Handmade Silver and Blue Grass Rug
The Glacier rug is a silver and blue grass rug, handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk and measuring 272 x 180 cm. That gives you 4.9 square metres of floor.
The design up close
Seen from above, this silver and blue grass rug is a pale, cool silver-grey, washed with soft light and shade in long vertical bands. A silver ground carries a blue design. The blue is a slate shade with a hint of green, and from standing height it only shows as faint dotting in the bands.
Low-angle views make the pattern clear. Fields of tiny checks and scattered diamonds sit beside narrow chevron bands, rows of slanting strokes and lines of upright dashes. The slate blue marks are small and close together, set on a pale ground with a creamy-sage tint, so each band reads as a different texture rather than a different colour.
The ends finish in a pale cream fringe, and the sides have a narrow stitched edge in slate blue. Fold a corner back and the underside shows the same dots and checks in soft blue on 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 bamboo silk, as this one does.
How this silver and blue 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 two fibres show side by side. Matte wool forms the soft body of the pile, and the bamboo silk gives the pale areas a glow that brightens and fades as you walk past. That glow is why the top view looks quiet and the low-angle views look busy.
Sizing it for your room
At 272 x 180 cm this is a mid-sized rug. A 3-seat sofa about 2.2 m wide leaves 26 cm of rug showing at each end. It suits a seating group where the front legs of the sofa and a coffee table stand on the rug.
A 6-seat dining table of 180 x 90 cm sits on this silver and blue grass rug with 46 cm to spare at each end and 45 cm along each side. The chairs will pull out partly past the edge. At 180 cm wide the rug is too narrow for an 8-seat table.
Looking after your silver and blue 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 silver and blue 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 silver and blue 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.
