Your house is too well-kept. How about roughing it up just a little bit?
The Shoelace Rug is a decorative floor piece that’s intended to be both customizable and functional. I’ll give my nod to the customizable bit, as you can shape it in a variety of ways, turning out a uniquely original rug every single time. For the functional part, however, I’d like to exercise some reservations.
One part floor covering, one part sculpture (since you can arrange it any way you like), the unusual carpeting solution throws tons of shoelaces together in a bundle, in place of a woven fabric as with more conventional offerings. The result is a disorganized mess of shoelaces (literally thousands of them) snaking across your floor, all connected to one another (or so it seems).
Will it cover your floor? Sure. Will it be cushy? Probably. I’m sure your cat will love nothing more than to roll around in a mass of shoelaces that it can play with non-stop. Does it make your living room look like the floor of a Chinese clothing sweatshop? You bet.
Extremely versatile, you can use it any way you want. Want a large gaping hole in the middle? A bundle guests can trip on? How about a shoelace dwarf emerging from among the pile? I’m sure all of those can be arranged.
Created by Nate Siverstein and Andrea Paustenbaugh, the Shoelace Rug is playfully described as a “happenstantial multiple” (yep, that’s how we describe our blog too) and “a sculpture that moves beneath your feet.” Personally, I think artists and designers need to hire better copywriters so they don’t sound like pretentious knobs when they write out a portrayal of their products, but that’s just me.
It’s available in Small ($250) and Large ($500) sizes, measuring 1 x 2 meters and 2 x 4 meters, respectively. Only black and white shoelaces are available by default, though custom colors and sizes can be put together on a made-to-order basis. It’s machine-washable and, hopefully, can be pulled apart one at a time when you actually need a new pair of shoelaces.
[Shoelace Rug via Core 77]