Design Daily: Sandra Espinet’s Mexico-inspired Rugs
Author:Sarah Virginia WhiteInterior designer Sandra Espinet might be a local favorite—California Home+Design readers voted her Designer of the Year in 2010—but her newest project was uniquely inspired by her work and travel in Los Cabos, Mexico. Espinet recently debuted her rug collection, a line of eight hand-knotted designs that echo the desert flora and terrain of Mexico.
If you can’t make it to Mexico to feel sand between your toes, step on one of Espinet’s Los Cabos-inspired designs instead.
Rich neutrals set the character of the collection, which features reiterating patterns in tone-on-tone contrast. My favorite is Walk Little Monkey, simply for the playful primate frolicking at the border of the pattern (and because Googling it took me down a Wikipedia wormhole about the sanctity of the monkey in Mayan legend).
Many of the rug designs are named after exclusive enclaves in Los Cabos, where Espinet is based, such as the Esperanza and Palmilla. She teamed up with Los Angeles rug manufacturer Aga John to create the customizable line, which can be made using silk, Tibetan wool or a combination of the two. The collection is generally available to the trade through the Aga John showroom, but needy rug shoppers can email for direct orders.
