Five years ago I was traveling in Nepal, one of my favorite destinations for inspiration.

I had recently renovated my loft apartment and was searching (as I always am) for textures and details to add to my new home or to inspire my work.

By chance, I came across a young couple who were making the most beautiful and luxurious silk and wool custom rugs - and it was love at first sight. I knew I had to have them make the rugs for my apartment.

After much back and forth with them, getting the exact size, color and construction just right - my rugs arrived a few weeks later.

The rugs became an obsession - and everyone that stepped foot in my home became as obsessed with them as I was. I knew that if my friends and I could be THAT taken with a rug, I needed to bring them to the DwellStudio customer as well. So I set out on a mission: to recreate my beautiful rug with our source in India.

The talented people that make our Mini Stripe rugs are as obsessed with pile and quality as I am - each piece is made with the most luxurious wool, and a thread of viscose is shot through to give a bit of shine.

These rugs are the perfect non-neutral neutral - and go anywhere. Our entire office is now obsessed with the rug - we all have them in our homes.

Here you see it in our EVP, Jennifer Chused's Brooklyn apartment.

See more snaps from Morocco on Pinterest and follow Christiane on Twitter and Instagram for live updates!

P.S. check out our London City Guide to see our favorite hot spots!

Our creative director Christiane has teamed up with cool concept store STORY for an afternoon of chic D.I.Y. crafting. Christiane will be on-hand next Monday to help you construct design-savvy gifts from holiday cards to festive paper ornaments. Plus our friends at HP are providing all the materials (have you seen Christiane's awesome place-setting cards?). Full event details are below and make sure to RSVP to Hello@thisisstory.com to reserve your seat. Can't wait to see you there!

When: Monday, December 17 from 4-5:30pm

Where: STORY - 144 10th Avenue near 19th Street.

RSVP: Hello@thisisstory.com (space is limited!)

And thanks to Assouline Publishing and Housing Works! We can't wait to see everyone at our next design event at 77 Wooster.

(image via Carolina George.)

P.S. make sure you're on the list... RSVP: email DS@lsagency.com or call 877.303.4396.

Related Posts:

Spotlight on Miles Redd

Inspired by Miles Redd on Pinterest

How-To Guide: DwellStudio Place-setting Cards

1. Print pattern or image. Print image on both sides of paper.

2. Trim paper to 5.5"x10.5" and fold in half.

3. Punch holes around the border of paper.

4. Insert fasteners and cut 3.5"x3.75" rectangles out of contrasting paper, tape to top of place setting.

5. Personalize with name or menu.

(Image via New York Times.)

Midnight blue lacquer elevates this wall of bookshelves. And bold pops of saturated color like the chartreuse velvet chairs and coral pink lamp make this space so Miles!

(Image via Washington Square Journal.)

Love the playful mix of graphics and glamour: Franz Kline painting, Victorian chair upholstered in a textured zebra print, shaggy rug and coral pink walls.

(Image via Miles Redd.)

Signature mix by Miles Redd: botanical wall paper, chevron floor, a collection of greenery and glass globes and touches of deep emerald.

(Image via Miles Redd.)

Tradition with a twist: luxe velvet sofa, modern throw pillows and cheeky salon wall accents.

(Image via Miles Redd.)

Layers of glamour mix well in this brilliant pairing of bold, saturated hues: cobalt blue, poppy red and black high-gloss black.

(Image via Miles Redd.)

RSVP: email DS@lsagency.com or call 877.303.4396. See you there!

On designing the DwellStudio kids collection:

For our kids line, we wanted to explore the graphic icons that kids love but in a way that adults are happy to have in their homes. That means nothing too sweet or predictable, but things that are hip.

On finding inspiration from her kids:

My kids have reinforced the idea that children like using their surroundings as a way to communicate a story. They also keep me up to speed on what type of icons kids like these days. My son wanted to do a dinosaur bedding set, so we did one this season, and my daughter loves unicorns at the moment.

On making her Soho loft kid- and adult-friendly:

Our home was a printing press at some point, so it was conceived of as an industrial space, with high ceilings and open spaces. Design-wise, we wanted to highlight that quality and make the dining, TV and living area one space. It also means kids can scoot and bicycle around, which is great in New York because there isn't a lot of outdoor space like there is in Australia.

On finding kid-friendly home furnishings:

I like to modify pieces a little bit. I found fabrics for my home that were beautiful but really easy to clean, like linen, which I love. But at the end of the day you can do what you can and then I say just really live in it. There's nothing worse than a home where the kids can't go in the living room and the dog can't go on the carpet. A home with a soul, even if there are flaws from family living, feels a lot more special to me than somewhere where everyone is segregated in their own space.

(All images via The Glow.)

Thank you to Haper's Bazaar Australia for a fabulous article!

Here are the details: At 6pm Christiane will host an exclusive Q & A with Miles Redd (only open to our friends on twitter and facebook) at our 77 Wooster flagship. Following the Q & A we'll open our doors for a design-savvy cocktail party to fete Miles' fabulous new book. Plus a portion of all sales from the evening will go to support Housing Works, one of our favorite New York charities. We can't wait to see you there!

Be sure to RSVP early because space is limited! To RSVP email DS@lsagency.com or call 877.303.4396. See you there!

P.S. see our favorite Miles Redd inspirations on Pinterest >

Work approach:

I'm constantly looking, reading and hunting for new ideas to spark my next collection. New York is a big source of inspiration.

Christiane and brood visiting Cloud City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Follow @DwellStudio on Instagram to see her latest New York adventures.

New Trend:

The moody color movement that's happening in interiors is very interesting. In fact, I just painted my white kitchen charcoal, and it has made my apartment look brand new.

Isabelle hanging out in the newly painted kitchen/dining room. For more design scouting follow our Undecorate Tumblr. Image via The Glow.

Current inspirations:

I'm really feeling the chic French thing: Madeleine Castaing and Pauline de Rothschild mixed with Emmanuelle Alt.

Pins from our Badass French Chicks board on Pinterest. Follow us on Pinterest to see more of our inspirations.

The 2012 FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit begins on Monday, October 1, 2012 and will last through Wednesday, October 3, 2012 in Laguna Niguel, California. You can read the full press release here >

Here's the full list:

Jessica Alba, Co-Founder, The Honest Co.

Jill Becker, CEO and Founder, Cambridge NanoTech

Jessica Butcher, CMO and Founding Director, Blippar.com

Christiane Lemieux, Founder, DwellStudio

Theresa Fette, CEO, Provident Trust Group

Laura Mather, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Silver Tail Systems

Victoria Ransom, CEO and Founder, Wildfire Interactive

Rashmi Sinha, CEO and Co-Founder, SlideShare

Alexa von Tobel, Founder and CEO, LearnVest

Shunee Yee, CEO and President, CSOFT International

In the living room: A palette of neutrals is contrasted by the graphic pop of a Robert Swain painting.

In the bedroom: Christiane says, "I wanted to create a sanctuary in the middle of New York City--something calm and quiet.”

In the dining area: Christiane says, "The Baroque chandelier hangs a bit lower to create a sense of intimacy without making diners feel hemmed in."

Read the full post over on One Kings Lane >

P.S. Head to One Kings Lane to take advantage of our exclusive flash sale >

P.S. Enter our Update Your Space Sweepstakes for a chance to win $5,000 in DwellStudio product!