When The Rug Company invited Elena to collaborate on a bespoke rug design, it presented the opportunity to work with one of our favorite brands, and on top of that, to design with carte blanche. Naturally, she created a rug truly unlike any other.
Inspired to bring a 3D element to a typically 2D object, Elena designed Undercover using a trompe l’oeil effect – which as it turns out, is *not* easy to achieve with rugs. “Studying many different options is at the root of our practice,” says Elena. “To create the trompe l’oeil effect, we looked at many different approaches, and worked closely with The Rug Company to determine how to best bring our idea to life.” Over many months, the optical illusion effect was refined and perfected, and the final result made its debut at Exhibition The Barn.
Undercover design marries optical illusion with traditional ornamentation, as a floral-patterned rug appears to peel back from the floor at opposing corners. “I wanted to do something a little differently,” says Elena. “We typically see rugs as a purely decorative element, and I wanted to think about them in a more architectural way.”
