Beni Ourain Style Rug or Authentic Beni Ourain: How to Tell Them Apart
A Beni Ourain style rug borrows a picture: an ivory ground crossed by dark diamonds. Most are woven by machine in polyester or polypropylene, cost little, and can sometimes go in the washing machine. An authentic Beni Ourain rug is a different object. It is knotted tuft by tuft from sheep's wool in the Atlas mountains of Morocco, and no two are alike. In a photograph they can look close. In material, in construction and in how they age, they have almost nothing in common. This page sets out the difference honestly, including when the style rug is the sensible choice.
From the Atelier
Beni Ourain Style Rug or Authentic Beni Ourain currently in our collection
Beni Ouarain "Charcoal Labyrinth"
300 × 218 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Ink Diamonds"
310 × 210 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Cream Passage"
300 × 220 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Concentric Void"
306 × 206 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Olive Arches"
310 × 210 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Cream Lattice"
250 × 146 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Drawn Lattice"
300 × 205 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Carved Relief"
290 × 210 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Whisper Grid"
315 × 205 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Pale Lattice"
320 × 200 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Open Crossings"
310 × 206 cm
€1,797
Beni Ouarain "Chevron Relief"
318 × 195 cm
€1,797
What a style rug is
A rug sold as Beni Ourain style, Moroccan style or Berber style is a mass-produced rug that takes the diamond pattern as its model. The fibre is usually synthetic. It is either woven on a power loom or tufted, which means yarn is punched into a backing cloth and held there with a layer of glue.
Because the same design can be repeated thousands of times at an exact size, the price stays low and the choice of sizes is wide. Many have a non-slip backing or are washable. None of that is a fault. It is simply another product that happens to share a name.
What an authentic Beni Ourain is
Beni Ourain is the name of a group of Berber tribes in the Middle Atlas of Morocco. Winters there bring snow, and the women spun the wool of their sheep and knotted thick rugs from it. They were made as bedding and blankets first, and as floor coverings second.
The ground is the colour of the fleece. The pattern is a lattice of diamonds or a few lines, and there is no drawing to follow. Each weaver works from memory, one row at a time, so that no rug can be repeated. That plainness is what drew twentieth-century architects to them.
Differences you can see and feel
Turn the rug over. A real one shows its pattern on the back, in small knots that are never perfectly even. A cloth glued across the back means tufted; a perfectly regular grid means machine-woven. On a real rug the fringe is the end of the warp threads, not a strip sewn on afterwards.
Then press the pile. Wool is elastic and springs back at once, and its shine is muted. Synthetic fibre is smoother and glossier and stays flat where it has been walked on. The drawing differs too. In a real rug each diamond is a slightly different size, the lines waver, and the edges are not quite straight.
Five years on
A synthetic rug looks its best on the first day. The pile gradually lies down, the walkways turn grey, and after a few years it is time to replace it. A tufted rug begins to shed once its glue dries out, and it cannot be mended.
Hand-knotted wool travels the other way. The pile settles and gains lustre, and the colour softens. It can be washed in water by a specialist, and a worn patch can be re-knotted. That is what is meant by a rug lasting decades. Counted per year of use, it is not necessarily the expensive option.
When the style rug is enough, and when it is not
If you plan to use it for a few years, want to machine-wash it, or have small children or a puppy and would rather not worry, a Beni Ourain style rug is a reasonable choice. As long as you know what you are buying, nothing is wrong with it.
If you want one rug for the living room or bedroom you will live in for a long time, soft under bare feet and better each year, the real thing earns its place. Either way, read the label. Do not judge by the name alone when a listing leaves out the fibre and the method of making.
The rugs on this page
Here are twelve authentic Beni Ourain rugs of the kind the style rugs imitate: an ivory to cream ground carrying a diamond lattice or lines. Eight have the lattice and four have lines. On some the drawing is charcoal or ink-black; on others it is tone on tone and appears only as the light crosses the pile. All are wool, knotted by hand in Morocco.
Eleven measure 6 ft 5 in to 7 ft 3 in wide and 9 ft 6 in to 10 ft 6 in long, the living-room size. The twelfth is 4 ft 9 in × 8 ft 2 in. The measured dimensions are given on every listing. Delivery is free worldwide, duties and taxes included.
What you can verify about us
- Origin
- Made in MoroccoHand-knotted Berber rugs from the Atlas regions. Every rug is a one-off.
- Construction
- Hand-knotted woolVerified at every stage — never machine-tufted.
- Delivery
- Duties includedFree shipping; import duties and taxes are included in the price.
- Returns
- 14 daysIn condition received, full refund of the purchase price.
Frequently Asked
Questions
- How can I tell a Beni Ourain style rug from an authentic one?
- Look at the back. A real rug shows the pattern there in uneven knots. Glued cloth means tufted, a perfectly even grid means machine-woven. Check that the fibre is wool.
- Can an authentic Beni Ourain rug be machine-washed?
- No. Vacuum it without a rotating brush for everyday care, and have it washed in water by a specialist in hand-knotted rugs when it needs a full clean.
- Are there grey Beni Ourain rugs?
- The traditional ground is the ivory of the fleece. A grey ground usually means a rug dyed and made recently, or a synthetic style rug.
- Is a Beni Ourain style rug a bad purchase?
- No, it is a different product. It costs less and is easy to replace, but it flattens sooner and cannot be repaired. For temporary use it is a fair choice.
The person behind the piece
“Before you buy, I’ll send you a video of the actual rug in natural light — not a stock photo. I answer the messages myself.”
I’m Youssef. I started ARINID because this market is full of middlemen and machine-made imitations sold as the real thing — and I grew up close enough to the looms to know the difference.
Every piece we list is a one-off, hand-knotted in Morocco. If you want to talk through sizing for your room, I’m on the other end of the message. A rug at this level is a thirty-year decision. You should be able to look the person selling it to you in the eye.
Youssef
Founder, ARINID
The next step
See every rug we currently offer
Each piece is hand-knotted in Morocco and delivered to your door, with shipping, duties and taxes included.