European Light Rug Collection by bernabeifreeman for Designer Rugs.

Aussie design practice bernabeifreeman is firmly established in the field of textile and furniture. Working with dexterity on projects from ceramics to outdoor furniture, the design duo displays a highly-sophisticated use of colour in their new collection for Designer Rugs.

Featuring four irregular-shaped, hand-tufted wool rugs in the range, the designs reflect their thematic names such as Ocean, Plateau, Spring and Crossing.

Founders and designers Kelly Freeman and Rina Bernabei have worked closely with Designer Rugs’ in-house creative Christine McDonald to define a unique palette and achieve a decidedly more European feel.

Bernabei explains how their creative approach for collection began with the pair taking aerial views of landscapes: “[The rug designs] are all abstracts of landscapes, where we have taken it upon ourselves to formalise the graphic elements. What comes from the natural element, is not just the design and colour, but also the texture; the pile heights and types of pile used to create depth in contour,” she says.

It was through their keen observation of global interior trends that the design duo identified a gap in the market for soft and subtle colour application.

“This is a highly-crafted collection that is the result of experiments with both the texture and colour to achieve subtle gradients and washed, tones,” explains Bernabei. “We felt what was needed in the interior design scene were strong tones of colours, but pared back.”

Christine McDonald worked tirelessly with bernabeifreeman, testing colour swatches to achieve exact shades, and ensuring the perfect gradients and textures were produced in each design.

The Designer Rugs bernabeifreeman collection is on display at Designer Rugs’ showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland and online.

[Images courtesy of Designer Rugs. Photography by Richard Whitbread.]