What Is a Custom Rug Commission?

A custom rug commission is an order for a handmade rug produced to a client's specific requirements — including dimensions, design, colour palette, material, and construction — rather than from a manufacturer's existing stock or standard collection. The result is an entirely unique piece that exists nowhere else in the world.

A custom rug commission represents one of the most intimate intersections between manufacturing expertise and design intention available in the interior decorating world. Unlike purchasing from a standard collection — where the rug is already designed, already woven, and the buyer's role is simply to select — a custom commission places the client at the origin point of the creative and manufacturing process. The rug that results is, in the most literal sense, a collaboration between design vision and artisanal craft.

At Planet Arts, the custom commission process is one of our primary activities. Since our founding in Jaipur in 2004, we have designed and manufactured thousands of bespoke rugs for interior designers, architects, private collectors, and hospitality projects across 45+ countries. The process we follow has been refined over two decades into a system that is both rigorous enough to produce consistent quality and flexible enough to accommodate the specific needs of every client and project.

This guide documents that process in full — not as a marketing document, but as a practical knowledge resource for anyone considering a custom rug commission. Whether you are a residential client wanting a unique piece for a specific room, an interior designer specifying bespoke rugs for a high-end project, or a hospitality procurement professional managing a multi-space hotel fit-out, the information here will prepare you for the process and help you get the most from it.

Definition

Custom Rug Commission

A custom rug commission is a manufacturing order for a handmade rug produced entirely to the client's specifications — including dimensions, construction method, materials, design pattern, colour palette, and pile height. Unlike stock rugs, a commissioned piece requires a dedicated design and production cycle and results in an object that does not exist in any standard catalogue. Custom commissions typically require a lead time of 4–9 months for hand knotted rugs.

Stage 1: The Brief — Where Every Commission Begins

The brief development stage establishes every parameter of the commission — size, material, construction, design intent, colour, timeline, and budget. The quality of the brief directly determines the quality of the outcome. An incomplete brief is the single most common cause of delays, revisions, and client dissatisfaction in custom rug production.

The brief is not a form to fill in. It is a conversation — a structured dialogue between the client and the Planet Arts design team that surfaces the information needed to design and manufacture a rug that genuinely serves its intended purpose. A good brief covers not just the obvious parameters (size, colour, material preference) but also the contextual ones: What is the room's primary use? What furniture will sit on or around the rug? What is the lighting character of the space — natural, artificial, directional, ambient? What is the floor surface beneath — the rug will look different on stone than on timber? Is this a family home with children and pets, or a formal reception room? Is it a hotel suite that will be cleaned by a housekeeping team, or a private collector's gallery?

These contextual details shape every material and design decision that follows. A rug specified for a formal dining room in a private residence — low traffic, good lighting, experienced maintenance — can support a silk specification. The same visual design specified for a hotel restaurant with daily food service and weekly professional cleaning must be in Tibetan wool. Getting the brief wrong means getting the specification wrong, which means producing a rug that will disappoint — no matter how technically excellent the manufacturing is.

What a Complete Brief Includes

  • Dimensions: Finished size in feet or metres, including any non-standard shapes (round, runner, L-shaped, irregular)
  • Space and use context: Room type, traffic level, furniture layout, floor surface
  • Construction preference: Hand knotted, hand tufted, or open to recommendation
  • Material preference: Wool, silk, bamboo silk, blend, or open to recommendation
  • Design direction: Abstract, geometric, floral, contemporary, traditional, bespoke original, or adapted from reference
  • Colour palette: Reference system codes, physical samples, mood board, or descriptive guidance
  • Timeline: Required delivery date and any critical milestones
  • Budget range: Approximate investment level (helps the design team optimise specification)

Planet Arts Design Studio · Jaipur

"We can work from a very thin brief — a colour, a mood, a single reference image. But the thinner the brief, the more iterations we need, and the longer the process takes. The best commissions we have produced in twenty years were the ones where the client arrived with the clearest possible understanding of how the rug would be used, not just how it should look. Use context is the design context."

Creative Director, Planet Arts Design Studio · Jaipur, Rajasthan · Est. 2004

Stage 2: Concept Design

In the concept design stage, Planet Arts' studio develops 2–3 original rug design options based on the approved brief, presented as rendered visualisations showing the design in context. The client selects a preferred direction and provides revision notes.

Once the brief is agreed and confirmed, Planet Arts' design studio takes over. Our design team — which includes textile designers, pattern specialists, and interior design consultants — interprets the brief and develops initial design concepts. For a standard commission, we typically present 2–3 distinct design directions: different pattern vocabularies, different compositional approaches, or different colour interpretations of the same design intent. This gives the client a genuine range of choices rather than a single option to accept or reject.

Each concept is presented as a high-resolution rendered visualisation — the design shown at scale on a neutral floor background, and often additionally rendered in context with indicative furniture and room elements. This contextual presentation is important because flat design boards do not always reveal how a pattern will read at floor level, under furniture, or in relation to the room's architectural elements.

The concept presentation typically happens via a combination of digital renders sent ahead of a review meeting or call. Client feedback at this stage should be specific and constructive: not just "I like this direction" but "I like the compositional structure of Option 2 but prefer the colour palette of Option 1 — can we explore combining these?" The more specific the direction provided, the faster the next stage proceeds.

Stage 3: Design Refinement and Cartoon Preparation

Once a design direction is approved, it is refined to final production specification and translated into a rug cartoon — the colour-coded grid chart that weavers follow at the loom. This is a technical stage requiring significant expertise and typically takes 2–3 weeks.

Definition

Rug Cartoon (Point Paper)

A rug cartoon — also called a point paper, design graph, or naksha — is a colour-coded grid chart that translates an approved rug design into a format readable by weavers at the loom. Each cell in the grid corresponds to one knot position in the finished rug, coded by a colour number that specifies the yarn to be tied in that position. For a rug at 80 KPSI measuring 8×10 feet, the cartoon contains approximately 4.6 million coded cells. Cartoon preparation is a specialist skill requiring deep knowledge of both design and weaving technique.

Cartoon preparation is not a simple graphic design task. The designer who prepares the cartoon must understand how the design will look at full scale, how colour transitions will read in woven form (which can differ from how they appear on screen), how the pile direction will affect the visual reading of the design from different viewing angles, and how the pattern will interact with the structural elements of the rug — the foundation, the pile height, and the border treatment. These considerations often require adjustments to the original design concept that a non-specialist would not anticipate.

At Planet Arts, cartoon preparation is handled by specialists who have spent years developing this precise skill. The cartoon goes through internal review before being sent to the production team, ensuring that what is specified is actually produceable at the intended KPSI and quality standard.

Stage 4: Struck-Off Sample — The Most Critical Stage

A struck-off sample is a small woven piece — 30–50cm square — produced at the full specification of the intended rug. It is the mandatory approval mechanism between design and full production. No Planet Arts custom rug enters full production without a signed client approval of the struck-off.

The struck-off sample is, without question, the most important stage in the custom rug commission process. It is the moment where the design leaves the two-dimensional world of screens and drawings and becomes a real woven object — where colour decisions that looked right on a monitor reveal themselves in actual dyed yarn, and where pile texture, handle, and depth can finally be evaluated as they will be in the finished piece.

Clients occasionally resist the struck-off stage, viewing it as an unnecessary delay in a process they want to move through quickly. This is always a mistake. The struck-off sample is not a formality — it is the mechanism that prevents expensive errors. Discovering at the struck-off stage that a colour is reading differently than expected, or that the pile texture is not what was anticipated, costs a few weeks of delay and a modest additional sampling cost. Discovering the same issue after full production is complete costs the entire production investment.

At Planet Arts, we require written client sign-off on the struck-off sample before any production commences. This protects both parties: it guarantees that the client has physically approved the material reality of the specification, and it provides the manufacturing team with an unambiguous standard against which to check the finished rug during quality inspection.

Stage 5: Full Production

Full production begins immediately upon receipt of written struck-off approval. Production timelines are determined by construction method, size, and KPSI. A hand knotted rug at 80 KPSI measuring 8×10 feet requires 16–24 weeks of active weaving by a team of 3–6 master weavers.

The production stage is where the extraordinary human labour that defines a luxury handmade rug is performed. For a hand knotted rug, this means a team of trained weavers working at a loom for months — tying individual knots, row by row, following the cartoon, managing the colour transitions, maintaining pile height consistency, and ensuring that the emerging rug is tracking accurately to the approved design at every stage of development.

01
Loom Setup
The master weaver warps the loom to the exact dimensions of the commissioned rug. Warp tension is critical — uneven tension produces distortion that cannot be corrected after weaving. Loom setup for a large commission can take 1–2 days.
1–2 days
02
Yarn Preparation
Wool or silk yarns are spun to specification, dyed to the approved colour palette, and wound onto bobbins for the weaving team. Natural dye processes require additional mordanting time. Colour fastness is tested at this stage against the struck-off standard.
1–3 weeks
03
Active Weaving
Weavers work across the loom width tying knots row by row, following the cartoon. After each row of knots, weft threads are passed through to lock the row. Pile is trimmed periodically to reveal the emerging design. The master weaver checks pattern accuracy at regular intervals.
16–24 weeks (80 KPSI, 8×10 ft)
04
Washing
Completed rugs are removed from the loom and washed to develop final colour depth, sheen, and handle. The washing process opens wool fibres and removes residual dye compounds. Traditional river washing is used for heritage specifications.
3–7 days
05
Drying and Blocking
Washed rugs are stretched on frames to prevent buckling as they dry. This is the stage where any structural distortion is corrected and the foundation sets into its final configuration.
2–5 days
06
Finishing
Pile is hand-clipped to achieve a perfectly level surface. Borders are finished, fringe is set, and edges are overcasted. Finishing is the final craft stage and requires significant skill to execute consistently across the full surface of a large rug.
3–10 days

Stage 6: Quality Inspection and Delivery

Every Planet Arts custom rug undergoes a 47-point quality inspection before approval for dispatch. The inspection covers knot consistency, pile level, colour accuracy against the struck-off standard, edge integrity, fringe finish, structural stability, and overall aesthetic quality. Rugs that do not pass are returned for correction.

Quality inspection at Planet Arts is not a single-person check at the end of the production process. It is a multi-stage system that begins during weaving (with the master weaver checking pattern accuracy at every fifth row), continues after washing (with a colour accuracy check against the struck-off sample), and concludes with a formal 47-point inspection covering every aspect of the finished rug's quality.

The comparison against the struck-off sample is the most important check at this final stage. The finished rug is placed alongside the approved struck-off under consistent lighting, and colour, pattern resolution, pile character, and border quality are all evaluated against the client-approved standard. Any deviation that falls outside acceptable tolerance is documented and either corrected before dispatch or brought to the client's attention with a full explanation.

Custom vs Stock: Which Is Right for Your Project?

Custom rugs are appropriate when specific dimensions, unique design identity, or precise colour matching is required. Stock rugs are appropriate when timeline is short, budget is constrained, or an existing collection design perfectly meets the brief. Most high-end interior design projects benefit from a combination of both approaches.
Criterion Custom Commission Stock Collection
Design uniqueness✓ Entirely unique✗ Available to all buyers
Exact dimensions✓ Any size / shape✗ Standard sizes only
Colour matching✓ To specification✗ Fixed palette
Lead time4–9 months✓ Immediate or 2–4 weeks
Initial costHigher (design + production)✓ Lower upfront
Design collaboration✓ Full design dialogue✗ Selection only
Minimum quantity✓ Single piece✓ Single piece
Project differentiation✓ HighModerate

Benefits of Commissioning a Custom Handmade Rug

The primary benefits of a custom rug commission are: design uniqueness, precise dimensional fit, colour harmony with the surrounding interior, material optimisation for the specific use environment, and the long-term value that comes from owning a one-of-a-kind luxury object.
01
Complete Design Uniqueness
A custom rug exists only in your space. No other buyer, property, or project owns the same design. For high-end residential and hospitality environments where design differentiation is a primary value, this exclusivity is a significant advantage over even the finest stock collections.
02
Exact Dimensional Fit
Every room is different, and standard rug sizes rarely provide the ideal proportional relationship with the specific floor plan, furniture arrangement, and architectural elements of a given space. A custom commission is sized precisely for its placement — optimising the proportional relationships that define the success of a rug within a room.
03
Precise Colour Harmony
Matching a rug's colour palette to specific paint, fabric, stone, or timber references in an interior is one of the most common challenges in residential and hospitality specification. A custom commission eliminates this challenge entirely — the rug is designed around the existing palette, not adapted to it after the fact.
04
Material Optimisation
A custom commission allows the material specification to be calibrated precisely for the use environment — the right wool grade for the traffic level, the right pile height for the maintenance regime, the right construction for the intended asset life. Stock rugs cannot offer this precision.
05
Investment Value
A well-documented custom commission from a respected manufacturer represents a genuine investment. The combination of provenance (design documentation, cartoon, struck-off sample), quality, and uniqueness positions a bespoke luxury rug as a collectable object rather than a commodity purchase.

Common Mistakes in Custom Rug Commissions

The five most common mistakes in custom rug commissions are: starting the process too late, providing an insufficient brief, skipping or rushing the struck-off approval, specifying the wrong material for the use environment, and failing to account for the full delivery timeline including export and installation.
Mistake 01
Starting Too Late
Initiating a custom commission 6–8 weeks before a required delivery date for a hand knotted rug is a guaranteed path to disappointment. Production alone requires 16–24 weeks at standard specification.
Engage Planet Arts 6–9 months before required delivery. For complex multi-rug hotel projects, 9–12 months is recommended.
Mistake 02
Insufficient Brief Information
Providing only aesthetic references without use-context information leads to material specifications that look right in concept but underperform in practice.
Provide space plans, traffic grading, maintenance regime details, and budget range alongside design references at the brief stage.
Mistake 03
Skipping Struck-Off Approval
Approving a design concept digitally and asking the manufacturer to proceed directly to full production without a physical struck-off is a high-risk decision that frequently results in costly revisions.
Always require and physically evaluate a struck-off sample before signing off on full production. This is non-negotiable at Planet Arts.
Mistake 04
Wrong Material for the Space
Specifying pure silk for a hotel restaurant, or a delicate low-pile specification for a home with young children and dogs, based on aesthetic preference alone disregards the use-environment performance criteria that determine whether a rug succeeds or fails over time.
Discuss the use environment with the Planet Arts specification team before confirming any material decision.
Mistake 05
Underestimating Export and Installation Time
For international clients, failing to account for export documentation preparation, customs clearance, freight transit, and site installation time can result in rugs arriving after the critical delivery milestone.
Add 3–6 weeks to the production completion date for international export and delivery, depending on destination country and logistics route.
Mistake 06
Approving Designs at Incorrect Scale
A pattern that reads beautifully at A3 print scale may be entirely lost — or overwhelmingly dense — at the full scale of a large rug. Scale evaluation requires rendering at the correct proportions.
Always request scale visualisations showing the rug at its actual specified dimensions in context with the furniture it will relate to.

Planet Arts Custom Capability: What We Offer

Planet Arts offers full custom rug design and manufacturing capability from its Jaipur, India studio — covering any size, shape, construction method, and material specification. Design services include original pattern development, colour matching, cartoon preparation, and struck-off sampling. Production capabilities include hand knotted, hand tufted, and flat weave constructions.

Planet Arts was established in Jaipur in 2004 with a specific mandate: to offer the world's most demanding designers and buyers access to the finest handmade rug production capability that India's craft traditions can support, with a design and client service operation that meets the expectations of the international luxury interior market.

Two decades later, our custom production capability spans the full range of handmade rug constructions — from hand knotted wool rugs at 80 KPSI for residential luxury, to high-density hand tufted Tibetan wool specifications for hospitality environments, to museum-quality silk commissions at 200 KPSI for collectors. Our design studio maintains a team of experienced textile designers, pattern specialists, and interior design consultants who work with clients from brief to delivery.

Our Jaipur studio is available for visits from international clients and trade professionals. We maintain a material library covering every fibre and construction specification we offer, and we welcome trade professionals who wish to evaluate our capabilities firsthand before committing to a commission. Contact our design team to discuss your project requirements at any stage of the process — from initial brief concept to production-ready specification.

Planet Arts Custom Service: What's Included

Every Planet Arts custom commission includes: dedicated design consultation with our studio team; 2–3 initial design concepts in rendered format; unlimited colour revisions at the concept stage; struck-off sample production and courier delivery; production progress updates at agreed milestones; 47-point quality inspection before dispatch; full export documentation for international orders; and a rug care and maintenance guide tailored to the specific materials and construction of your piece.