Tapison Home Kilim Kaleidoscope 769

Count past ten colours and you start to lose track, which is rather the point.

The Tapison Home Kilim Kaleidoscope 769 sets row after row of small hexagon medallions over a deep navy ground, each one its own little burst of mustard yellow, rust orange, teal, burgundy, ivory and dusty mauve. No two motifs repeat in quite the same combination, so the eye keeps finding something new, while the navy underneath holds the whole thing together and keeps it from ever feeling cluttered. From across a room it reads as a rich, dark patchwork. Step closer and it splits into dozens of tiny, deliberate compositions.

Should you want to see all those colours in person before deciding, the showroom in Willebroek is a short trip from Antwerp, Brussels, Mechelen and Sint Niklaas, and wherever in Europe you live, delivery costs nothing extra once you have.

Made entirely by hand in Afghanistan from pure wool, the Tapison Home Kilim Kaleidoscope 769 carries no pile and no backing. The pattern is built directly into the weave rather than added on top, which is why it shows through almost as clearly on the reverse as it does on the front. This flatweave construction keeps the rug light and pliable for its size, a little over three metres by two, and the wool itself only grows softer and richer in tone with years of light and use.

A pattern this layered does best with a little restraint around it. Let it ground a seating area on pale oak or polished concrete, where the navy base reads almost solid from a distance and the colour reveals itself the closer you get. Its generous proportions suit an open living room as comfortably as a long dining table, and because so many tones already live in the design, it sits easily alongside furniture in leather, dark wood or brass without needing to match anything in particular.

Every Tapison Home Kilim is woven once and never again, and the Tapison Home Kilim Kaleidoscope 769 is no exception. A medallion may sit a fraction off centre, a dye lot may run slightly warmer in one row than another, and these small irregularities are the proof of a real loom and a real weaver rather than something to overlook. What you see in these photographs is the actual rug that arrives at your door.

Living with a kelim like this one is refreshingly simple. Both sides are equally finished, so flip it occasionally to even out wear, vacuum it gently on a low setting, and turn it from time to time so light and footfall don't settle on one half. Blot spills rather than rubbing them in, and have it professionally washed every few years. Treated this way, it only grows more comfortable, and more itself, with time.