Style trends for 2018 - RUGS

Rugs are no longer just a necessity but have becomes centre of conversation and adulation for home owners. A stark change we have noticed is that all home exhibitions and fairs are dominated by rugs rather than the usual bed spreads and cushions. We expect rugs to continue to occupy the home décor space in 2018. However, as is the case every year, some hot trends of 2017 will fade away and some interesting ones will come up. We take a shot at projecting rug trends for 2018 which would also give you ideas to style your rug at home:

Layering

Layering of rugs was prominent in 2017 and we are certain it is something interior hoarders will continue to love. It allows adding color and more importantly multiple textures on the floor giving a very stunning look to the room. However, layering, if not done right, can go horribly wrong as well. Club contrasting colours, different textures and patterns to give your house a new look every time.

Images from Pinterest

We expect layered rugs to come as a product instead of an experiment at home. Fun fact, when I told my mother about the layering concept, she had the best reply. According to her, its perfect for lazy millennials like us to avoid cleaning your carpets and keep flipping and covering different parts of the rug *palm on forehead*.

Handcrafted

Machine made wool rugs are a thing of the past we expect 2018 to be the year of hand crafted cotton rugs or dhurries. Handmade techniques like block printing, screen printing, etc. allow flexibility to capture practically any beautiful pattern and design on the rug. Along with the use of organic dyes and the skills of the artisan, which no machine can replicate, handmade rugs allow the customer to have a personal bond with the carpet, like she knows where it comes and the fact it was made just for her!

For example, the thought behind the Caravan of Life rug could only be brought on a rug by block printing and a tropical trend as cute and detailed as pineapple was only possible via screen printing.

Overdyed

Overdyed rugs were omnipresent in 2017 and should continue to do well in 2018. Overdyed with stone wash technique creates very interesting and unique patterns. Think of architecture, flowers, traditional motifs or just borders, overdyeing as a technique is here to stay. Also, with velvet and violet (pantone colour of the year) making a comeback across home décor categories, velvet violet overdyed rugs should be a rage in 2018.

 Images from Pinterest

Just a word of caution, overdyed rugs can easily dominate a room and bulky furniture like tables, chairs, etc. should be selected after the selection of the rug.

Embroidered

Embroidery is back with a bang! And looks stunning on rugs. Every exhibition experimented with embroidery last year and spring fairs will have no less of it.

Rug artists have discovered the forgotten art of embroidery and are having too much fun with it. Embroidery works on plain as well as patterned rugs and adds another beautiful dimension of color and feel to the rug. Multi-coloured threads or be it black & white, embroidery practically makes any rug look stunning. For instance, white embroidery on a plain pink rug or monochrome embroidery looks simple, elegant and spectacular at the same time.

Concept / Story

Rugs, owing to flexibility in size, allow the designers to tell a story through the product. Concept rugs have been there for a while but we sense them making 2018 glorious. Beautiful stories are being told on rugs and add a life like visual element to any room. For example, water in 2 forms is shown beautifully in the below image:

Image from azadifinerugs

Wall to Wall Carpet

Ever wondered why so many stylists use Rugs as wall hanging backdrops? Well I always thought that how can someone hang a rug on the wall but I was SO wrong! Kilims, overdyed, Moroccan or abstract, hang any sort of rug on the wall and its bound to make a big difference. Hanging on the wall requires a lot of work and maybe tricky but the end result is wonderful. So hire a carpenter, push your husband this week and try to hang one of your rugs and see the magic. Don’t fret if you don’t have a wall size rug, go with the console or behind a bench look and it can still look good.

Images from ApartmentTherapy and Pinterest

Shaggy is OUT and Berber is IN

How many homes have you seen having the standard maroon or chocolate brown shaggy carpet? Infinite times!!! Well even I used to have it (a more sophisticated version tough with metallic silver) but still I’ll say to give it to charity and bring the berber IN (mainly a light coloured – beige/brown natural fibre carpet). Berber has gone through a huge change since the 90’s and has evolved a lot in texture, designs, color (a bit) and pile height and should be selling like hot cakes.

Images from Pinterest

Hope you liked reading this blog as much as we liked writing it for you <3. Do leave us your comments or any feedback or any particular area you would like us to opine about and we will definitely have a go.

Love,

House Of Ekam