From trunk maker to icon

Louis Vuitton opened his workshop in Paris in 1854, making travel trunks at a time when journeys meant steamships and railway carriages. His flat-topped, canvas-covered trunks could be stacked, unlike the domed trunks of the day, and they became the luggage of choice for wealthy travelers. The patterns came later and came from a practical problem: the trunks were so widely copied that the house kept inventing new canvases to tell real from fake.

That history of pattern as identity is exactly why the look translates so well to the floor. A Louis Vuitton-inspired rug borrows the house's design language, the brown and tan, the checkerboard, the flowers and initials, the stitched leather of a trunk, and turns it into a statement piece for a closet or sneaker room. Ours are printed into short velvet, so the crisp geometry of checks and flowers comes out sharp, and they go in the washing machine. These are independent designs inspired by the style, not Louis Vuitton products.

The checkerboard came first

Many people assume the monogram is the oldest pattern, but the checkerboard came first. In 1888, the house introduced a canvas of alternating brown and beige squares, later known as Damier, to discourage imitations. It returned in the late twentieth century in rich brown and, later, in a fresh blue-and-white version. A brown-and-tan checkerboard rug is the most understated way into this style: it reads as a classic check to most visitors and as luxury heritage to anyone who knows. If you love the pattern on its own, our checkered rugs explore it in many more colors.

The monogram style

In 1896, Georges Vuitton, Louis's son, designed the famous monogram canvas: interlaced initials scattered with four-petal flowers and quatrefoils, inspired by the Japanese and Gothic ornament popular at the time. More than a century later it is one of the most recognized patterns on Earth. Monogram-style rugs use the same rhythm, small motifs repeating on a warm brown ground, and they bring a sense of order and richness to a room. Keep the furniture around them simple; the pattern does the talking.

Trunk details

Long before handbags, the house's craft was the hard-sided trunk, and its details are a design language of their own: brass corner caps and studs, wooden slats running across the lid, leather handles, sturdy locks and the painted stripes and initials that owners added so they could spot their luggage on a crowded quay. A trunk-inspired rug, panels of canvas pattern framed by "slats" and "brass" corners, is a clever, more architectural take on the style. It looks especially good in a hallway or at the foot of a bed, where a real trunk might once have stood.

Initials, like a trunk

That old habit of painting stripes and initials on luggage is a lovely idea for a rug. Through our custom rugs, you can add your own initials, a stripe in your colors or a family name to a brown-and-tan checkerboard or a trunk-panel design, in any size up to 5′11″ × 10′. It turns a style piece into something that is unmistakably yours, which is exactly what those painted trunks were for.

When luxury met streetwear

The house's patterns became streetwear icons through a run of famous art and design collaborations:

Era	Collaboration	The look
2001	Stephen Sprouse	Neon graffiti scrawled over the monogram
2003 onwards	Takashi Murakami	The multicolored monogram on white and black, cherry blossoms
2012 and 2023	Yayoi Kusama	Polka dots over everything
2017	Supreme	Red-and-white streetwear meets brown monogram
2018 to 2021	Virgil Abloh as menswear director	Rainbows, cartoons and a playful, graphic edge
2023 onwards	Pharrell Williams as menswear director	Pixelated camouflage and new monogram colorways

Each collaboration has its own fans, and a rug inspired by one, graffiti tags, multicolored flowers, polka dots, says which moment of luxury streetwear you love. Explore the artists' worlds in our graffiti rugs, Takashi Murakami-inspired rugs and Supreme-inspired rugs.

The color of leather

The classic palette is warm and earthy: chocolate brown, tan, caramel, mustard-gold, with the natural vachetta leather that darkens to honey over the years. Those tones are much easier to decorate around than people expect. They suit walnut and oak, black metal, cream walls and green plants, and they warm up a grey or white room immediately. If you want something brighter, the multicolored and blue-and-white versions of the style are fresher and more playful.

Walk-in closets

A closet is where this style feels most at home. A monogram-style or checkerboard rug in the middle of a walk-in turns it into a boutique, especially with good lighting, open shelving and a full-length mirror. For a narrow closet, a 2.6×3.9 ft rectangle is enough; for a larger dressing room, a 4×6 ft rug or a 4.6 ft (140 cm) round under an island or ottoman. On polished floors, choose Standard: its non-slip faux leather back stops the rug sliding as you turn in front of the mirror.

Sneaker rooms and hypebeast setups

For collectors who display sneakers, streetwear and designer toys like gallery pieces, a luxury-pattern rug completes the room. A brown monogram-style rug under a wall of sneaker boxes, or a graffiti-inspired design in front of a glass cabinet of figures, frames the collection like a high-end store. Under a gaming or desk chair in the same room, Standard's 5 mm crushed velvet lets wheels roll freely. Find more ideas in our hypebeast and streetwear rugs and sneaker rugs.

A backdrop for resellers and flat lays

Sneaker and fashion resellers know the value of a good photo backdrop. A brown checkerboard or monogram-style rug makes a warm, premium-looking surface for flat-lay shots of shoes, bags and accessories, shot from above in daylight. Because velvet has a soft sheen rather than a hard glare, it photographs evenly, and a mid-brown ground flatters both white sneakers and black leather. Keep one rug just for shoots and it'll wash clean between sessions.

Mixing it with other patterns

Monogram-style and checkerboard patterns are busy, so pair them with care. Plain textiles, solid cushions, a single-color throw, a leather pouf, let them breathe. If you want a second pattern, keep it far smaller and in the same family of colors, a thin tan stripe or a small brown check on a cushion. Avoid two large repeat patterns side by side; on the floor, one is a statement and two are a clash.

The departure-lounge hallway

Because the house began with travel, its look suits a hallway or entryway beautifully: the place where suitcases wait and journeys begin. A checkerboard or trunk-inspired rug by the front door, with a vintage suitcase on a bench and a mirror above, gives a home a little of the romance of an old railway station. Standard's 5 mm velvet clears most doors, and darker brown grounds hide everyday dust well.

Bedrooms and living rooms

In a bedroom, a monogram-style rug beside the bed brings warmth and a sense of luxury, best with plain cream or white bedding and a leather or wood headboard. In a living room, a 5×7 ft rug in Premium velvet, 7 mm plush on a bamboo and cotton back, lies heavily and feels soft underfoot, and works especially well with a cognac leather sofa.

Inspired, not counterfeit

Because this house's patterns were created to fight imitation, it's worth being clear. Padrift is an independent studio. Our rugs are original designs inspired by a style, printed on velvet as home decor. They are not Louis Vuitton products, they are not sold as genuine Louis Vuitton, and they are not connected to the house in any way. If you want a genuine Louis Vuitton home piece, that can only come from Louis Vuitton itself.

Shapes and sizes

All-over patterns, monogram style and checkerboard, suit rectangles, where the repeat runs edge to edge: 2.6×3.9 ft for a closet, 4×6 ft for a sneaker room, 5×7 ft for a living room. A single flower motif makes an elegant round rug, 3.9 to 5.2 ft (120 to 160 cm), and our shaped rugs can follow the outline of a single quatrefoil.

Gifts

A Louis Vuitton-inspired rug is a strong gift for a fashion lover's first apartment, a closet makeover or a sneakerhead's display wall. If you aren't sure of their taste, a brown-and-tan checkerboard is the most versatile and the easiest to place. 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.

Care

Vacuum on a low setting each week, blot spills with cold water straight away and wash the rug on a gentle, cold cycle when it needs it; let it air dry flat. The design is printed into the fibers, so browns stay rich and the checks stay crisp.

About this collection

Travel labels and steamer trunks

In the age of ocean liners and grand hotels, travelers collected colorful paper labels on their trunks and suitcases, one for each hotel or ship. A rug covered in vintage-style travel labels, invented names of seaside hotels, liners and cities in faded reds, blues and golds, recalls that golden age of luggage without borrowing any brand's marks, and it suits a dressing room or an entry with a well-traveled feel.

In a guest room, a travel-label rug gives visitors a playful welcome and a hint of the places you've been.

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