Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis has created Roll, a rug with a wood-and-resin arm that transforms the product into a sofa, which she is debuting at a modernist house during Mexico City art week. Roll takes its form and name from the act of unrolling a rug.
“With subtle irony, Roll suspends the rug mid-action, transforming it simultaneously into a rug and a seat,” said Marcelis. The designer created three limited-edition pieces for Italian carpet manufacturer CC-Tapis, in burgundy, baby pink and a reddish brown colour called rust.
Each piece of furniture was made from a flat textile of 100 per cent, robot-tufted wool. A curved, wool-clad arm was connected to one end of each of the textiles, to give the impression of a rug being rolled out on the floor.
Marcelis crafted the base of each arm from wood and finished them with glossy accents of resin – a staple material of the colourful but minimalist works the designer is known for. When combined with their respective arms, the textiles transform from rugs into seats. “The work draws on a familiar, everyday gesture typical of living spaces,” explained Marcelis. “Sitting on the rug and leaning against another element for support, making it explicit and fixing it into a singular form, suspended between use and sculpture.”
Roll marks the first non-rug product produced by CC-Tapis, which Marcelis and the manufacturer unveiled during this week’s Mexico City art week. The trio of products is on display as part of a site-specific installation at the modernist Valner Residence, an early-1970s house in Mexico City designed by architect Agustín Hernández.
Mexico City Art Week 2026 takes place from 1 to 9 February 2026 at various locations across Mexico City, Mexico.
Photo by Alejandro Ramirez Orozco
Photo courtesy of Sabine Marcelis and CC-Tapis
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