Magic Carpets
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
At this time of year, as you swing your legs out of bed each morning and your feet hit the icy-cold floor, it’s likely that one thought is going through your mind: I need a carpet.
And indeed, you probably do. A good carpet is one of the best ways to add a shot of color, warmth, and dimension to a room. These new designs from Designtex/Loophouse, Asha Carpets, and the Classic Rug Company, ranging from the classic to the contemporary, take their inspiration from nature, history, and art.
Designtex, in partnership with the London design firm Loophouse, has introduced a new collection of hand-tufted rugs, titled simply No. 1-No. 14.All of the designs in the collection are inspired by works from a recent exhibit at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, “Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated): Art from 1951 to the Present.” (Designtex has an exclusive licensing agreement with the Guggenheim, and plans to design other collections based on some of the museum’s works in the next three years.) The exhibit, drawn in large part from the museum’s permanent collection, included works from Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, and Robert Rauschenberg. Each of the 14 patterns is available as an area rug or a runner, and is priced at $75 a square foot. The rugs are made from 100% pure hand-tufted New Zealand wool. For more information, call 800-221-1540, or visit www.dtex.comandwww.loophouse.com.
The Classic Rug Collection has also used works of art as the inspiration for many of its designs. Its Gee’s Bend Quilt Collection series is based on the quilts of the blockbuster museum exhibit, “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend,” that has toured the country to great acclaim. The gorgeous hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs, made in Nepal, include designs created by quilters such as Loretta and Jessie T. Pettway (tufted rugs start at $3,300; knotted at $4,100). Flat weave cotton rugs based on the same series of quilts are far less expensive, ranging from $99 for a 3-by-5-foot rug to $350 for a 6-by-9-foot rug. The quilters of Gee’s Bend receive a royalty for each rug sold.
Classic Rugs also has a whimsical collection of rugs for children’s rooms. The hand-tufted Animal Kingdom rug is currently on sale for $99 for a 4-by-6-foot version ($199 for 5-by-8, $299 for 6-by-9). A gorgeous Elephants rug sells for $1,300. For more information, call 888-334-0063, or visit www.classicrug.com.
New rugs by the Brooklyn-based Asha Carpets primarily take their inspiration from the natural world. The Coral line of carpets feature what look like delicate arms of coral, in red, brown, or aqua, against a light-colored background; Poppies rugs have bold, oversized poppy blossoms; the shimmering Snake Skin looks like just that. More contemporary designs include the geometric Tron, which resembles a painting. The rugs were designed by Polish born weaver Joanna Michalowicz and hand-woven and hand-knotted by 200 weavers in China and Nepal, all of whom were trained by Ms. Michalowicz. Prices are available upon request. For more information, call 914-645-1262, or visit www.ashacarpets.com.