Luxury Modern Rugs

What gives luxury modern rugs a upscale feel and modern flair?

Creating a Luxury Modern Rugs

Why focus on luxury modern rugs? Simply put, rugs are to the room what shoes are to an outfit. They tie the look together, add a touch of luxury and glamour, and can make you feel like a million bucks. While this is not a new idea in luxury interior design, the importance of rugs has been known to be overlooked.

When I work on designing spaces for my luxury modern design projects, rugs are a pivotal part of my design plan. Frankly, in keeping with the shoe analogy, luxury modern rugs are not only crucial to unifying a room. Without them, rooms look as incomplete as a woman going barefoot while wearing Chanel.

Since my clientele is international or well-traveled in nature, traveling has always been the biggest inspiration in my designs. This put me on the search for rugs that were a bit different than the ‘usual.’ My goal was always to find rugs with some special, unique, luxury quality that would tie the room together.

Over the years I found rugs with a contemporary, modern look that were gorgeous. Unfortunately, too many missed the mark and were unable to provide the special touch I wanted.

I’m all about going the extra mile to find the extraordinary in contemporary modern design. That’s why I’m developing my own collection of bespoke handmade luxury modern rugs inspired by nature & traveling with the finest natural materials you can imagine!

So let’s talk about what turns rug into a modern luxury rug that will last you forever and looks fabulous!

Top luxury rug materials

New Zealand & Tibetan Wool.

⁠If you ever wondered about the best of the best fiber for a luxury modern rug, it’s New Zealand Wool & Tencel. Hands down (or should we say feet down) this wool is the most vibrant, strongest, most-resilient fiber to walk on. ⁠

Each wool type is more suitable for different technique. A Tibetan Wool is used more for hand-knotted rugs, while New Zealand Wool for hand-tufted rugs.

It’s important that wool is from a free-range sheep with minimal contact, and antibiotics. Those sheep are shorn just once a year during the summer to keep them warm for the winter.

As an aside, the synthetic options “similar” to wool which are made from petroleum byproducts are actually considered to be plastic. They do not survive more than a few years and have no extended value. More importantly, they lack the richness, vibrancy, and luxury feel of a real wool rug.⁠

Chinese Mulberry Silk.

Mulberry silk is one of the most luxurious, finest materials on the planet. It is actually considered to be the highest quality silk available. It is also known as “soft gold” for its royal feel and luxurious aesthetic.

We cultivated this high-quality fiber in our luxury modern rug designs because of its beauty and strength. The fibers are as thin as hair, light as a feather, and strong as steel. This makes them ideal for the daily wear and tear that they will experience underfoot.

In case you wonder, there are two types of silks: cultivated (GOOD) and wild (BAD).⁠

The good silk, also known as cultivated silk, is our Chinese Mulberry Silk from a special local farms grow Mulberry trees and harvest the silkworms to feed on. This allows them to control the diet to create top quality silk. We use strictly Mulberry silk from China, as from India & Vietnam, are more proper for clothing due to their different strength and coloring (they are more yellowish tone instead of white).

The bad silk, also known as wild silk, comes from worms with no controlled diet. The reason for wild silk being bad is that the uncontrolled diet leads to instability in the silk. The worms bust through their low-quality cocoons, which breaks the fibers. Instead of one single filament, the fiber is actually a broken piece that has been spun together into a thicker but weaker thread for weaving.

While we’re on this topic, there is one more type of silk but we will speak about the WORST: artificial. Artificial silk is also known as rayon, viscose/nylon. In addition to being weak, it yellows, bleeds, and sheds, which makes it a poor choice for rugs (or anything else for that matter). Always look at the labels, when selecting your rug because some companies may label rug as silk rug but only in detailed description, you may find it’s not silk but a plastic.

We reserve Chinese Mulberry Silk for our hand-knotted rugs.

Tencel.

We’ve already talked about the durability and fineness of the wool and silk materials that we choose for our rug designs. ⁠However, there is one more material that I wanted to talk about. The material is very similar to silk in terms of softness and durability and is a natural material.

It is called Tencel. This natural fiber is derived from the wood pulp of Eucalyptus trees grown and replaced on specialized tree farms. It has hypoallergenic qualities and it is also environmentally friendly and recyclable. Just like all materials we use in our modern rugs (Chinese Mulberry Silk, New Zaeland & Tibetan wool).

We use Tencel is suggested for hand-tufted rugs, while the Chinese Mulberry silk is reserved for hand-knotted rugs due to its scarcity and exclusivity.

The best techniques to create a truly luxury rug

Hand-Knotted vs Hand-Tufted Rugs.

The ‘hand’ in hand-knotted and hand-tufted means that the rugs are in fact made by hand. But that’s really where the similarities end.

The techniques vary in complexity, the time needed to complete a rug, the skill level of the artisan, and the ultimate look and feel. These factors impact the recommended use and price.

What is a Hand-Knotted Rug?

Hand-knotted rugs are really an art form. This technique allows for the most intricate designs. Made on a special loom, the result is a one-of-a-kind rug that is truly a work of art. Oriental and Persian rugs are typically hand-knotted. The best are made from natural materials, including cotton, wool, and silk.

Of the two methods, this takes the longest amount of time and requires more skill on the part of the rug maker. This is reflected in the quality and the cost, which is driven by the knots per square inch. Hand-knotted rugs don’t have a backing, which means that the design is the same regardless of which side is up. If you are considering this type of rug, it is important to note that a higher density means better quality and is typically required for complex, one-of-a-kind designs.

Such hand-knotted rugs with complex and detailed designs can make as well a collectable piece and like gold, can make a great investment.

What is a Hand-Tufted Rug?

Hand-tufted rugs are made by hand and tool. Typically made of wool, this rug is made with a process that punches strands of wool into a canvas stretched on a frame.

The hand-held tool helps to expedite this process, however, it does not mean that they look worse! With today’s skilled artisans, modern coloring techniques, and with use of high-quality materials, the hand-tufted rug can look and feel as good as hand-knotted.

The ingredients, high-quality wool & silk are the fundamentals.

Choosing Between Hand-Knotted and Hand-Tufted Rugs to Complete Your Luxury Modern Design

Due to their uniqueness and the time it takes to create them, hand-knotted rugs have higher cost and value.

The higher quality workmanship results in better knots, which is the reason a hand-knotted rug will always outlast a hand-tufted one, and may as well create a one-of-a-kind collectible piece.

Hand-tufted rugs may not become heirlooms but they may still provide a luxurious feel to your room for a decade.

Usually consumers would choose hand-knotted rug quality for living rooms & master bedrooms, sometimes first entrance hall to create a statement, while for kids rooms & offices, and secondary halls a hand-tufted rugs.

We believe, that as long as the materials are of the highest quality and sustainable coloring techniques, the technique is a matter of preference. And if you don’t intend to create a collectable piece to last for generations, the hand-tufted technique may be a best option for you.

ABOUT MODERN LUXURY RUGS

If you are wondering about the best place to find the best modern rugs, look no more & discover Loominarea’s modern luxury rug collections.

Loominarea was brought to life by Helena Brana, Founder and Principal of BRANA Designs. Helena Brana is a celebrated European interior designer based in beautiful Corona del Mar. She is known for crafting elegant, mindful and bespoke environments for which she often searches the world for extraordinarily crafted, one-of-a-kind pieces from master artisans. 

When working on high-profile and large-scale projects, Helena found herself frustrated, time and time again, because she could never find rugs that were exactly the right fit in quality, aesthetic, and materials. This led her to set out on a journey to craft the world’s finest rugs in every way – time-honored techniques, ethically sourced, and all-natural materials, and spectacular designs.

Her first few custom rugs were met with glowing feedback from discerning clientele. And thus, Loominarea was born. Our collections are inspired by Helena’s time spent in nature and abroad, and reflect the glory of her surroundings in surrealistic way. 

PS: Just like Helena creates a custom hand-knotted rugs for her exclusive clientele only under Brana Designs label, Loominarea offers custom rugs for the trade & public. There are endless possibilities by designing your own custom, handcrafted rugs with more than 1400 colors, natural dyes, and in any shape and size – and mostly, all our rugs come with a Good Weave label, assuring our products are made without child & forced labor, but also, fair trade.