Famous for her costume and set designs for a string of seminal Australian films, operas, plays and events, and one half of Bazmark Inq with partner Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin’s signature style is lavish and bold, often drawing on historic styles, but giving them a contemporary edge. Now she has turned her hand to a range of rugs for Designer Rugs, set beautifully in this Victorian Sydney mansion.

Australian native flora and fauna were a key inspiration for Martin, with several designs reminiscent of the arts and crafts movement of the late 19^th century and early 20^th century, featuring intricate designs of flowers, leaves and birds.

‘Acacia’ in shades of green and brown includes leaves and pods from the Acacia tree teamed with birds, while ‘Feathers’ in grey and white, ‘Peony’ in bold red and ‘Sparrow’ are modelled on their real life namesakes, simplifying and repeating these natural elements without losing their richness and intricacy.

Stepping out from this theme are two contrasting rugs, ‘Lace’ – which blows up the intricacy of this ancient craft in black and antique white – and ‘Circus Silhouettes’, featuring circus people and animals dancing through space in an ever expanding spiral.

The Catherine Martin Designer Rugs collection has a sister range of wallpapers with Porters Paints, allowing for a richly patterned teaming within the home. Antique furniture used sparingly in this house in east Sydney enhances the richly patterned and bold aesthetic of this range, without losing a sense of contemporary edge.

Designer Rugs
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