Stories Woven in Motion
From the dusty trade routes of the Silk Road to the quiet geometry of pre-colonial India, we trace the origins of artisan flatweave rugs—and the makers who still speak their language.
There is a reason the flatweave has endured for centuries: it was born for movement. Unlike the heavy, high-pile carpets designed for the static palaces of Europe, the flatweave (or kilim) belongs to the nomad. It was created to be rolled, carried, and laid down again—a portable piece of architecture that could turn a patch of desert sand into a home.
At Reeva Sethi Home, our collection is deeply indebted to this lineage. When you trace the geometric patterns of our Newport or Montauk rugs, you are seeing echoes of the Silk Route—symbols that once served as a visual language for traders moving between Rajasthan, Persia, and the Caucasus.
Geometry as Language
The motifs found in our collection are not random; they are a study in restraint. In pre-colonial India, ornament was never applied without meaning. The sharp diamonds, repeating stripes, and stepped medallions were often abstractions of the natural world—running water, mountain passes, or the protection of the evil eye.
We have stripped these patterns back to their essence. By rendering them in a tonal palette of scarab greens, indigos, and sandy creams, we allow the geometry to speak clearly. It is a "quiet" history—one that sits comfortably in a Saratoga living room while whispering of a much older world.
The Hand of the Maker: Crafting Artisan Flatweave Rugs
In an era of machine-made perfection, there is a distinct luxury in the "hand." Every rug in this collection is hand-knotted or hand-woven by artisans whose families have held this knowledge for generations.
You can feel this heritage in the tension of the weave. A machine creates a flat, soulless perfection. The hand of an artisan creates texture—slight variations in the yarn, a subtle oscillation in the stripe, a density that changes with the humidity of the weaving day. This is what we call "stories woven in motion."
REEVA SETHI, founder and principal designer of RS Studio, creates interiors rooted in classical proportion and material restraint. Her work reflects Northern California light, favoring permanence, craftsmanship, and composed spaces designed to endure beyond trend.
