Handmade Brown and Black Grass Rug
The Tortoiseshell rug is a brown and black grass rug, handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk and measuring 278 x 186 cm. That gives you 5.2 square metres of floor.
The design up close
Seen from above, this brown and black grass rug looks like a warm cocoa brown with silvery patches where the light catches the pile. A brown ground carries a black design. The pattern is so fine that from standing height it almost disappears into the colour.
A low angle brings it out. The pattern here is more detailed than the plain stripe-and-check bands on other Grass rugs. A lattice of diamonds covers the ground, each diamond holding smaller diamonds and squares inside it. Between them stand slim, tree-like stems with a small circle at the tip, set in rows, and narrow zigzag bands run across the rug. The black lines are drawn on the brown with a faint blue-grey sheen on top.
The ends finish in a white fringe and the sides carry a narrow stitched edge in dark grey. Fold a corner back and the underside shows the same lattice in brown and blue-grey.
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 bamboo silk, as this one does.
How this brown and black grass rug is made
This rug is handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk. Bamboo silk is a viscose (rayon) fibre made from bamboo cellulose, with a silk-like sheen. It is softer and less resilient than wool, so a rug with bamboo silk suits rooms with lighter foot traffic.
The fibre mix is easy to see. The wool looks matte and fills most of the brown, while the bamboo silk shows as pale blue-grey glints that come and go as you move. That is why the rug looks plainer from above than it does from the side.
Sizing it for your room
At 278 x 186 cm this is a mid-sized rug. A 3-seat sofa about 2.2 m wide leaves 29 cm of rug showing at each end. It works well under a coffee table with the front legs of the sofa resting on it.
A 6-seat dining table of 180 x 90 cm sits on this brown and black grass rug with 49 cm to spare at each end and 48 cm along each side. The chairs will pull out partly past the edge. At 186 cm wide the rug is too narrow for an 8-seat table.
Looking after your brown and black grass rug
Bamboo silk and wool need different handling, so a few habits matter here.
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 bamboo 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 brown and black 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 brown and black 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 bamboo silk and viscose.
