Contemporary Braided Rugs
The idea of contemporary design and a braided rug do not seem to belong together. These rugs owe their roots to the time of the settlers when women would rescue fabric from old clothes, cut it into strips then braid and stitch long lengths together to create a precious rug. This was often one of the few items of comfort in the home. Contrast that with a shiny loft apartment or a modern architect designed residence and the two scenarios seem like chalk and cheese.
Nevertheless, in recent times braided rugs have caught the attention of designers who have brought them right up into the twenty-first century with new modern color combinations and patterns. Here are some of ways these rugs have been “modernized”.
1. Larger Size
Traditional rugs were quite small and based on the amount of fabric that was available. You will now find very large braided rugs which are suitable for the kind of open plan rooms you often find in modern homes and where a small rug would look lost.
2. Different Shapes
Most of the traditional rugs are oval in shape but these days you will find many square braided rugs as well as round and rectangular shapes. These give a new look to the traditional rug.
3. New Materials
A traditional braided rug would be almost always composed of cotton strips (with perhaps some woolen materials mixed in) in the time of the settlers but they can be made in any fabric these days including fabrics which can be used outdoors as well as in. If you want something with a modern touch you will find rugs in soft chenille fabric too.
4. Fresh Colors
Instead of the multi-colored “whatever strips of cloth are on hand” rugs of history, many of the contemporary rugs use one or two colors to fit in with the type of rugs you might normally see in a modern room. You will find rugs in black and white for example to match the kind of monochromatic color schemes which are popular these days but which would never be used in the time of the settlers.
Related posts: