OT The uniquely lush textural beauty of OT’s one-ofa-kind carpets is achieved through meticulous sampling and sourcing of the finest quality materials
Oliver Treutlein has been perfecting every aspect of the art of bespoke carpet making for 35 years and now the stunning creations that emerge from his Düsseldorf-based company adorn the world’s most famous superyachts, supercharging their sumptuousness and luxury
by Mary Hagerty
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nyone lucky enough to step barefoot onto an OT
Treutlein is flanked by his wife, Elke, daughter Julia, and son-in-law
carpet will have felt they were walking on clouds.
Max. His pride in both his art and his craft goes back to the busi-
Such heavenly perfection does not come easily. In
ness’s earliest days when Oliver Treutlein perfected an incredibly
fact, every carpet that leaves the OT factory outside
versatile carpet-making technique called hand-tufting that allows
Dusseldorf is a completely one-off creation, designed individually,
OT’s skilled craftspeople to use fibres of different thicknesses and
then painstakingly hand-tufted from luxury fibres spun to order
lengths to create utterly sumptuous textural effects. The results have
from the very finest materials, such as silk, linen, virgin New Zea-
a porcelain-like beauty and the quality three-dimensional maps of
land merino wood and bamboo.
some pristine undiscovered planet.
Oliver Treutlein, who founded OT over 35 years ago, is ‘passionate
According to Elke Treutlein, the current trend is for lighter carpets
about personal’ and that insistence on a hands-on approach is the
that add a fresh crispness to any ambience. A case in point is the
secret of OT’s success: “We develop carpet design and structure to
carpet created for the spectacular 80 square metre main saloon
inspire,” says Treutlein. “Our only focus is guiding the client on their
aboard Abeking & Rasmussen’s 68m M/Y Soaring. “The goal was
dream of a unique handmade art carpet made just for them, a carpet
to create a carpet that interacted and created an atmosphere with
that will be with them for decades in their private environment”.
all the other materials and designs in that specific room,” explains
Every step of the carpet’s early life is followed with fervour: from
Treutlein. “We always want the client to want to spend time with
selection of just the right material to the dyeing of that material.
the overall feeling”. Aboard Soaring, a huge expanse of crisp cre-
Then, of course, the actual making of the carpet and, finally, the
am New Zealand wool carpet gleams to sublimely luxurious effect
laying. Even at this stage, the carpet is accompanied to its new home
against dark gloss veneers and furnishings in the dining area of the
in OT trucks by Treutlein’s longstanding team of expert installers
saloon in particular. The interior designer, Focus Design, chose a
who use a special stretching technique to guarantee that cloud-like
tone-on-tone contemporary look with a vaguely Art Deco motif.
underfoot feel and enduring quality.
The resulting carpet seems to glow as much as contrast against dark
OT is now the leading bespoke carpet company for the notoriously
richness of the wood, its pristine softness reflected in the mirrored
exacting superyacht world, working with big-name international
surface of a wide dividing column. The result is a rich and divinely
yards from Abeking & Rasmussen to Lürssen and Heesen. But de-
elegant at once. OT has done it again, brilliantly intuiting the per-
spite its success, it remains a resolutely family business in which
fect finishing touch for a glorious space. www.olivertreutlein.com
This page, the dining area aboard the 68m Soaring where OT’s pristine wool carpet contrasts to crisp perfection against dark glossy wood. Facing page, further examples of OT’s unrivalled skill in creating three-dimensional patterns
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