Beni Ourain refers to rugs woven by a tribal group of the Berber peoples. They live nomadicly in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, mainly Morocco.
The wool of these rugs is washed, but not dyed. It's hand-combed, hand-carded and loosely spun, creating a fluffy fibrous yarn.
The weavers then hand knot the rug and trim to a high pile that reminds us of mid-century shag.
Every year the Domotex trade show brings rug professionals to Hanover, Germany from all over the world.
Domotex chooses a panel of shelter professionals and these pick their favorite rugs from new designs from around the world. You might say it's the Academy Awards of rug design.
Rugs have a remarkable effect on a room. We see it everyday when we place rugs in spaces for designers to approve (or not).
Borrowing a fine setting from our friends at Market Place Interiors, we take a look at a couple of effects. Feel free to approve (or not).
Here is the grouping. It's attractive on its own, full of lots of eye-appealing furnishings. Let's lay out a couple of rugs and see how things change.
All hand-knotted rugs have a dark side and a light side. Sometimes it's so subtle it's hard to see. Other times it's hard not to see.
An element that really separates light from dark is banana silk.
The fibers from the banana plant have been used in yarn for centuries, especially in Japan and Nepal, have become known as banana silk.
The Light Side
In the 1970s American rug importers began to take note of the Himilayan rug tradition centered in Nepal. It featured very simple designs, skilled weavers and fabulous wool. American rug designers saw the situation as a blank canvas and contemporary rug design was born.
People have created decorative patterns since time began. Perhaps a visual rendering of a pattern rhythms brings harmony to the mind like music does with sound.
There has been a growing trend in all-over patterns in hand-knotted rugs.
All-over patterns have as few as two colors and repeat the same pattern over and over again. Perhaps our brains enjoy some solace in that and rest from the constant chore of creating patterns from reality.
From the 1920s into the 1950s movies were graced with the perhaps the best black and white cinematographers that the world will ever know. They mastered every mood, every opportunity for highlighting, for low lighting, for balancing light and dark values, for conveying every emotion.
Designers have recently shown a preference for contemporary rug designs. One reason is the delightful selection of rugs that can be used as neutral elements, yet display incredibly interesting and entertaining patters to up-close viewers.
"They are subtle enough to to with brighter colors," said Janna Walker of JDW Interiors Inc. in Tampa. "You can modify the color scheme years from now and the rug will still work."
Contempory rug design is very popular right now. The style offers advantages.
One of them is its ability to serve as a neutral design element while at the same time offering lots of subtle intricacies that make being in the room a delight.
We have just received a large shipment of rugs and want to show them off. Some are old favorites. Some are new to Addison/Dicus.