Handmade Grey and Brown Geometric Rug
The Riverbed rug is a grey and brown geometric rug, handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk and measuring 365 x 274 cm. That is 10.0 square metres, large enough for a big open living area or a long dining room.
The design up close
Grey is the ground colour, a cool mid tone with a faint blue cast, and brown draws the pattern. The two colours stay close in weight, so the rug looks calm and even rather than high in contrast.
The pattern is built from small repeating shapes: tiny crosses, stepped lines and little squares that join into a fine lattice across the surface. At that scale the brown reads more as texture than as a motif. From across the room you see a quiet grey with some warmth in it.
Turned over, the underside carries the same grey and brown pattern as a grid of small squares, so the design runs through the rug rather than sitting on top. The end finishes in a narrow cream woven band with a cream fringe.
Indian weaving and this rug
India has a long rug weaving tradition, with 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 other fibres, as this one does.
How this grey and brown geometric rug is made
This rug is handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk. Wool is hard wearing and springy, with a matte finish. 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 it suits rooms with lighter foot traffic.
As a wool rug blended with bamboo silk, it gets some of the strength of wool alongside the sheen of the silk-like fibre. Because it is made by hand, small differences from one end to the other are normal. Among indian hand made rugs it is a quiet, textured choice, and as a geometric rug it asks very little of the room around it.
Sizing it for your room
At 365 x 274 cm this grey and brown geometric rug is large enough for a living room, an open plan space or a generous dining room. Under a queen bed that is 153 cm wide, it leaves 60.5 cm each side of the bed, and a king bed at 183 cm wide leaves 45.5 cm each side.
In a living room, a 3-seat sofa about 2.2 m wide leaves 72.5 cm of rug each side of it. A 180 x 90 cm table that seats six leaves 92.5 cm at each end and 92 cm along each side.
Looking after your grey and brown geometric rug
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. Rubbing spills can dull bamboo silk, so this rug needs a cleaner who handles that fibre 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.
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 grey and brown geometric 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 grey and brown geometric 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.
