Handmade Silver Grey Grass Rug
The Quicksilver rug is a silver grey grass rug, handmade in India from wool and bamboo silk and measuring 305 x 244 cm. This grass rug covers about 7.4 square metres, a good size for a living room, a main bedroom or a dining area.
The design up close
From a distance it reads as one calm silver grey, with soft shifts between lighter and slightly warmer bands across its width. Move closer and the surface turns into rows of tiny pattern: little charcoal squares set in checks, small crosses, and lines of short upright ticks that look like blades of grass.
These rows sit in bands that run across the rug from side to side, some dense and some open, so the texture changes as you walk along it. In places the bands fade almost away into plain silver, then return a little further on, which keeps the pattern from feeling regular.
There is no border. The bands run out to the sides, which are bound in grey, and the two ends finish in a short ivory fringe. The pile is low and close, with the ribbed look that gives every grass rug its name.
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 grey grass rug is made
The pile mixes wool with 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 it suits rooms with lighter foot traffic.
You can see the mix at work in the light. The wool gives the matte silver body of the rug, while the bamboo silk catches the light in fine glints along the rows, so the grey brightens and darkens a little as you walk past or as the sun moves across the room. It makes a quiet modern rug for a bedroom or a formal sitting room.
Sizing it for your room
At 305 x 244 cm this silver grey grass rug suits a three-seat sofa of about 2.2 m. Laid lengthways in front of it, the rug runs past the sofa by 42.5 cm each side.
Under a bed, lay the long side across. A queen at 153 cm wide leaves 76 cm each side, and a king at 183 cm leaves 61 cm each side. Under a 180 x 90 cm table for six it gives 62.5 cm each end and 77 cm each side, and a 240 x 100 cm table for eight leaves 32.5 cm at each end and 72 cm along each side.
Looking after your silver grey grass 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 silver grey 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 grey 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.
