The Rug Company

Kelly Wearstler takes the floor with a range of graphic prints for The Rug Company

Hollywood regency can be tricky to pull off. Mixing baroque elements with chinoiserie or deco prints with ethnic objects can be disastrous in the wrong hands. However, Beverly Hills-based Kelly Wearstler has the technique down pat. We have long been huge fans of her commercial interiors, notably for the Viceroy Palm Springs and Santa Monica hotels, and were the first to applaud her seeming disregard for uniformity of style or period and, instead, her use of colour to tie together her interiors.

Wearstler is now teaming up with London-based firm The Rug Company to design an eight-piece, handmade collection. It comes as no surprise that luxury is the order of the day. Each design is hand-knotted in silken wool blends or Tibetan wool, showcasing the variety of eclectic inspirations that have made Wearstler's work unique. The collection's modern graphic patterns nod to such sources as a graffiti-covered door in New York, the op art paintings of Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley, overlapping seashells and a print from one of the designer's favourite vintage dresses.

Wearstler has been careful not to let the rugs overpower the rest of an interior by muting the colour palettes with neutral shades to give a contemporary feel. We particularly favour the 1960s spirit of the 'Maze' rug (pictured previous page). 'I used a piece of needlepoint art from my own personal collection as the starting point for the design, then chose soothing tones of blue and green to temper the kinetic nature of the pattern,' explains Wearstler.

Rugs aren't always the sexiest items of home decor, but this ambient design and aquatic palette make us want to lie back and stretch out, clothed or not.* The Rug Company, 124 Holland Park Avenue, London W11, tel: 44.20 7229 5148, www.therugcompany.info