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CARPETS
59
June15
Yes, you can – and having total control
over the design is the best way to ensure
your rug will make the most of the space
it’s intended for, says MELVYN KHONG
of The Rug Maker. For one thing, you
can order exactly the right size and
shape for the space. Secondly, you can
choose your ideal colour-way.
His clients include both homeowners
and interior designers who are looking
for something special, or something to
fit a particular set of requirements.
“We sit down for a chat to find out their
needs, the kind of home they have and
what their lifestyle is like – does it include
children, pets? You don’t want to spend
thousands of dollars on a pale silk living-
room carpet if you have a toddler or a
puppy running around.”
Wool is always a good choice –
and The Rug Maker uses only New
Zealand wool – as much for its beauty
and wonderful durability as for its
safety: being both non-allergenic and
non-combustible, it has an excellent
fire-rating.
Pure silk from either Thailand or
China is, as you’d expect, the most
expensive. However, says Melvyn, a
similar sheen can be achieved with
“bamboo silk”, an increasingly popular,
natural material that costs no more than
synthetic “viscose silk” and is far more
environmentally friendly.
SIZE GUIDE
Whether you’re buying a readymade
carpet or ordering a bespoke one,
expert advice will make sure it’s the
right size.
“It can be hard to find a readymade
rug to fit a dining room,” Melvyn points
out. “We normally take the size of the
table, plus the depth of the chair (usually
about 60cm), then add another 10 or 20
centimetres so the chair remains on the
rug when pulled out.
For a living room, he says, the larger
the rug the better it will look – and the
larger the room will look, too. But this
CAN I DESIGN MY
OWN CARPET?
also depends on the size of the room.
For a large, open space, you could use
the rug to demarcate the seating area,
all the furniture sitting within its borders.
In a medium-sized room, the rug might
be placed halfway through the depth of
the sofa; for a smaller room, maybe just
in front of the sofa.
“One hard and fast rule, though, is
that your rug should extend beyond the
edges of the sofa; otherwise, it looks
awkward.”