John Pawson
and Elte:
A Collaboration
in the Making
Creating bespoke rugs for Home Farm
Elte is honoured to collaborate with John Pawson on a series of bespoke rugs for his home in the Cotswolds.
In the Spring of 2023, we began working with Pawson to bring his vision for Home Farm to life. After carefully studying the space, Elte and Pawson exchanged concepts, ideas, and inspiration. Together, we refined the details of weave, pattern, colour and finishing.
This summer, we visited John and Catherine Pawson at Home Farm in Oxfordshire for a tour, lunch and to review custom rug samples we’ve meticulously crafted over several months, room by room, for their selection, feedback and approval. The next stage is seeing these rugs come to life.
Join us as we take you through this inspiring journey.
A warm welcome from John Pawson and tour of Home Farm.
John Pawson, often regarded as the father of minimalism, has spent over forty years crafting architecture that embodies simplicity and depth. His work, characterized by its modesty and focus on essentials, spans a wide array of projects—from private homes and sacred spaces to galleries, museums, hotels, ballet stages, yacht interiors, and even a bridge over a lake.
The pond and garden surrounding Home Farm.
Pawson’s table and benches made of Carrara marble, sandstone and cherry wood.
Metrick inspects a bench designed by Pawson for Abbey of Our Lady of Nový Dvůr, Monastery, in 2006.
Pawson’s dog Lochie enjoys free rein of Home Farm.
Home Farm, which dates back to the seventeenth century, unwinds in a series of linked spaces. Each room with its own distinct character and atmosphere, from the calm intimacy of the farmhouse to the lofty openness of the timber-roofed barn.
Lime plaster walls and elm wood floors lead up to the second floor of the farmhouse.
Metrick brings rug samples to review room by room.
The Link connects the original farmhouse and barn, seamlessly merging old and new. Against the wall are Donald Judd’s plywood chairs.
Metrick with an original rug concept inspired by Home Farm’s stonework, which has been carefully repaired and the original character maintained.
Pawson and Metrick reviewing samples in the light of the sitting room.
Pawson and Lochie having a first look at rug samples in Home Farm’s lofty barn with exposed elm beams.
Inside and outside converge where a pair of barn doors were replaced by a full-height sash window.
Thank you, John and Catherine, for your incredible warmth and hospitality. What made our visit truly special wasn’t just the iconic setting, but your remarkable humility and kindness throughout. We feel honoured to have spent this time with you both.
We can’t wait to share more with you as we continue along this journey.
Photography by Heather Metrick
Lively conversation and a beautiful lunch prepared by Catherine Pawson, from the pages of John and Catherine’s cookbook Home Farm Cooking.
