home) office using color-matching poms—preferably with a timely, perhaps socio-economic message attached. That was the concept. For brilliant execution however, one need look no further than the “Bread and Roses” tableaux created by Catherine Bertulli in collaboration with photographer Dennis Geller.

The flashing backlit floors of the disco provided the inspiration for Collection 54 by Jan Kath. Light flashing off glittering mirror balls becomes contemporary rug art. Four patterns of fine lines are arranged to create interlocking grids that seem to vibrate and shine. Metallics and gem tones shimmer with shades of copper, gunmetal, silver, gold and emerald.

Giving the impression of folded and pleated fabric, perhaps drapery, or even the curtain which demarks the end of a spectacular performance, the soft and elegant design of Plissé embodies a further playfully graphic nod to the world of scenography. Paired with the delicate movement of the design’s drawing which reveals hints of pure silk in the faux lining of the layered fabrics, the resulting composition evokes the trompe l’oeil spirit of Roberta di Camerino’s now iconic designs from the 1950s.