Since May 2015, our rug Shallow Luna has been enjoying the good company of pieces of art by Anselm Reyle, Björn Dahlem, Karin Sander and Gregor Hildebrandt: It is adorning the floor of architect Arno Brandlhuber's "anti-villa". Far from just blending in with the raw concrete walls, the round hand-knotted rug made in Nepal acts as a sensual counterpart. Just like hundreds of years ago, when a rug was a piece of nature that humans brought into their home, Shallow Luna serves this very same purpose by means of its "watery" surface and full-moon shape. Its smooth texture seduces its owner to pause and relax.
Boasting stunning lake views, the anti-villa lies close to Potsdam, just outside Berlin. True to the principle of "substance over appearance", it sticks out among the exclusive lakeside buildings, in terms of form as well as in terms of concept, presenting grey roughcast walls instead of pompous cream-coloured columns. The building had once housed a GDR knitwear factory, then fallen into disrepair. Today's studio and apartment complex is a prime example of modern rather than imposing architecture. Instead of adding panoramic windows, the owner has knocked irregular holes into the lakeside facade to open up the view. Now the lake and the moon can peek back inside through these large, roughly-hewn holes – and as of this summer, spot a REUBER HENNING rug.