Handmade Red and Silver Rainbow Rug
The Rosehip rug is a red and silver rainbow rug, handmade in India from wool and cotton and measuring 306 x 243 cm. It covers about 7.4 square metres of floor.
The design up close
The colour moves in wide horizontal waves. Both ends start pale, a silver ivory with fine red flecks, then deepen into a band of brick red, ease back to silver across the middle and deepen again before the far end. Each change happens gradually, row by row, so there is no hard line anywhere, which is what gives a rainbow rug its ombre look.
Over all of it sits a small diamond lattice. On the silver bands the lattice is drawn in red, and on the red bands it turns into a pale silver net over the deeper colour, so the same pattern flips as the colour changes. Up close the reds range from a dark wine to a lighter coral, with streaks of brighter colour running through them. There is no border, and both ends finish in a white fringe.
It brings warmth to a room with plain walls and timber floors, and the silver bands keep the red from taking over. As a modern rug it sits easily with grey, white or charcoal furniture.
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 red and silver rainbow rug is made
This red and silver rainbow rug is handmade from an 80% wool and 20% cotton blend. Wool is hard wearing, springy and matte, so the pile holds up to foot traffic and springs back after furniture is moved. Cotton is a plant fibre that is firm and holds its shape. Up close the pile has a soft, slightly grainy look, and the streaks of brighter red catch the eye as you walk past.
Sizing it for your room
At 306 x 243 cm it suits a living room with a three seat sofa of about 2.2 m, leaving 43 cm of rug past each end of the sofa. Under a king bed, 183 cm wide, it leaves 30 cm each side, and under a queen bed, 153 cm wide, it leaves 45 cm each side.
In a dining room it fits an eight seat table of 240 x 100 cm with 33 cm at each end and 71.5 cm along each side, or a six seat table of 180 x 90 cm with 63 cm at each end and 76.5 cm along each side, which gives chairs room to move on the rainbow rug.
Looking after your red and silver rainbow 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.
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.
Visit our showroom at 307 Penshurst St, North Willoughby, open every day from 11 am to 4:30 pm, to see this red and silver rainbow 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 red and silver rainbow 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 wool.
