Handmade Black and Brown Grass Rug
The Smoked Oak rug is a black and brown grass rug, handmade in India from wool and silk and measuring 432 x 300 cm. That gives you 13.0 square metres of floor, enough to anchor a large living room or an open plan space.
The design up close
Seen from above, this black and brown grass rug reads as long bands of charcoal, brown and silvery grey, with the light catching the pile in soft patches. A black ground carries the brown design. Look closer and the darkest areas have a blue-green cast, with pale cream flecks scattered through them.
Low-angle views show what the top view hides. Herringbone chevron bands sit beside narrow lattices of small diamonds, rows of tiny checks and fields of scattered dots. In one band, fine slanting lines all lean the same way, like blades of grass. The pattern changes every few steps, so you keep finding a new band as you walk along it.
The ends finish in a white fringe, and the sides carry a narrow stitched edge in a brown tone. Turn a corner back and the underside repeats the design in tiny blocks of blue-grey, brown and cream.
Indian weaving and this rug
India has a long hand-knotted rug tradition, with weaving centres including Agra and the Bhadohi and Mirzapur area of Uttar Pradesh. Indian workshops weave many modern and abstract designs, often to order, in a wide range of colours and sizes. Wool is the most common pile, and some rugs mix wool with silk, which is the case here.
How this black and brown grass rug is made
This rug is handmade in India, and the pile is wool and silk. Wool gives the surface its soft, matte body. Silk adds lustre, and where the two sit side by side in a band they catch the light differently. That is why the pattern seems to move as you walk around the rug, and why the top view looks calmer than the close-ups.
Sizing it for your room
At 432 x 300 cm this is a large rug, so it suits open plan living areas and generous bedrooms. Place a 3-seat sofa about 2.2 m wide on it and you have 106 cm of rug showing at each end of the sofa.
Under an 8-seat dining table of 240 x 100 cm, this black and brown grass rug reaches 96 cm past each end of the table and 100 cm past each long side. That is enough for the chairs to be pulled out and still stand on the rug.
Looking after your black and brown grass rug
Wool and silk both reward gentle handling, and a few habits keep this rug looking its best.
Vacuum it on a suction-only setting, or with the beater bar switched off, so the brush does not pull at the pile. Turn it around every six to twelve months so sun and foot traffic wear it evenly. Blot spills with a clean white cloth and cold water rather than rubbing them in. When it needs a full clean, choose a cleaner who washes handmade rugs by hand.
Put a good underlay beneath it. It stops the rug sliding on timber or tiles, adds cushioning and takes some of the wear off the pile. Moths like wool in dark, quiet spots, such as the part of a rug under a sofa, so vacuum those areas often and lift the furniture now and then.
Rubbing spills can dull silk, so this rug needs a cleaner who handles that fibre by hand.
See it before you buy
Visit our showroom at 307 Penshurst St, North Willoughby, open every day from 11 am to 4:30 pm, to see this black and brown grass rug in person. If you would rather judge it in your own room, with your own light and furniture, book a home trial and we will bring a selection to you.
You can see this black and brown grass rug in our showroom or at home. Browse more Contemporary rugs, or ask about a custom made rug in your own size and colour. Read more about silk.
