apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Cool outside of school. We saw these rugs at ICFF at the end of a long aisle of highly manufactured furniture and accessories, and they stood out with their simplicity and their deep, deep color. Created by interior designer, Marla Henderson, in Austin, Texas, the approach is fiercely preservative of ancient methods and natural materials. In her 'Artist Statement,' two lines in particular stand out:

- Create understated luxury rather than ostentatious displays.
- Carve out a new niche - that of the naturalist designer - a nature based aesthetic paradigm - which will restore a measure of sanity to the art of living.

Henderson's rugs are made of new and vintage pieces of handmade, flat woven wool rugs from Turkey. The vintage line is called Babik, and an 8x10 sells for $4,000, while the New Concept 8x10 sells for $1,600. Both lines come in a number of sizes.

These rugs did very well at ICFF, and we saw them in the window of ABC Carpet just a few weeks later. We also recieved an email from Ann Tucker (Marla's right hand), that they are "gearing up to launch our first furniture line made from reclaimed wood." We'll let you know when it comes out. MGR