Warm feelings for carpets

No other interior decoration has a deeper relationship with mankind than the carpet. Insofar as you can call an object that is several thousand years old an interior decoration.

The oldest known hand-knotted carpet - called the Pazyryk carpet or the Gorny-Altai carpet after its location - was found during excavations in Siberia in 1947. It was frozen in a block of ice and was therefore remarkably well preserved. The rug measures 183 x 200 centimetres and was probably knotted in Armenia or Persia around 400 BC. It is a magnificent piece of work with a density of approximately 360,000 knots per square metre. The design has a rosette motif in the centre and riding warriors and a procession of deer in the borders.

Over the millennia, carpets have served both decorative and functional purposes. We have rolled it out over floors or hung it on walls, flaunted it as a magnificent status symbol or pulled it over us as a blanket to keep out the worst of the cold, woven from silk or rags. It has muffled sound and protected surfaces. Over time, we've come to prefer it as both a soft, all-encompassing blanket and a complete absence on white-painted wooden floors.

Today, the position of the carpet is stronger than ever - across the board. It is a central part of interior design, either discreetly supporting and emphasising other pieces of furniture or expressively eye-catching on its own. Signed Swedish vintage oilcloth or luxurious modern Italian wool dreams? A matter of taste. Interest has risen in both. A number of exciting new producers and collections have emerged and many of us are choosing to invest in carpets in our homes. The trend for long-haired carpets continues and has been joined by wool carpets, which are durable and often reversible.

Our own collection Nordiska Galleriet Rugs consists of cohesive single-coloured hand-tufted wool rugs of high quality in different colours that can be matched with many things. The idea is for them to provide a warm, cosy foundation and contribute a colour that suits each room, without taking over from the rest of the interior. The carpets are manufactured in the best possible way by a family business in India, where this expertise has a long history.

We also have rugs from French-born, Milan-based cc-tapis, which produces pure works of art in Nepal in collaboration with the world's leading designers. Cassina, Baxter, Maxalto/B&B Italia also supply very fine rugs from Italy. Swedish Kasthall is synonymous with quality and a tradition of manufacturing in Kinna. In Palma, Majorca, Dusty Deco draws on a source of inspiration full of eclectic antiques to create designs in tune with the times. Their new 'Shaggy' range is stunning.

Rugs allow you to bring your furniture together and create a unified interior. If you have several seating groups in the same room, you can create islands, cosy places in the room, which are connected by rugs. A general piece of advice is to choose a really big rug rather than one that is a little too small. When you pull out a chair, for example, it should still fit on the rug. In bedrooms, a dense and soft carpet is great for burying your feet in in the morning.

A carpet immediately gives a cosy impression. Whichever one you choose, it lays the foundation for that cosy feeling we all want to achieve.

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