The Rug Company turned the rug into something you buy for the name on it. Christopher and Suzanne Sharp founded it in London in 1997 and started asking fashion designers to draw carpets, which is how Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen and Diane von Furstenberg ended up on people's floors. Each one is hand-knotted in Nepal over roughly four months. Every rug here is an original, authenticated and restored, then delivered in 1 to 5 days. Originals only.
The Rug Company, Hand-Knotted Designer Rugs Since 1997
The Rug Company was founded in 1997 by Christopher and Suzanne Sharp, with a showroom on Holland Park Avenue that opened in 1998 and is still trading. The idea was simple and, at the time, unusual: commission the best designers alive to design rugs. Paul Smith was the first outside designer; a stand-alone collection with Marni followed; and since then more than forty guest designers have worked with the house, among them Vivienne Westwood from 2005, Alexander McQueen, Diane von Furstenberg, Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Saunders and Barber Osgerby.
The making is the other half of it. The rugs are hand-knotted in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the company employs around two thousand people, using Tibetan wool from sheep on the Himalayan plateau, naturally rich in lanolin, often blended with silk. Yarn is hand-carded and handspun, dyed and dried in the sun, then knotted from a hand-painted graph that specifies the colour and placement of every knot, before hand-washing and hand-trimming. A single rug takes months; the company quotes sixteen to twenty-two weeks to make one to order. It is a GoodWeave licensee, which means independently inspected against child and forced labour.
New, these are four and five figure rugs, and the ones with a designer's name on them are the ones people keep. Some collaborations have ended, which quietly turns those rugs into a closed edition. Every original at REHAUS is authenticated, restored where needed, and delivered in 1 to 5 days, well below the price of new. Design doesn't depreciate, and a hand-knotted Tibetan wool rug is built to be walked on for decades and cleaned back up. The Forever Guarantee and a 30-day home trial mean reduced risk. Browse the originals.
The Rug Company: frequently asked questions
What is The Rug Company?
The Rug Company is a British luxury rug brand founded in London in 1997 by Christopher and Suzanne Sharp. It is known for commissioning fashion and interior designers to create rugs, and for hand-knotted production in Nepal using Tibetan wool and silk. It has showrooms in London, New York and more than thirty locations worldwide.
Which designers have made rugs for The Rug Company?
More than forty. Paul Smith was the first outside designer, and the list since has included Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Diane von Furstenberg, Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Saunders, Marni, Barber Osgerby, Mary Katrantzou, Guo Pei and Christopher Kane. Some of those collaborations have since ended, which makes the rugs from them finite.
How are The Rug Company rugs made?
They are hand-knotted in Kathmandu, Nepal. Yarn is hand-carded and handspun, dyed and sun-dried, then knotted around warp threads following a hand-painted graph that sets the colour and position of every knot, before hand-washing and hand-trimming. The company quotes sixteen to twenty-two weeks to make a rug to order. Not every design is knotted; some are handloomed or flatwoven.
Where can I buy pre-owned The Rug Company rugs in the UK?
REHAUS sells authenticated, original The Rug Company rugs in the UK. Every one is checked against the real thing, restored where needed, and delivered nationwide in 1 to 5 days, with the Forever Guarantee and a 30-day home trial. Because designer collaborations end and sizes are finite, the secondary market is often the only route to a particular design. Stock is one of one.
Is pre-owned The Rug Company worth buying?
Yes. A hand-knotted Tibetan wool rug is built to be walked on for decades, and the lanolin in the wool gives it natural stain resistance and cleans up well. Buying pre-owned also reaches designs from collaborations that have ended and cannot be reordered. Every rug at REHAUS is authenticated, restored where needed, and backed by the Forever Guarantee and a 30-day home trial.
What is Tibetan wool?
Tibetan wool is wool from sheep raised on the Himalayan plateau. It is robust and springy, and naturally rich in lanolin, which gives it a degree of built-in stain resistance. The Rug Company uses it on its own and blended with silk, which reflects light and lifts the colour. It is a large part of why these rugs wear as well as they do.
How is a rug delivered, and can I return it?
Each piece is delivered in 1 to 5 days, with white-glove delivery complimentary on qualifying orders. Every order comes with a 30-day home trial, so you can live with it before committing. If it is not right, returns are straightforward. Because each piece is one of one, it is only truly yours once it has shipped.
Why buy The Rug Company from REHAUS?
REHAUS sells originals only. Every rug is authenticated, restored to a high standard, and delivered fast across the UK, with the Forever Guarantee and a 30-day home trial. New, these are four and five figure rugs made to order over months. Here they are checked, restored and ready, including designs that can no longer be ordered at all.
