Peony Rugs: The Weaving Tradition Behind the Pattern

Peony is a real place in the history of carpet weaving, and the name on a modern rug is a reference to a specific tradition rather than decoration. Here is what it refers to, and what the pattern is actually saying.

Where the design comes from

The peony has been the flower of rank and prosperity in Chinese art since the Tang dynasty, and travelled west through textiles into Persian and Ottoman ornament as one of the great borrowed motifs.

In our range this sits in the Botanical collection. Flower design taken from the botanical plate and the herbaceous border rather than from the Persian vine — clear, spaced and legible.

How to read the pattern

Full open blooms with layered petals. The peony is drawn face-on rather than in profile, which is what gives it its weight.

Peony in a machine washable rug

Drawn plant forms need space around them to stay legible. The temptation is to fill the ground, and the discipline is not to.

Our Peony designs are woven in chenille polyester on a woven cotton backing with a non-slip finish. That construction is what makes the rug washable at 30°C in a domestic machine — there is no latex or rubber layer to crack, and no wool to felt. It is a genuinely different object from the hand-knotted rugs the name refers to, and it is meant to be: one is an heirloom, the other is a floor covering you can put in the wash.

Colours it comes in

We currently weave 1 Peony design, across 2 colour families — green & khaki and mink & brown. Prices run from £50 for the 60 × 100 cm to £185 for the 200 × 300 cm, with delivery to the UK and Europe included.

What size to buy

Botanical repeats suit bedrooms and quieter rooms, where the 120 × 180 cm and 155 × 230 cm sizes tend to be the useful ones.

Every design is woven in all ten sizes: 60 x 100, 80 x 150, 100 x 200, 120 x 180, 80 x 300, 100 x 300, 155 x 230, 200 x 300, 160 round, 200 round cm. We would put Peony in the living room, the dining room, the hallway and the entryway before anywhere else.

Common questions

Is this the same as a hand-knotted Peony?

No. A hand-knotted Peony is a different object entirely — tied by hand in wool or silk, often over months, and priced accordingly. What we make is a power-woven washable rug that uses the Peony design vocabulary. The pattern is the inheritance; the construction is modern.

What colours does Peony come in?

2 colour families — green & khaki and mink & brown. We file a rug under the colour it reads as across a room, not the colour covering the most area, so an ivory ground with strong blue motifs is listed under blue.

Where should a Peony rug go?

The living room, The dining room, The hallway and The entryway suit it best. Anchor the sofa and coffee table. Because it washes at 30°C, the rooms most people avoid putting a rug in — kitchen, hallway, under a dining table — are the ones where it earns its keep.

Living with it

• Machine washable at 30°C on a gentle cycle — sizes up to 120 × 180 cm fit a standard 7 kg drum.
• Non-slip woven cotton backing: no separate underlay needed on wood, tile or laminate.
• Low pile, so robot vacuums pass over it without snagging.
• No latex, glue or rubber crumb — nothing to break down into dust.
• Dry flat or over a rail. Never tumble dry.