Mondo rug by Cappellini

Object of desire Look again and the instantly recognisable map of the world is not so familiar after all. It's like a pre-Continental Drift fantasy map.

Mondo carpet by Lorenzo Damiani for Cappellini ?3.550 (approx Dh18,880), to order from Poltrona Frau, Dubai 04 295 2180 and Abu Dhabi 02 635 9393.

It was the colour of the rug that initially stopped me in my tracks (the colour of a tropical sea; a colour I had been hunting for in vain for my living room) but, in a nanosecond, I was captivated by its design. An wonderfully clever and original interplay of East and West, traditional and contemporary, it juxtaposes the modernity of the plain turquoise sea with the continents rendered I the intricate detail of a classical Persian rug (Mashhad, perhaps - in style, though certainly not in colour).

And therein lies a clever trick of the eye: look again and the instantly recognisable map of the world is not so familiar after all. It's like a pre-Continental Drift fantasy map; nothing is in its correct position. And thus, as with the finest Oriental rugs, it is a piece that will never cease to intrigue. The designer responsible for this modern masterpiece is the prodigiously talented Lorenzo Damiani. One of the new generation of Italian designers, he has turned out award-winners ranging from bathroom taps of sleek modernity and wooden wall consoles of almost Scandinavian simplicity to ceramics that look like folded paper. Cappellini snapped up his "crumpled paper" ceramic bowl - and is also the label behind this rug.

Measuring a generous three metres by four, it is hand-tufted in Thailand from pure New Zealand wool, combined with viscose to add luminosity. Mondo carpet by Lorenzo Damiani for Cappellini ?3.550 (approx Dh18,880), to order from Poltrona Frau, Dubai 04 295 2180 and Abu Dhabi 02 635 9393.