Square, rectangular, oval, unstructured… Whatever their shape or size, rugs bring a touch of warmth to our interior and exterior spaces. Among the latter, Berber carpets have the particularity of transporting us in the blink of an eye to the other side of the Mediterranean. Often as aesthetic as they are ethical , these are made by hand using ancestral know-how from natural fibers . Installed on the floor or on the wall, next to each other, stacked on top of each other… This is something to let the sun into your home.
5 ideas to copy to bring a holiday home feel to your interior Behind this mysterious name hide Lamia Boua and Wilfrid Thoumazeau, lovers of Berber art. They roam the mountains of Morocco to find local artisans or finished, unique and precious pieces. They are obviously capable of telling you the story of each of their rugs and will do so with pleasure. More than a rug, you will purchase an artistic piece, a tradition and you will help perpetuate this heritage.
At Secret Berbère, apart from a few pop-up stores in Paris, you will find all their models on the Internet in an e-shop. Lamia and Wilfrid know that it is sometimes complicated to buy and fall in love without having seen or touched the carpet. This is why the site states: “Before committing, customers can try the rug that interests them in their home, free of charge.”
Beni Ouarain, Azilal, Talsint, Boucherouite, Beni M’Guild… all kinds of Berber carpets – varying in their compositions and colors which change depending on the tribe that makes them – are listed at Secret Berbère.
Decorating advice: according to the magnificent photographs on their site, Berber rugs are the best friends of vintage furniture, 50s style, as well as Scandinavian furniture.
If you know the store and the furniture publisher Colonel, you must be surprised to find this brand in our list. But it is nevertheless its place since Yann Poncelet and Isabelle Gilles, the creators, buy carpets in Morocco to resell them in their Parisian boutique.
A small selection of rugs also appears on the brand’s website, between models Ferm Living, Gan, Muuto and Hay, the Berber rug holds a good place in this mainly Scandinavian panel.
Decorating advice: in their store, it is very natural for this colorful element to mix with pieces with a Nordic spirit. This is what Yann advises: “We like to mix our carpets, to counterbalance their very colorful side, with fairly minimal furniture and light wood, for example our Kyoto sideboard (editor’s note: the sideboard in the photo above). “
With a Moroccan father, Nadia has long admired her Berber grandmother weaving carpets and then preciously collecting them. So it seemed logical that Nadia would pursue her passion for weaving as she grew up. After a time in fashion, she finally decided to create her online sales concept: Rock the Kilim.
If Nadia searches all over Morocco in search of the most beautiful and precious rug, she has also set up a tailor-made system where each customer can order the rug of their dreams based on a quote. For the production, Rock the Kilim collaborates with cooperatives and weavers who have perfect mastery of traditional know-how. The site specifies: “Thanks to these collaborations, women make a decent living from their work and have financial independence. Some also benefit from literacy courses and other skills.”
Decorating advice: “I think that the Berber carpet is definitely the little something that humanizes a raw atmosphere or harmonizes a contemporary interior” explains Nadia. She kindly gave us advice by style of rug: “The Beni Ouarain, the famous two-tone white and black rugs, are the easiest to highlight. They are the ones that inspired artists like Paul Klee or Le Corbusier. Azilal, which sometimes have garish colors, can be placed in a bedroom. The Boucherouite, called “poor carpet” because made from recycled fabrics, are perfect in a child’s bedroom or coordinated with vintage furniture or in rattan. Finally the Kilim has its place everywhere!”
Caroline Gayral fell under the spell of Morocco when she was 18. A law student, she travels when she can in this country and brings Berber carpets to her Parisian studio. On her site, her presentation evokes this passion which has become her profession: “As soon as her life as a lawyer allows it, she escapes to Morocco to immerse herself in the culture and artisanal talents, looking for a Beni Ouarain carpet for a friend, one Boucharouite for another… One thing led to another, his passion became expertise, then a profession, then FRAGMENTS was born.”
Constantly looking for new pieces, the collection is constantly evolving, reinforced by a tailor-made service for Beni Ouarain rugs. The old models of these rugs were traditionally used in nomadic tents and Berber houses in mountainous areas, these large and thick natural wool rugs are generally too large for our interiors.
Decorating advice:For Caroline, “Berber rugs give shine to any floor, this is particularly evident on parquet or concrete”. She adds: “Despite their rustic, artisanal and sometimes very old character (the collection includes rugs from the 1940s), they mix harmoniously with sophisticated worlds. I also prefer to see Berber carpets in worlds that are not are not ethnic at all.” We also keep his advice on the locations to give the rugs: room and living room rather than putting one in each room.
