Designers and clients are seeking more than simple niches, i.e. traditional, transitional and contemporary, in the looks they build into rooms.
Everyone loves beautiful hand-knotted rugs, but supporting a room full of modern furniture with a traditional rug causes problems (and vice versa).
I have observed three design techniques that cross over the traditional/contemporary barrier and give designers infinite possibilities to work with fine, handknotted rugs in exciting new ways.
Erased Technique
In an old, well established room a rug with worn sections can speak of traditional elegance, continuity of style and sophistication. Yet, few people would consider installing an even slightly threadbare rug in a new design.
There has been an unsatisfied desire for such a meld of old and new, and where there is desire, rug designers strive to satisfy it.
At first, the attempt was to actually wear spots in rugs to give it the antique look, but that technique died because of rapid fraying. Worn spots tended to look not just worn but worn out.
Then someone got the bright idea to weave in the look of wear without having having wear. This is known as the erase technique or erasure technique.
Because it's obviously a weaving technique and not actual wear and tear, the "erased" spots give the rug permission to cross style boundries.
Looking at the whole of this rug, one can see discontinuity in the pattern, especially around the edges.
In this closeup on a corner you can see that the "erased" spots are as thoroughly weaved as the pattern. Forgive the color variation from the whole rug above. We added a little contrast here in the processing to illustrate our point.
Here's another corner. Same thing.
In this more intricate pattern you can easily see the pink being "erased" along the far edge. But like in the rug above that area is fully weaved.
Dye Manipulation
The colors in handknotted rugs subtly change. Over time colors can be altered by use, mainly by being exposed to direct sunlight and by traffic patterns. Keep in mind that this time period can be several generations.
These color mismatches can impart an elegant aging patina to the rug and we associate them with fine old rooms with great stories to tell.
The rug is mostly green, but the designer and his dyemaster have given it bluish areas which suggest aging during countless sunny mornings.
Abstraction
Rather than placing a traditional rug on the floor with a center field surrounded by a border, designers abstract that concept by visually suggesting tradition. This can make the rug a wildcard playable in many design styles, especially if the rug is a neutral like our sample below.
You can see that the designer has placed the hint of a border around the rug. In the center you can see a "field" consisting of a four-leaf-clover like pattern.
Abstraction of traditional design or mixing the old with new, gives this rug permission to support innumerable style concepts.
You've got to love this aspect of our business. Rugs, one of the oldest design elements known to man, respond to new bursts of creativity and give us new ways to enjoy our interior space.