New Carpet
A Glimpse Behind the Scenes
In the fascinating process of choosing designs and colors for not one, but three new carpets for the Great Rooms at Hyde Hall*, we are consulting with a number of well-known experts on period carpets, among them Rabbit Goody of Thistle Hill Weavers, David Luckham of Living Looms, and Dave Hunt of the Vermont Custom Rug Company.
Samples of period carpet designs provided by David Luckham
In a recent visit to Hyde Hall, Mr. Luckham pointed out that our choice of Drawing Room carpet will depend upon the other two carpets in the Great House—the ones for the Entrance Hall and the Dining Room. “These carpets should not be overly “matched,” he said, “but they should coordinate.” He said that in the period, a certain contrast was desired—enough to make the transition from room to room interesting but not visually jarring or discordant.
Two possible designs from The Grosvenor Wilton Company Ltd., provided by Dave Hunt
Imagine the two carpets above in coordinating colorways and adjacent rooms! The success of this approach depends upon a careful balance of differences and similarities in design and colors.
Grosvenor Wilton sample on floor, showing scale and general appearance in place
George Clarke, as an Englishman of his background and education, understood this implicitly and would most certainly have achieved a correct balance of this kind at Hyde Hall.
* Thanks to several very generous donors