Turquoise Damask Hand-Knotted Bamboo Viscose Rug, Fiber Series

Turquoise Damask Hand-Knotted Bamboo Viscose Rug, Fiber Series — turquoise field with damask figures worked across it, hand-knotted in India from bamboo viscose and cotton. The Fiber series has been on these shelves longer than almost anything else, and the reason is the shine — which is the yarn itself, not a treatment applied afterward. Turquoise is the color that decides who this rug is for.

01What it sits well with

It is a clear, cool blue-green and it does not blend; in a room of carved or inlaid furniture it takes the seriousness out of the wood, and beside plain modern pieces it becomes the only saturated thing in the space.

02Where the Damask comes from

The damask drawing is half classical and half something else, which is why it sits under both kinds of furniture without looking borrowed from either. The same series comes in cream and in mink, if the drawing appeals and the color does not. Bamboo viscose and cotton are knotted by hand, so the pile is soft in a way wool is not — smoother, cooler, and slightly slippery under a bare foot.

03What the yarn is

Bamboo viscose is the correct name for what is sometimes sold as bamboo silk, and it is a cellulose fiber, which is why it reflects light along its length. Cellulose does not like standing water: keep this one out of a bathroom doorway, and have it washed by a professional when it needs it. Hand-knotted in India from bamboo viscose and cotton. Turquoise ground with damask motifs, half classical and half avant-garde. The shine is the fiber itself and will not wear off. Softer and cooler underfoot than a wool pile. Also woven in cream and mink within the Fiber series. Several sizes are made, from mid-room to large sitting-room scale. Keep it away from standing water; professional washing. Turquoise dates faster than beige and ages better than gray, and this one has been on sale here long enough to prove the second half of that.