Flying Carpet

A while back, Minna was in Istanbul with her friend Stina. One day they found themselves at the Grand Bazaar, with an idea just to quickly get some cashmere and spices. Stina, an avid photographer always looking for visually interesting photographic opportunities, was quite attracted to the rich colours of various items on sale.

Colorful ceramics (photo by Stina Roth)

Pile of flying carpets (photo by Stina Roth)

At one point, when Stina wanted to get a better picture of a pile of colourful carpets, they decided to enter one of the stores, which happened to be a carpet boutique called Dhoku. After taking a few pictures and admiring the beautiful carpets which clearly were of high quality, Stina realised she would actually need a new carpet in her living room. And what would be a better place for carpet shopping than the Dhoku boutique!

The style that caught her eye was called "Decadent". This particular carpet is made of pieces of old vintage carpets, which have gone through a process to neutralize the original colours while still retaining the essence of its design. Subsequently, the old carpets have been re-dyed, cut in pieces and reassembled to create a new, unique design.

Dhoku label (photo by Stina Roth)

Original pattern, neutralised and re-dyed (photo by Stina Roth)

While Stina was pondering the colour and design of her carpet-to-be with Cem, the carpet designer, Minna also started contemplating whether the Olive Green Window team would need a carpet under the dining set. So suddenly, inspired and encouraged by each other, they were in business of buying two carpets instead of just taking a few colourful pictures. Both carpets were to be custom made in terms of size, design and colouring. Deciding all this took a bit of time and a few cups of tea, but finally all the details were set. Cem and her colleagues were very professional, knowledgeable and really took their time to assist their customers.

After a few months of anxious waiting, the carpets arrived to Finland. We were delighted to see the quality, design and materials were really top class, just as experienced in Istanbul. The tone of the carpet chosen by Minna didn't first seem quite ideal considering the colour palette of our dining room, but now after adjusting the lighting and other textiles in the room, we have really started to like it a lot. We love the fact it is recycled, the size is just perfect, and the carpet ties the dining table and the chairs together in a very nice way. And as an added bonus, the Cherner legs are no longer making squeaky noises!

Under the Cherners

Beautiful old patterns

Even if this blog is about Olive Green Window, this time we also want to take a quick peak in Stina's living room and see how does her carpet look like? And yes, it fits perfectly in her living room the carpet colour complementing the furniture extremely well. And what is most important, her two dogs have also approved the new arrival!

Rosmo's pose (photo by Stina Roth)

So, inspirational carpet shopping with a friend in Dhoku, Istanbul - highly recommended to anyone in need of a little adventure!