The Rise to Fame of the Moroccan Berber Rugs

In the last few years, modern interior trends have been graced by Moroccan rugs. Rugs characterized by high pile fluffs and thick knots of pure wool, like the minimalist Beni Ourain have become a center of attraction in many homes.

Moroccan Berber tribes traditionally used ‘flat weave’ techniques in creating an impressive array of different types of rugs. These include woven floor coverings without a thick knotted pile, blankets and kilim (called hanbals in Morocco). The designs of the rugs are captivating; featuring a simple harmonious intermarriage of color and often based on ordered geometric shapes. In a room, these rugs exhibit both drama and a sense of modernity at the same time.

Weaving Traditions

A large part of the economy of Moroccan Berber pastoralists and peasant farmers was based on sheep breeding. The beautiful textiles of the Beni Ourain rugs, for instance, reflected the level of importance of wool in every aspect of life of the Berber tribes. The rugs were woven by women who mostly created the rugs based on the important stages of a person’s life such as a wedding (Handira and wedding capes), warm blankets for winter months and flat floor coverings for their wooden houses.

The number of vibrant weaving traditions for the rugs was just as many as the Moroccan tribes. While some used natural dyes and dyed with henna, other tribes used brown, bold red, tangerine, magenta, rose and mauve dyes were used.

Because of the weaving techniques employed, bold geometric designs and strong bands of color mostly combined with cream or white as a demarcation for the motifs. The energetic design of a white Moroccan rug, for instance, is perfect with a muted interior palette.

Authentic Beni Ourain Moroccan Rugs

The best Moroccan Beni Ourain has unique design characteristics. Whereas the Beni Ourain carpets mostly sold today are simple brown and graphic cream, there are other less popular Moroccan tribes who wove rugs with complex, meandering, high-energy changing designs in bright, warm, bold and vibrant colors.

Original Berber carpets that are neither ‘aged’ or ‘quic fixed’ have gotten rarer with time, and finding an authentic pure white Moroccan rug can today be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.

In modern homes, Moroccan rugs with vibrant colors and designs present an opportunity to create an authentic eclectic style characterized by a myriad of art items, patterns, and fabrics. They also provide a chance to deploy the unexpected use of color and material, and juxtapose light with dark, traditional with modern and rough with glossy.

The Beni Ourain rugs in our handpicked selection will allow you to connect to the natural tradition, the rural and the traditional Berber craft. Their vibrant character suit modern homes and they add personality, spontaneity and a burst of color to any room.