Handmade Silver and Blue Rainbow Rug
The Hydrangea rug is a silver and blue rainbow rug, handmade in India from wool and cotton and measuring 311 x 250 cm. It covers about 7.8 square metres of floor.
The design up close
The colour comes in wide bands that run across the rug. Pale silver blue sits at both ends and through the middle, and between them two deeper bands of cornflower, royal blue and navy. Over all of it runs a fine diamond lattice drawn in pale silver lines, which stays clear in the light bands and almost disappears in the dark ones.
Look closer and the blue is far from a single colour. Little flecks of plum, mauve and a touch of teal sit among the blues, the way a hydrangea head mixes blue and purple. That shifting colour, light to dark and back again, is what makes it a rainbow rug.
There is no border. The lattice runs out to the bound sides, and both ends finish in an ivory fringe. A silver and blue rainbow rug like this suits a room with white, grey or soft blue walls.
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 silver and blue rainbow rug is made
This rug is handmade from a blend of 80% wool and 20% cotton. Wool gives the pile its body. It is hard wearing, springy underfoot and matte, so the blues look soft rather than shiny. Cotton is a plant fibre that is firm and holds its shape, and it helps the rug lie flat and keep its outline.
Turn a corner over and the back is ivory with the lattice picked out in blue, light blue and mauve, so you can see how the colour of the silver and blue rainbow rug is built through the weave. As a wool rug it also takes a bit of everyday traffic in a family room.
Sizing it for your room
At 311 x 250 cm this is a large rug for a living room, dining room or main bedroom. In a living room it can sit in front of a three seat sofa of about 2.2 m with 45.5 cm to spare beyond each end, and the front legs of the sofa and chairs can rest on it.
Under a 180 x 90 cm dining table it leaves 65.5 cm at each end and 80 cm along each side, which gives chairs room to pull back. Laid across the bed in a main bedroom, its 311 cm length leaves 64 cm each side of a king bed, which is 183 cm wide.
Looking after your silver and blue 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.
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 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 silver and blue 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.
