DIFFERENT BUT INTERRELATED - 4 STUNNING RESIDENTIAL RUGS
In 2019 Vice President Ana Cunningham was delighted to call upon her 20 years experience to create a harmonized vision for four handtufted rugs in a modern Toronto home. “Each rug we worked on was tailored to its own space while still maintaining a visual connection to the others,” she said. “The rugs were installed in March 2020 but it is only now that we see the photography and appreciate the full extent of our design work and our mill’s keen eye for production.”
THE HALLWAY RUNNER
The Creative Matters runner for the hallway was designed by Sophie Williams.
The interior designer for the newly-purchased 6,500 square foot home was Samer Shaath at NIVEK REMAS. “The initial impact of the main floor is a long wood-panelled corridor that connects the home from the front entry through to the beautiful back garden,” Samer said. He decided to capitalize on this statement by asking us to create a sixty-foot-long runner that changes hue from dusty blush to burnt orange.
Up close with the texture and colour of the Creative Matters runner for the hallway.
The pattern repeats but the colour evolves. When you enter the house, the runner has a very neutral background that coordinates with the living room rug to the right of the entrance.
THE LIVING ROOM RUG
The Creative Matters rug for the living room was designed by Kayla Bortolotto.
Ana’s favourite aspect of the project is the shaped rug for the living room. “It’s gorgeous,” she said. “From the line work to the shape of the rug, to how it interacts with the space and furniture.” Inspired by sofas with their delicate curves, the contour is a combination of two rounded shapes to accommodate the perimeter of the room.
The floorplan for the living room rug shows how it interacts with the space and furniture.
Eight colours in wool and silk blend to create the overall champagne colour of the rug.
Up close with the texture and colour variations in the Creative Matters rug for the living room.
The texture effect is very elegant but complex to achieve. “The lineal design is translated by inserting lower loop lines tufted in between the higher cut pile which was then trimmed and beveled for a rounded look while the loop - which is there to guide the artisan in the finishing stage - is hidden,” Ana said.
THE FAMILY ROOM RUG
The Creative Matters rug for the family room was designed by Kayla Bortolotto.
The texture of the family room rug was created by the same technique as the living room rug. Also in wool and silk, its ten colours in the rust range add rich colour to this neutral space. The elegant shape was inspired by the curve in the sectional seating. It’s these non-traditional elements that really allow the rugs to connect with their settings.
The final artwork for the Creative Matters family room rug.
THE PIANO BAR RUG
The Creative Matters piano bar rug was designed by Katherine Pezzano.
“Samer directed us towards an inky line drawing with smooth gradations in the field,” said Ana of the highly textural rug with organic foliage that now graces the lower level piano bar room of the home. “It brings a lot of excitement to the space. The gradation is quite subtle but it actually required 14 colours in wool and silk to create this effect.”
This rug, plus a coordinating runner, was made for another level of the house. The design complements the other rugs, specially the main floor runner, as it too has subtle gradation in the background with a graphic, textural element in the foreground.
“Because these four responsibly sourced rugs were handtufted in wool and silk by the skilled artisans at our mill in Thailand, we know they will retain their appeal for many many years to come,” said Ana.