Woodland Hills, CA

California Soul.

feat. — Amber Lewis

The first thing you might do when you enter a home designed by Amber Lewis—after taking off your shoes, of course—is nod your head slowly, up and down, as you take in every layer of detail. On the floor, a gorgeous, perfectly worn antique rug anchors the living room. On the couch, a handful of pillows don’t match in just the right way. On a nearby chair, a fuzzy throw blanket is there if you need it. On the windows, a ticking-striped shade softens the light peeking through. This is a designer who clearly loves textiles.

So it was only a matter of time before we joined forces. Amber Lewis × Loloi is a collaboration that goes all out: rugs, throws, pillows, and artwork. Each piece embodies Lewis’s West Coast sensibility, a California cool that invites you to sit on the floor around the coffee table for wine, cheese, and a marathon game night. The colors are earth-toned and natural, the patterns organic, and the pile soft underfoot. Somehow these rugs make a statement even when they whisper.

It’s also a collection that lives up to Lewis’s high standards for design in the details, ethical manufacturing, and price points accessible for a range of customers. Lewis, a world renowned interior designer in Woodland Hills, California, is famous for designing spaces that have a sense of laid-back luxury. She creates a relaxed, yet refined aesthetic—easier said than done. Amber Interiors, her design firm, can only take on a select few clients each year, but her fans number in the millions. This collaboration is a way to reach them in their own homes.

“My team and I obsess over picking the perfect rug for each space every single time we design a home,” says Lewis, “so to have designed rugs that I know will work in all of your homes, no matter the style, is simply a dream come true.”

Like Amir Loloi, Lewis has been collecting and hunting for vintage rugs her entire career. “If you’re a design freak like me, you know it’s not at all weird to say that I am completely obsessed with rugs—they can make or break a space,” she says.

Some of her favorite antique rugs were used to inspire the Georgie and Billie Collections, which are carefully distressed to capture the feeling of history that an older rug carries (without the stains). The result is almost uncanny, at a price point that no antique rug could compete with. Those two collections are also the most colorful in the collaboration, in sumptuous saturated tones that become the focal point of a room without being a distraction. And those are the collections that Lewis snagged for her own home.

“ If you’re a design freak like me, you know it’s not at all weird to say that I am completely obsessed with rugs—they can make or break a space. Amber Lewis

The wool and cotton Gwyneth Collection takes cues from Moroccan rugs, with wandering lines, dancing dash designs, and loose cross-hatches. And the playfulness of the collection is no coincidence; Gwyneth is Lewis’s daughter’s name. “The Gwyneth Collection is original with personality—exactly like my daughter,” she says. “Each collection is named after something or somewhere that holds a special place in my heart or memory.” Take the Mulholland Collection : gray, charcoal, and textured black rugs are expertly woven to show gradations of dark and light, like sunlight hitting the curving California mountain road.

The marker of a quality rug, says Lewis, is durability and craft, and her approach to designing these collections began there. Every rug made in India is GoodWeave certified, the best possible assurance that the rug was not made with child or unpaid labor, and that it came through a transparent supply chain. Other pieces in the collaboration are Oeko-Tex certified, a testing process that ensures the materials and fabrics don’t contain harmful substances.

For the pillow collection, Lewis echoed the organic earth tones and well-worn vintage feel of the rugs. True to Lewis fashion, they can be thrown together without feeling overly matchy-matchy. The only rule is not to count them: “There is no such thing as too many pillows!” she says.

“I’m always making a case for layering pillows—on sofas, beds, benches—you name it.” For best results, mix patterns, textures, and colors. “That’s what makes a space interesting and different. Mix the patterns and texture that you love, not what the rules tell you to do, because then it’ll really feel like your own space.”

Which is what this partnership is about: Offering the pieces that help others define their own space. This collaboration is an extension of Lewis’s design style. It’s open, loose, and adaptable. “I designed every piece in mind to be versatile and to work with any and all types of styles,” she says. “I really wanted something for everyone that feels cool, relaxed, and lived in.” After a tumultuous year, her timing couldn’t be better.