Black, white and Paris

Few designers have shaped how women dress as completely as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. Born in 1883 in Saumur, in western France, she spent part of her childhood in an orphanage at the abbey of Aubazine, and the stark black and white of that world is often credited as an early influence on her taste. She opened a hat shop in Paris in 1910 and, within a decade, was dressing women in soft jersey, simple lines and pockets, freeing them from corsets and fuss. From her house at 31 rue Cambon, she built a language of style that still reads instantly: black and white, quilting, tweed, pearls and the camellia.

A Chanel-inspired rug borrows that language for the floor of a closet, a vanity corner or a glamorous bedroom. Ours are printed into short velvet, so crisp blacks and soft creams come out clean, and they go in the washing machine. To be clear from the start: these are independent designs inspired by the style, not Chanel products, and they don't use the brand's logos or monogram.

Chanel-inspired designs

Design	The look	Best in
Quilted diamonds	A stitched diamond pattern, printed in black, cream or blush	Closets, vanities, glam bedrooms
Tweed look	Flecked bouclé texture in pink, black and cream	Dressing rooms, bedrooms
White camellia	A single camellia on black, often on a round rug	Entryways, vanity corners
Pearls	Strands of pearls draped across black or ivory	Bridal suites, glam bedrooms
Breton stripes	Navy or black stripes on white	Bedrooms, coastal-chic rooms
Fashion sketch	Watercolor Paris fashion illustrations	Studios, salons, teen rooms

The quilted diamond

In February 1955, Chanel introduced a quilted shoulder bag on a chain, named the 2.55 after its launch date, and its diamond stitching became one of the most recognizable patterns in fashion. A quilted-diamond rug recreates that look as a print: soft diamonds with stitched lines and a subtle shadow, in classic black, creamy white or blush pink. It's flat, printed velvet rather than padded leather, so it's easy to vacuum and goes in the washing machine, but on the floor of a walk-in closet it reads as pure Parisian polish.

Tweed

Chanel began working with tweed in the 1920s, a rugged Scottish fabric she reimagined for women, and the collarless tweed jacket she perfected after reopening her house in 1954 became a lasting classic. A tweed-look rug prints that flecked, nubby texture, pink and cream threads woven with black or gold, onto velvet. It brings warmth and softness to a dressing room or a bedroom, and it's far easier to clean than real bouclé.

The camellia

The camellia was Chanel's favorite flower: perfectly round, with no scent to compete with her perfume, and it became her emblem, appearing on brooches, buttons and boutique windows. A single white camellia on a black round rug is a simple, elegant design for an entryway or a vanity corner. For more blooms, see our flower rugs, and for circles, our round rugs, from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across.

Pearls and costume jewelry

Chanel helped make costume jewelry fashionable, mixing real and imitation pearls in long, layered strands. A rug with strings of pearls draped across black or ivory velvet is a glamorous design for a bridal suite, a vanity area or a dressing room. Pair it with a mirrored tray and a velvet stool.

The little black dress

In 1926, Vogue published a drawing of a simple black Chanel dress and compared it to the Ford Model T, a design anyone could wear. The little black dress has been a wardrobe staple ever since. A black rug with a single fashion-sketch silhouette of a dress, a hat and a strand of pearls is a chic, graphic piece for a closet or a fashion student's room.

Breton stripes

Chanel is widely credited with bringing the striped sailor shirt of French fishermen into women's fashion in the 1910s, after summers in the seaside towns of Normandy. A Breton-stripe rug, navy or black on white, is relaxed and effortlessly French, perfect for a bedroom or a coastal-chic living room.

Coromandel screens

Chanel's private apartment at 31 rue Cambon was filled with Chinese Coromandel lacquer screens, black and gold panels painted with birds, flowers and landscapes. That opulent chinoiserie is a less obvious but beautiful side of her style. For designs in that spirit, see our chinoiserie rugs.

The mirrored staircase

At 31 rue Cambon, a spiral staircase lined with mirrors leads up from the boutique to the salons. Chanel liked to sit near the top, out of sight, watching her collections in the reflections and the faces of the audience below. That play of mirrors, black and cream inspired a rug design of faceted, mirror-like panels framed in fine gold lines, a glamorous choice for an entryway or a dressing room.

A house that kept reinventing itself

Chanel closed her couture house during the Second World War and returned in 1954, at the age of 71, to a skeptical press, then won over a new generation. After her death in 1971, at the Ritz in Paris where she had lived for years, the house was led from 1983 by Karl Lagerfeld, who played with its codes for more than three decades, until his death in 2019. That habit of reinventing the classics is the spirit behind our designs, too: familiar elements like quilting, tweed and pearls, reworked in new colors.

Entryways and hallways

A black-and-white rug just inside the front door sets an elegant tone. Keep it indoors, out of the weather, and choose Standard for its grip on tile and wood. Down a hallway, a custom runner with a quilted pattern or Breton stripes makes a narrow space feel like a boutique corridor.

Walk-in closets and dressing rooms

A walk-in closet is where a Chanel-inspired rug feels most at home. A quilted-diamond or tweed-look rug in black, cream or blush, centered under a closet island or a dressing stool, makes the space feel like a boutique. A 3.3×5 or 4×6 ft rug suits most closets. Choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, about 700 g/m², for the softest feel underfoot.

Vanities and beauty corners

In front of a makeup vanity, a small camellia or pearl rug finishes a beauty corner. Under a vanity chair with casters, choose Standard, 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back, about 500 g/m², which stays put and lets the wheels roll.

Salons and studios

Lash studios, nail salons and boutiques often use black, white and blush to signal elegance. A Chanel-inspired rug at reception or under a client chair adds polish, and Standard holds up best to busy foot traffic. Our office and studio rugs page has more ideas.

Glam bedrooms

In a glamorous bedroom, a black-and-white quilted rug or a soft pink tweed-look rug pairs beautifully with a tufted headboard, mirrored nightstands and a crystal lamp. For more layouts, see our bedroom rugs. For a polished stone look, our marble rugs pair well with black and white.

Dorms and teen rooms

A blush quilted rug or a Paris fashion-sketch design suits a dorm room or a teen's bedroom, adding instant style to a small space. Choose Standard on a hard dorm floor so it stays put.

Colors

The signature palette is black and white, with cream, beige, gold and blush pink as companions. Black and cream is the most timeless; blush and cream feels softer and more romantic; black and gold feels the most opulent.

Other designer-inspired rugs

For more fashion houses, see our Dior-inspired, Louis Vuitton-inspired, Gucci-inspired and Hermès-inspired rugs, and for streetwear, our hypebeast and streetwear rugs.

Gifts

A Chanel-inspired rug makes a stylish gift for a fashion lover, a bride-to-be or a friend moving into a new apartment. A camellia rug is the safest choice; a custom design with their initials in an elegant serif font is the most personal.

Your own design

Want your initials in an elegant monogram, a quilted pattern in your closet's colors or a fashion sketch of your own? Our custom rugs can print it in any size up to 5′11″ × 10′, or cut it to shape. Please only send artwork you're allowed to use, which rules out brand logos you don't own. Custom rugs are made just for you and can't be returned.

Sizes, shipping and returns

Rectangles come in 2×3, 2.6×3.9, 3.3×5, 4×6 and 5×7 ft, and round rugs from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across. Custom sizes go up to 5′11″ × 10′. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that. Unused rugs can be returned within 30 days on US orders; custom rugs can't be returned.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes, and blot spills with cold water right away. The design is printed into the fibers, so the blacks stay deep and the creams stay clean, wash after wash.

A note on the brand

Lions, wheat and the number five

Coco Chanel filled her life with private symbols. Born under the sign of Leo, she collected lions in bronze, crystal and gold, and her apartment at 31 rue Cambon in Paris was full of them. Sheaves of wheat stood for abundance and good luck, and she considered five her lucky number, a belief that shaped more than one famous decision.

Those symbols translate into rugs that feel like the house without borrowing its logo. A gilded lion on black, a single sheaf of golden wheat on ivory, or a scattering of small gold stars and fives on cream gives a dressing room or a bedroom the private glamour of her apartment. Pair them with crystal, beige and black lacquer, the colors of rue Cambon, for a look that is quietly Parisian.

These motifs are also a more personal gift than the familiar quilted diamond: a lion for a fellow Leo, wheat for a new home, a five for a fifth anniversary.

Padrift is an independent studio. Chanel and Gabrielle Chanel are named only to describe the style and history our designs are inspired by. We are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Chanel, and these rugs are not genuine Chanel products.