Handmade Silver and Gold Grass Rug
The Silver Birch rug is a silver and gold grass rug, handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk and measuring 300 x 245 cm. That gives you 7.4 square metres of floor.
The design up close
Seen from above, this silver and gold grass rug looks like a soft, pale silvery grey with a cool blue tint. A silver ground carries a gold design. The gold sits quietly in the pile, a muted antique shade with a green-olive cast, so from standing height you see little more than a calm, shimmering surface.
At a low angle the pattern shows. Herringbone chevron bands rise in a stepped column, beside fields of tiny checks, scattered dots and lattice work. Rows of slanting strokes lean one way across the rug like windblown grass, and bands of upright dashes sit between them. The gold lines are fine and evenly spaced, and they read clearly against the pale ground.
The ends finish in a white fringe and the sides have a narrow bound edge. Fold a corner back and the underside is silvery grey with the gold pattern showing faintly through.
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 gold 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.
You can see the two fibres at work. The wool gives the surface a soft, matte body, and the bamboo silk adds the sheen that lightens the pale areas and makes the gold lines glint at certain angles. Move around the rug and the light pools and shifts across it.
Sizing it for your room
At 300 x 245 cm this is a large rug. A 3-seat sofa about 2.2 m wide leaves 40 cm of rug showing at each end. Under a queen bed 153 cm wide, the 245 cm width leaves 46 cm on each side of the bed.
For dining, a 6-seat table of 180 x 90 cm sits on this silver and gold grass rug with 60 cm to spare at each end and 77.5 cm along each side. That keeps the chairs on the rug when they are pulled out.
Looking after your silver and gold 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 gold 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 gold 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.
