Nuva: Handloom Silk in Camel, Chocolate and Beige

The Rugberry Nuva Silk Rug is handloom woven in Botanical Silk, low and fine, with a sheen that deepens and softens as the light turns. In Camel, Chocolate and Beige, it is a rug for the bedroom, where feet are bare and traffic is light.

What is the Nuva Silk Rug?

Nuva is a handloom rug woven in silk, with a low surface that shows cloudy tonal shifts across its length. Rugberry describes it as cool underfoot, with a sheen that changes as the light moves.

It is stocked in 5x8, 6x9, 8x10, 9x12, 10x14 and 12x15 ft, from about ₹40,000 in the smallest size. Like most of the range, it is listed in any size and colour to order.

Why does a silk rug suit an Indian bedroom?

A silk rug suits a bedroom because the bedroom is where its strengths count and its limits do not. Feet are bare, traffic is light, and the room is often cooled by an air conditioner, so a cool, smooth fibre feels right underfoot.

In a summer bedroom in Mumbai or Delhi, a deep wool pile can feel warm by the bed. Nuva lies low and stays cool, so the first step out of bed lands on something smooth rather than heavy.

The other reason is light. Bedrooms are lit softly, by lamps and filtered morning sun, and silk responds to soft light with a gentle glow rather than glare.

The bedroom is where silk's strengths count and its limits do not.

Which Nuva colour suits a bedroom?

Choose Beige for a pale, airy bedroom, Camel for warmth and Chocolate for a deeper, cocooning room.

• Beige: a pale cream that sits on white marble or light oak and keeps a small bedroom feeling open.
• Camel: a soft gold that glows under bedside lamps and pairs with linen, cane and teak.
• Chocolate: a deep brown with a grey cast in daylight, calm against white bedding and dark wood.

For a bedroom with a west window and strong evening sun, choose Camel or Chocolate over Beige, because a pale silk can look washed out in hard light. Our guide to silk rug sheen explains why colour shifts so much with the angle of light.

What size Nuva rug goes under a bed?

For a queen bed, a 6x9 ft Nuva laid across the bed works; for a king bed, an 8x10 ft. The aim is about 2 ft of rug on each side of the bed, so both feet land on silk.

• Queen bed, 5 ft wide: a 6x9 ft rug laid crosswise leaves about 2 ft on each side, with the rug starting a foot or so in front of the bedside tables.
• King bed, 6 ft wide: an 8x10 ft rug laid crosswise leaves about 2 ft on each side.
• Compact bedroom of about 11x12 ft: two 5x8 ft rugs, one on each side, can be easier than one large rug squeezed between wardrobe and bed.

Our bedroom rug size guide covers more layouts, including twin beds and rooms with a built in wardrobe.

Where should a silk rug not go?

A silk rug should not go where traffic is heavy or spills are likely: the entrance, the dining room, the main family living room or beside a kitchen. Silk marks more easily than wool when it is walked on in outdoor footwear or left wet.

For a living room used by the whole family every day, choose a wool or wool and silk rug over Nuva, because wool recovers from traffic in a way silk does not. Keep Nuva for the rooms where it is walked on gently.

How do you care for a silk rug in a bedroom?

Care for Nuva with light, regular attention rather than strong cleaning.

• Vacuum weekly with suction only, or sweep gently with a soft brush in the direction of the sheen.
• Blot any spill at once with a dry white cloth. Do not rub, since rubbing can roughen the silk.
• Draw the curtains in the hottest afternoon hours, and rotate the rug every six months so the colour softens evenly.
• Leave deep cleaning to a specialist in silk rugs.

Our guide to cleaning a silk rug covers stains step by step.

Frequently asked questions

Is a silk rug cool underfoot?

Yes. Rugberry describes the Nuva Silk Rug as cool underfoot, which makes it comfortable in summer bedrooms and air conditioned rooms. Its low surface holds less warmth than a deep wool pile.

Can a Nuva silk rug go in a living room?

It can go in a quiet sitting room with light traffic. For a busy family living room, a wool or wool and silk rug is the more practical choice.

Why does my silk rug look darker from one side?

Silk reflects light along the direction of its surface, so it looks paler from one side and deeper from the other. This shading is a natural property of silk and not a fault.

Three warm tones, kept for the quiet room. Material first. More in silk rugs.