Lighting Designer Bec Brittain Unveils Her First Rug Collection

Choosing a lighting designer for a rug collaboration seems like an out-of-the-box decision, but for Bec Brittain—whose first flooring collection, Taxonomy, recently debuted at Edward Fields—the relationship made perfect sense. Brittain and the carpet company found common ground in geometry and craft.

“Brittain’s distinct lexicon intrigued us from the start,” says Edward Fields’ design director, Juliana Polastri. “She is among the most avant-garde designers of our time.”

Bec Brittain x Edward Fields Lamella I rug. Photo: Nick D'Emilio

Brittain used her career-defining fixture, Mercury, as a starting point. Then experiments in pleating led to an exploration of patterns found in nature, particularly shapes connected to insects, which Brittain had used in some of her early sculpture work. With Taxonomy, the shell of a beetle becomes the Elytra rug, while a spiral of antennae begets Lamella.

Bec Brittain x Edward Fields Hyaline I rug. Photo: Nick D'Emilio

“When I decided to start a lighting design company, it wasn’t because lighting was the only thing I liked to do,” says Brittain. “I just felt I needed to specialize to be excellent at something. This was a really nice opportunity to be given a new world to play in.

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Bec Brittain x Edward Fields Tephra I rug. Photo: Nick D'Emilio

Bec Brittain x Edward Fields Pleo I. Photo: Nick D'Emilio

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2019 Winter Issue under the headline “Floor to Ceiling.” Subscribe to the magazine.