SAFAVIEH - Thomas O'Brien Collection
Thomas O’Brien for Safavieh...
The inspiration behind the designs.
Thomas O'Brien for Safavieh is a distinctive collection of area rugs characterized by great surprises of scale and very intricate linear detail. But what sets O'Brien's carpets apart is his talent for reinterpreting textile designs into works of art for the floor. Most striking is his use of vintage cloth collected from many cultures as a design point of reference. O'Brien also taps the bold geometric carpet traditions of North Africa and Scandinavia, in lieu of the more formal style of many traditional Eastern genres. For his new collection, he takes a longer leap into the domain of geometrics. Many of the carpets are derived from a 1920's studio book of pottery patterns - an unexpected source of inspiration that is typical of O'Brien's iconoclastic design process. Included are all sorts of trellises, bands, and grids that relate to the designer's use of Moroccan motifs. Other rugs in the collection evolved out of original textile explorations in O'Brien's studio.
The unexpected visuals give the feel of rugs crafted on custom looms, as do the designer's choice of colors. O'Brien features light-and-dark contrasts in earth, sea, and sand tones; and, he works with golden tonal combinations so close that the pattern of the carpet becomes a subdued surprise. The quiet balance of colors will add sensuality and depth to more austere spaces, or, it can make more historical rooms feel up to date. Indeed, O'Brien has conjured a design vocabulary for his second collection for Safavieh that is personal, yet easy to mix with a variety of decorating styles.
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