Adam Nathaniel Furman’s ‘joyously deviant’ Mediterranean rugs for FLOOR_STORY

Adam Nathaniel Furman is no stranger to unrestrained colours and patterns of playful abandon – from his flamboyant, fun interior designs to his colourful art and product designs, his sensibilities are laced with joy, lightness and a plethora of hues. He follows it up with his ‘joyously deviant’ rug collection Mediterranean, designed for London-based rug manufacturer FLOOR_STORY. The vibrant collection consists of 13 different rugs made from 100 per cent New Zealand wool, hand tufted, hand woven and handmade to glory by rug makers in India.

“I work hard to make sure that everything I design embodies a kind of voluptuous sensuality, expressed through colour, texture, pattern, form and ornamentation. The designs are intended to immerse you in history and tradition, but treat both with lightness, irreverence and fun. This collection brings references and techniques from ancient times and the more recent past, into the present, with joy,” shares Adam Nathaniel Furman.

According to Furman, the carpet design is inspired from the ‘Mediterranean, lazy summer holidays, ancient ruins, and divine sunsets’,  borrowing its aesthetic from the historic, art and architectural elements found in Greece and Italy, such as Greek ancient pottery and layered, radial Roman mosaics. “They are meant to recall both the incredible history and ornamental traditions there, as well as the glorious brightness of exquisite pigments under the bright sun, from the repetitive geometries on ancient pottery, to the exquisite radial forms of roman mosaic pavements, to the little domed and vaulted houses that populate the islands of the Aegean, to the strong primary shapes of the marble pavement in the Pantheon,” he mentions.

Rendered in black and white, pink, blue, mint and yellow, the rectangular Dipylon rug designs are named after the Dipylon master, a Greek vase painter who produced some of the greatest pottery of the pre-classical period, decorating them with geometric, repetitive patterns. Armerina are the multi-coloured, circular pieces that take after the iconic, layered mosaics of Piazza Armerina in Italy. Pantheon comes in cheerful blue and orange, dotted with bold squares, triangles and circles that borrow from the monument’s ancient marble tiled pavement. Hesperides is informed by a colourful gradient laid along its elongated form, inspired by the Greek nymphs of the evening and golden light of sunsets, while the repetitive Meandros is a ‘simple, bold love letter’ to the ancient, classical Greek decorative borders, made from a continuous line that shapes itself into a repeated, geometric motif.