Katherine Carnaby Rugs: London Design, Lustre and Texture

Katherine Carnaby is a London-based designer known for bold patterns and distinctive textures with a modern character. Her rugs are less about a single signature motif and more about how a surface feels and catches the light: silky plains with a deep sheen, hand-spun flatweaves with a soft irregularity, tonal piles that shift as you walk past them. For decorators, that makes the collection an exceptionally useful toolkit, because almost every design can sit quietly in a scheme while still adding something special. Browse the full Katherine Carnaby collection.

Chrome: the luxurious plain

Chrome is the heart of the collection. It is hand woven exclusively for Katherine Carnaby in 100% viscose, with a thick 12 mm silky-smooth pile. The depth of the pile, its subtle sheen and its softness underfoot are what define it.

• A wide palette. Chrome runs from soft neutrals such as Pearl, Putty, Latte and Bone, through contemporary greys like Silver, Zinc and Charcoal, to rich tones including Paprika, Copper and Petrol.
• Chrome Stripe takes the same silky viscose and adds a simple, distinctive tonal stripe, in shades such as Feather and Barley.

See the Chrome collection. As with any viscose rug, Chrome rewards a little understanding of how lustrous fibres behave; our guide to living with a lustrous rug covers styling and care.

Coast: hand-spun flatweaves

Coast is the textural counterpoint to Chrome. These are hand woven flat weaves made from hand-spun wool and viscose yarns, half and half, which gives them a soft, tactile surface.

• Stripes and plains, described as dramatically simple and inspired by nature, in colours such as Oyster, Cream, Taupe, Camel and Charcoal.
• Coast Diamond adds a geometric diamond pattern in Cream, Grey Marl and Charcoal.

Flatweaves are wonderfully versatile: low enough to sit under doors and dining chairs, and easy to layer. See the Coast collection, and our guide to kilims and flatweaves.

Darcy and Onslow: pattern and tone

• Darcy pairs a subtle pattern and palette with the skill of the weaver. It is hand woven in lustrous viscose with a touch of wool, in shades including Mocha, Mushroom, Smoke, Stone Blue, Silver and Auburn. See the Darcy collection.
• Onslow is a sumptuous tonal pile rug in a blend of Tencel and polysilk, which gives it depth and a natural lustre. Its neutral palette is lifted by fashion shades such as Blue, Dusk, Opal and Sand. See the Onslow collection.

Hand-knotted and natural

• Langham is hand knotted by artisan weavers from a mix of hand-spun wool and viscose yarns in a 100-knot Tibetan weave, so the variation of tone and shading is unique to each craftsman. Every piece is washed for added vitality. See Langham LA01.
• Mantra is made from genuine Mongolian lambskins, hand sewn together for a long, curly pile and the ultimate in soft-touch luxury.
• Vintage is a silky-smooth viscose rug with a subtly faded vintage look, in colours including Red, Pink and White, and is offered in limited availability.

How to style Katherine Carnaby

Use the plains as a foundation. A Chrome rug in a soft neutral grounds a room with texture and light rather than pattern, which makes it ideal under a statement sofa or in a scheme that already has plenty going on.

Choose Coast for easy living. The flatweaves suit relaxed rooms, coastal or country schemes, and spaces where a low profile matters.

Let the light do the work. The viscose and Tencel blends look different in daylight and lamplight, and change depending on the direction of the pile. Place them where light falls across the surface, rather than straight onto it, to see them at their best.

Layer textures. A Mantra lambskin over a Chrome or Coast rug in a bedroom or reading corner is a lovely contrast of long and smooth.

A decorator's note

Because so much of Katherine Carnaby's work is about texture and sheen, photographs only tell part of the story; the same colour can read quite differently from one angle to another. If you are weighing up shades or collections, send our team a photograph of your room and tell us about the light, and we will happily help you choose with confidence.