It’s not just a rug, it’s art 

The flower market at dawn, where shouts of vendors selling their wares mingle with the scents of mogra, champa, and roses—that is what the Ãnändå collection brings to mind. Sona Reddy, Principal Architect of her eponymous studio in Hyderabad, collaborated with Gujarat-based House of Knots to craft four distinct designs that pay tribute to South India's flowers and the women who bring them to us. In the ‘Bela’ rug, for example, we see the hands of women wearing green bangles and holding garlands of flowers. It’s an image that is poignant, nostalgic, and soothing.

Trust legacy rug brand Obeetee and fashion mainstays Abraham & Thakore to create a collection true to India’s cultural heritage. Their newly launched pret selection is influenced by textiles and weaves such as Kantha, Phulkari, and Gamchha. The ‘Matsayalata’ rug, featuring patterns that were found on cave walls in the Stone Age, is a standout, and is available in shades of beige, blue, and black.

At Salone del Mobile Milano 2024, Jaipur Rugs unveiled three collections designed in collaboration with Italian design studios: AMDL Circle by Michele De Lucchi, the Zig Zag edit by DAAA Haus, and the Couture Collection, created in collaboration with Chanel-owned yarn atelier Vimar1991 (which makes those iconic tweed jackets.) It’s easy to see why we’re partial to the last one, which marks the atelier’s foray into carpets and brings bouclé tweed and herringbone twill patterns straight off the runway to our rooms. Also irresistible is DAAA Haus’s ‘Mosaic’ rug, in which a hot pink zig-zag stitch is juxtaposed against a black-and-white background. Inspired by Roman mosaic tiles, it got a fitting launch in Italy.

Eschewing tradition for a more playful approach, artist Vishakha Jindal teamed up with Cocoon Fine Rugs to create five hand-knotted pieces. In her signature style, she experiments with colours, textures, and shapes for a final product that evokes beautiful memories. In ‘Sun Kissed’, for example, the deep shades of a sunset over the sea, a mountain, and a meadow, are all rolled into one. The collection was displayed by Cocoon Fine Rugs as part of Mumbai Gallery Weekend earlier this year.

Architect Veeram Shah of Design ni Dukaan, a multidisciplinary studio based in Ahmedabad, joined hands with Fatima Warsi and Zoheb Khan of rug brand FAZO Project to create a six-piece set of contemporary carpets titled Modernist Rhapsody. The rugs are inspired by legendary minds including Le Corbusier, Sigmund Freud, and Picasso, and historic cities such as Petra. The star of the collection is ‘Dreams of Utopia’, an ode to Roberto Burle Marx, a Brazilian landscape architect whose fluid sweeping lines and interlocking forms make their way into this work of art.