Our selection of colourful rugs is the perfect addition to brighten up your home. These colourful rugs were created by leading designers and artists in collaboration with some of the most skilled craftsmen working in the field and exploring traditional as well as contemporary techniques. From New York-based Tantuvi’s homage to folk patterns to Jan Kath’s exquisite symphonies of colour, these rugs will add a pop of colour to any space, whether you are looking for an area rug for a large room or a compact piece of ‘walkable art’.
Browse our edit of colourful rugs
The Sarabande collection by The Rug Company
The Rug Company celebrated its 25th anniversary with a new collaboration, working with The Sarabande Foundation to create five rug designs by five master craftsmen working on different disciplines and supported by the foundation. Illustrator Stephen Doherty, sculptor Shinta Nakajima, jeweller Castro Smith, as well as artists Michaela Yearwood-Dan (whose piece is pictured above) and Mircea Teleaga each created a design that was transformed into silk and wool rugs, featuring colourful patterns, illustrative motifs and geometries. Established by the late Lee McQueen to support the next generation of artists and creatives, The Sarabande Foundation offer scholarships and subsidised studio space in its Haggesrston, East London, location, a creative home to visual artists, sculptors, filmmakers, photographers, accessories and fashion designers. The collection is a manifestation of The Rug Company’s ethos, focused on fostering creativity and craft.
Overview collection by Elliott Barnes for Tai Ping
French-American architect and decorator Elliott Barnes has created a series of striking colourful rugs for Tai Ping. Titled Overview, the collection is inspired by 1970s California and features graphic compositions of bold hues. Each design references Barnes’ own memories of growing up in California, from Sunday drives on Mulholland to the urban textures of DTLA and Cienega, where the designer grew up.
Spoken Lines by Beni Rugs
Based in Marrakech, Beni rugs was launched by entrepreneurs Robert Wright and Tiberio Lobo-Navia in 2018, to merge ancient techniques of Berber heritage with a modern design perspective and celebrate ‘the magic of Moroccan rugs’. The brand draws from 10,000 years of local rug-making traditions, sourcing wool locally and employing local women to hand-knot each rug. For their latest collection, they collaborated with creative Colin King (also serving as the brand’s new Artistic Director at Large) on a series of knotted rugs inspired by Milan, referencing the city’s Rationalist architecture of Piero Portaluppi, its mosaic-clad entryways and the colours of its facades.
Nordic Knots x Arje
Swedish family-run rug company Nordic Knots continues its stellar line up of collaborations with Arje – which began life as a luxury fashion brand, co-founded by husband and wife team Olivier Corral and Bessie Afnaim Corral, with a focus on beautiful Italian-made shearling and linen. The duo recently expanded into homeware with the launch of Arje Home; a full lifestyle offering based out of their self-renovated Greenwich Village apartment. The roots of collaboration traces back to the friendship that was formed between the four Europeans – Nordic Knot’s Liza Lazerow and Fabian Berglund, and Arje’s Corral and Afnaim – when they were all living in New York some years ago. Now, this spring sees the launch of the rug collection that is inspired by travel while cherishing the comfort of home. Cool Scandinavian tones blend with a warm Mediterranean palette – terracotta, tan, sand – on very textural deep piles. All the rugs are handmade and knotted by skilled GoodweaveTM Certified weavers in Bhadohi in northern India, using high quality wool from New Zealand. Writer: Tilly Macalister-Smith
‘Flux’ Abaca rugs
Dutch fibre specialist Musett Design and Topfloor by Esti have created a series of rug designs made of Abaca. The studio and rugs brsnd partnered with a Philippine abaca farmers’ cooperative to create contemporary rugs made of what the United Nations identified as a ‘future fibre’. Widely considered a super plant, Philippines native Abaca comes from banana leaves, and its planting can protect the soil against erosion and landslides. Using this material, the studio created the Essential collection, comprising the ‘Flux’ (pictured above) and ‘Switch’ rugs, exploring the natural shades of Abaca as well as the dying potential of the material.
Rugs by Karim Rashid for Sosomo
Dominican rug brand Sosomo’s first collaborative collection features pieces by New York-based designer Karim Rashid. The series includes two colourful rugs that merge Sosomo’s penchant for bright chromatic compositions and forms, and Rashid’s sinuous geometries and bold colour choices. Founded by Dominican creative Soraniy Soliver, Sosomo features colour palettes inspired by the Caribbean, abstract shapes and combine ‘experimentation, risk, creativity, fun and a bit of madness’.
Abstract rugs by Ethan Cook for Hay
American artist Ethan Cook has created a series of flat weave rugs for Danish brand Hay. Drawing from his penchant for colour and abstract composition, Cook’s rugs feature vibrant grometric designs are created on a woven New Zealand wool-cotton blend, and are avialable in two sizes and a variety of colours.
Colourful rugs by Tom Atton Moore made of vintage dead-stock yarn
British Tom Atton Moore has created seven rugs – on show at Lindsey Chan and Jerome Byrons’ multidisciplinary studio BC in LA throughout February – inspired by swirling chemicals floating on the water of a countryside pond he observed during lockdown walks. The large-scale colourful rugs are made of vintage, deadstock yarn that was hand-tufted, latexted, dried, pinned, bound and shaved with sheep shearing clippers by Atton Moore (who learned the skill via Youtube videos), making each piece unique and incredibly tactile.
‘Nuances’ felt rug by Patricia Urquiola for Gan
’s ‘Nuances’ series for Spanish manufacturer Gab explores the malleability of felt, a material the designer chose for its warmth and versatility. Aiming to reinvent traditional felt manufacturing, Urquiola developed her design through a technique that recycles discarded felt fibre. The result is a terrazzo-like speckled surface, which she then declined in different colours and patterns.
‘Spectrum’ collection by Jan Kath
Jan Kath’s immersive Spectrum collection features a series of rugs defined by a free use of colour, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the medium. Painstakingly , the collection features 42 different colourful rugs that explore both traditional patterns and contemporary designs, filtered through colour.
Bauhaus-inspired rugs by Child Studio for Floor Story
Child Studio draws inspiration from the Movement for its ‘19-19’ rug collection with east London rug company Floor Story. ‘The aesthetic is often seen as something rather austere and unrelenting, but we have always been fascinated by the rich and inventive use of colour in the interiors and graphics produced by the artists associated with this movement,’ say studio founders Alexy Kos and Che Huang. ‘We always try to inject colour in our interior work and this project was an opportunity to tell a new story entirely through the abstract means of geometry and colour.’
‘Nabla’ rug collection by David Thulstrup for Made by Hand
A new collection of carpets designed by David Thulstrup for Made By Hand and produced by Golran, ‘Nabla’ features a series of colourful rugs inspired by daylight, sundown and dusk. Through an expressive colour palette of beige, yellow and pink hues, Thulstrup designed four tonal gradations which were then recreated through the skilled weaving of silk and wool.
Upcycled colourful rugs by Sëbou and Eton
Swedish brand Sëbou specializes in hand-knotted rugs, designed in Sweden and made in Morocco using leftover materials: their unique rugs ‘blend the subtlety of Scandinavian design and the vibrancy of Moroccan culture.’ A new collection sees the brand partner with shirt specialist Eton, upcycling byproducts from the shirt design process into colourful rugs that combine a geometric motif with the textured vibrancy of the colourful . ‘Being aware comes with a responsibility, we owe it to ourselves and the future to strive towards a more environmentally friendly lifestyle,’ says Omar Marhri, Sëbou creative director. ‘Our focus has always been to make one-of-a-kind, timeless pieces made from materials that are recycled and upcycled and can live for a long time.’
‘Billie’ rug by Poltrona Frau
The ‘Billie’ rug by Poltrona Fray is a tribute to Max Huber. Its design is based on a 1936 sketch by the Swiss artist and graphic designer, a celebrating jazz singer Billie Holiday (a homage by Huber, who was influenced by the musical genre in his work). The balanced graphic composition of the rug is rendered in wool and linen and hand-spun on wooden looms using the Tibetan knot technique.
Roula Salamoun rugs for the ‘Unmasked’ collection by Iwan Maktabi
A celebration of Lebanese creativity, Beirut carpet maker Iwan Maktabi’s ‘Unmasked’ collection of colorful rugs features works by the likes of , Nadine Kanso and Gregory Gatserelia. Among the pieces, presented through an immersive exhibition in Beirut, is the organic piece by multidisciplinary architect and designer Roula Salamoun. Titled ‘Strata’, the four-piece collection (available in two colourways and two sizes) is inspired by Nepalese landscapes, which the designer visited while discovering traditional weaving techniques with Maktabi. ‘Strata draws from the fine line between architecture and landscape, from the rooftops, temples, and steps which intertwine with lush greenery and moss,’ says the designer. the designer was fascinated by the art of weaving and the relationship of the craftsmen with the pieces. She adds: ‘the carpet acts as a unifying element and creator of place, and belonging where the relationship between the body, space and objects are inexorably linked.’
‘Dawn’ rugs by BCXSY for ZaoZuo
Amsterdam-based designers Sayaka Yamamoto and Boaz Cohen have created a series of colourful rugs for , inspired by dawn. The designs, the pair explains, are an ‘abstract conceptualization of this most magical period of the day, when colors and forms blend together, and our perception wanders between the recognizable and the unknown.’ The collection (part of a wider range of graphic rugs BCXSY have created for the manufacturer) was based on digital printing techniques, the designers explain, ‘to achieve a balance between sharp lines and soft color gradients and create a contemporary ode to the wonders of nature.’
‘Little Proba’ by Alex Proba
What started as a workshop for kids to experiment with paper collages led by German, US-based artist Alex Proba turned into a playful collection of brightly coloured rugs with a strong graphic attitude. ‘This is my passion project,’ explains Proba, whose work ranges fom home accessories to large-scale murals and even swimming pools, all defined by her distinctively bold colour palettes and geoometric compositions. ‘I always wanted to work with kids and show them that art and being creative is real, as I did not grow up with that understanding.’ Proba dubbed the project ‘kids designing for kids,’ and it turns out that big smiling faces, animals in all shapes and forms and ice cream cones are the perfect subjects for a collection of rugs. Each rug is named after the kid who created the original design (7-year-old Mila’s rug is pictured above) and handmade in India using hand-tufted, hand-dyed New Zealand wool yarn and bamboo silk. All proceeds from the collection going to Save the Children and the Young Center for Children’s Immigrant Rights, and Proba has a new project in the pipeline, working with a foundation and a group of young girls from Ghana. Watch this space.
‘Travertine’ collection by Tantuvi
Founded by designer Arati Rao and artist Adam Sipe, Tantuvi is a New York-based design studio reimagining the concept of ‘handmade in India’ with a contemporary twist, inspired by Rao’s own family background. Tantuvi’s cotton and hemp dhurrie rugs, the pair explains, ‘are inspired by early experiments in formal abstraction and closely related folk patterns from around the world.’ In particular, the ‘Travertine’ collection of colourful rugs features a homage to their travels through India, and its motifs are inspired by sandstone-colored desert landscapes, native architecture, and stone quarries.
§
