Spring/Summer 2012 Carpet Style Trends From Scarlet Opus

My friends at Scarlet Opus always manage to create trend stories that captivate, innovate and generate ideas to inevitably inspire endless carpet style trends. Here, I share a preview of their Spring / Summer 2012 trend presentation.

Interestingly, the trend themes build on the notion of "season of collaboration" based on the UN declaration that 2012 is the The International Year of Co-operatives:

“… people who unite to meet common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly and democratically controlled enterprise.”

As Shelley Pond describes in her post: "A vast meeting of minds is occurring, a solidarity which could reshape our world. Standing together, embracing a world community, partnership, sharing, supporting. We arrive at the Spring/Summer 2012 season looking at things from a different perspective, a new stand point of positivity and determination to set things right. A global reboot!"

Furthermore, 

"The seasons styles are seductively sensorial; sound waves of patterns, high pitched colours, sharp fractured shapes … we awaken to a new aesthetic. A season of change, chaos, contradictions; products that soothe us, schemes that shake us up, patterns that reassure us, colours that alarm us. A beautifully, imperfect, harmony."

I'm ready! Are you?

Scarlet Opus' Spring/Summer 2012 Trends includes the following six themes:

Savoir-Faire: a re-establishing of Mid-Century values in the 21st Century paving the way for common courtesy, conviviality, and sobriety to reign supreme.

Eco-Carnival: a global fusion of rhythmic patterns, bright botanicals, and tribal geometrics with a South American beat.

Cultural-Nexus: a celebration of the power of the collective, connectivity, and community from the Middle East and beyond.

Colour-Capital: a dynamic mood of hi-energy, plugged-in colour, and positive vibrations from the future cityscape.

Majestic-Minimalism: a look back in order to look forward, harmoniously merging historical features with pared-down Modernism.

The-Abyss: an exploration into the depths of the world’s Oceans; the unexplored, the unknown, the extraordinary.

Thank you, Shelley, Victoria, Phil and the entire team at Scarlet Opus for sharing this vision of style trends to come!


For the full experience, visit the original Scarlet Opus post titled Spring / Summer 2012 - Sneak Peak on the Scarlet Opus Trends Blog which includes more images and perspective on each trend.

Custom Carpet Design Matches Restaurant Decor

Have you ever been stopped in your tracks because your feet came upon the perfect flooring design scheme? One that not only matched a room's decor - in this case a restaurant - but also integrated all of the surrounding design elements? If you haven't, I have one to share with you...

Fellow Surfaces presenter and friend, Chris Ramey, President of Affluent Insights and Chairman of The Luxury Marketing Council Florida, recently forwarded me several photos he had taken of a new restaurant in Miami that had done a particularly effective job of tying together the restaurant's visual themes with a custom carpet design. [Pretty neat when your friends are on the lookout for great carpet for you!]

Here is what Chris wrote me:

Christine,

I've attached a picture I thought your floor covering readers might enjoy because it is a custom printed carpet at the entrance for a new restaurant in Miami. Note how they carried the theme in the front window. Plus, who says custom has to be a large area?

This other picture highlights the menus using the same motif.

Warm regards,

Chris

View from the front window

The menu

The restaurant is very new and doesn't yet have its own website. However, it is related to Tutto Pasta Ristorante.

[I'll have to ask Chris to let us know if the bathrooms further reinforce the custom carpet design and restaurant decor. It might be a wonderful addition to the 2011 Bathroom Blogfest!]

Imagine creating your own custom carpet design for your personal space. Which visual elements and colors would you include? How would you accessorize the rest of the space to support your custom carpet and surrounding decor?

Have you come across a perfect carpet or flooring design scheme that stopped you in your tracks? If so, take a picture and I'll share it with readers of the Carpetology Blog!

If you like what you've read, consider subscribing to the Carpetology Blog for email updates or via RSS.

Tania Johnson: Nature Inspired Rug Design

Meet Tania Johnson, founder of Tania Johnson Design. She specializes in custom made, contemporary, hand knotted rugs, based on a rich heritage as a textile designer for such brands as Martha Stewart, Chilewich, Vera Wang, and Calvin Klein Home. In fact, as a designer for Calvin Klein Home, she created the brand’s first rug collection in 2002.

Tania's publicist, Dania Ahmad, shared with me news about Tania's latest collection which is "inspired by the natural world, the way light creates shadows and reflections, the microscopic details found in nature and the infinite textures created through layering."  You can imagine how intrigued I was.

As Dania explained, "Johnson creates ethereal designs and translates them into intricately woven rugs. The collectable pieces feature original, cutting-edge designs, and are hand knotted by artisans in Nepal using lustrous combinations of silk, wool and pashmina."

Can you imagine walking up such deliciousness?  I can.

Tania Johnson is New York based albeit British born designer who graduated from London’s Royal College of Art with a Master of Arts in woven textiles. According to Dania, Tania Johnson "takes a hands-on approach to her business which is reflected in her commitment to promoting fair labor standards in the carpet industry. She works with GoodWeave, a certification program which aims to eliminate child labor and to improve working conditions for adults; any carpet with the GoodWeave label means that the rug was made only by adult artisans. In addition, the certification program helps fund educational opportunities for children as well as support and resources for families and weaving communities in South Asia."

My recent email exchanges with Dania focused on Tania Johnson's recent rug introductions, consisting of "four stunning hand  knotted rug designs ... The  earthy but contemporary patterns are inspired by intricate  details  of  nature - among them delicate plays of  light,  shadows and  reflection.  Johnson portrays these elements  through  meticulous  color  choices, very high knot counts, and combinations of silk and wool that create nuanced textures and sheens.... As with the other designs in the collection each of these  rugs - Reflected  Trees,  Textured  Daisy,  Branches, Drops of Light - is a bespoke collector's piece that pushes the boundaries of creative and technical possibilities."

Per the press release: “As an avid world traveler and photographer I have found my rug designs to serve as the perfect canvas for capturing memories from my travels. The inspiration for the patterns often comes from the subtlest details of my own photographs - rain falling on tree branches, or a close-up of a Nepalese Buddhist shrine. The colors and materials allow me to translate these small frozen moments into usable pieces of art,” said Johnson.

Furthermore, "as with the other designs in the collection each of these rugs - Reflected Trees, Textured Daisy, Branches, Drops of Light - is a bespoke collector’s piece that pushes the boundaries of creative and technical possibilities. The designs benefit from Johnson’s penchant for very low pile heights. This detail offers an added layer of luxury and a supple and sumptuous surface quality that is equally pleasing to the eye and to the touch. The entire Tania Johnson Design collection is ideal for a wide range of residential and hospitality settings – from a living room or foyer to a hotel lobby."

Go ahead, feast your eyes!

Reflected Trees – An image of trees reflected in a lake. As the sun moves across a lake, an image fleetingly appears only to be replaced moments later by a new pattern. The use of warm colors and blending of different shades with varying percentages of wool and silk in a single knot recreates the beautiful interplay of light and movement in the original photograph. Boasting a burnt orange ground, Reflected Trees is made from wool and silk. 100 knots per inch, 4mm pile.

Textured Daisy - A daisy’s shadow falls on a stony path, creating a softly blurred flower pattern on a textured ground. Subtle shades of color are finely knotted in wool to create the blurred edges while an uneven silk grid is layered on top to add movement and sheen. Textured Daisy is made from wool and silk, 200 knots per inch, 3mm pile.

Drops of Light - Light is captured as it falls in drops. Through the use of high knot count and tonal shades, the delicate nuances of light are recreated within the lemon colored wool ground, while the drops shine in silk. Drops of Light is made from wool and silk. 200 knots per inch, 3mm pile

Branches - Tree branches in the rain are viewed through a gauzy mesh. Made from pure silk, the rug gradually shifts and transforms from an intricate design to a sheen of olive green tones as one moves around it. Branches is made from 100% silk. 200 knots per inch, 4mm pile.

If you'd like to order a Tania Johnson rug, you'll be interested to know that the standard sizes for Tania Johnson Design rugs are 5'x8', 6'x9', 9'x12' and 10'x14'. At the same time, everything in the line is made to order and completely customizable - which means that you will have a field day!

You can also learn more about Tania Johnson design and her inspiration via her blog.

For many of you, I expect that you're looking to create a consistent or integrated feel in your home. And, if you're looking to meld the soft rug interpretations that Tania Johnson has created with hard surface concepts, I suggest you visit the Avente TileTalk Blog and specifically New Leaf Imprint Tiles for Spring which - in my mind - would coordinate beautifully together.

What's your take? Do you enjoy nature inspired designs in rugs as well as tile?

Special thanks to Tania Johnson and Dania Ahmad.

Carpet Style Trends & Ideas: George Clarke

Did you participate in the 10/15/10 live web chat with UK designer George Clarke?  If not, you can still enjoy the replay and glean carpet style trends, colors and ideas from the lively exchanges that took place. Here is a link to the housetohome webchat with George Clarke.

I thought I would recap for you George's comments relating to carpet since they are so relevant to the Carpetology Blog and bring to life some great carpet style trends and ideas.

By the way, George has carpet in his home. During the webchat he explained that he has carpet in his bedrooms and is about to install 1000 sq. feet of carpet in his newly designed basement because he wants that space to be "sofy, cosy and quiet..."

My friends at Funonthefloor.com invited me to ask the first question. What an honor!

Housetohome:
Let’s kick off with a question from Christine B Whittemore of Carpetology - "My readers are very interested in carpet style trends. What's the best way to incorporate the latest carpet patterns and styles in home design?"

George's response:
Bold colours or simple stripes are a really good way to incorporate the latest trends... this Season's 'Ballet Russe' is a perfect example of a latest trend - get the look with a rich red or plum carpet in a velvet pile - these are perfect and luxurious for bedrooms. There are loads of ideas and more information on this at www.funonthefloor.com.

[Thank you, George, and FunontheFloor!]

George Clarke offered advice on making a "teeny little flat in London" look bigger:  first have a big clear out and declutter, use minimal finishes and over elaborate on furnishings and decoration, integrate storage as much as possible rather than having free standing furniture, use a light coloured carpet on the floor or other light finishes...and paint all of the walls a light bright colour...a matt trade white is my favourite...keep everything minimal and simple. G

On making a space look less gloomy and more cheerful: get as much natural light in there as possible. My house is north facing and I have lots of skylights to get stronger light into all of the rooms. A few bright and bold colours on the wall or on the floor by using bright, colourful carpet can also add colour and vibrancy to a room....light and colour!!!!!! G

On carpet for absorbing sound and as alternative to wood flooing:  I'm a big fan of thick comfortable carpet. Timber flooring has been trendy for years but can often be cold in a room and for flats like yours its impractical. Go soft, cosy and luxurious...visit www.funonthefloor.com...G

[NB: Carpet is also a "brilliant insulator!!!!!!" says George.] 

On which colors are popular trends for carpet:  Abby...no way!...people are far more adventurous now and are avoiding the usual beige. The research and trends today show that people are looking to personalise their style and want to bring more character into their homes...the days of boring bland and neutral are gone! visit www.funonthefloor.com to see the trends for this year...you'll be impressed! G [CB: Hurray! George says it's ok to banish the beige!]

On carpet and kids:  everyone thinks carpet is completely impractical with kids...this aint true...they are much easier to clean and maintain than they used to be so don't compromise on comfort over practicality. There are ways of keeping your carpet in great nick. G

On the best carpet style for high traffic areas - asked by Blue Ant Studio blog:  A carpet labelled ‘Heavy Domestic’ will be good for high traffic areas. Berber carpets, also known as looped pile, are very durable and practical. A cut pile or twist is good for any room in the home.

Your carpet retailer should be able to help you choose one...and visit www.funonthefloor.com for even more inspiration and technical advice. G

[Note for North American readers: 'heavy domestic' is a carpet performance rating in the UK.]

Read through the web chat replay for some of the other tips, trends and ideas that George Clarke shared. As you can tell from these few responses the energy and enthusiasm were high - on George's part and from those participating and asking questions. Don't you think?

For additional resources about carpet trends and design ideas, check out:
www.FunontheFloor.com
George Clarke's Fun on the Floor design blog

And, from HousetoHome, short videos with George Clarke on
+ How to make your home more eco-friendly
+ How to add value to your home
And, finally George Clarke's website!

New Carpet Style Trends from CarpetRight

If you remember from Carpetright Style Guide: Carpet Inspiration Online, Carpetright in the UK offers carpet design and style inspiration via online trends and monthly tips.  These are created by Victoria Redshaw and have recently been updated with new carpet style trends!

More specifically, when you next visit the Carpetright Style guide, you'll find details on the 3 following new trends:

* Jubilant Indigo

* Country Ideals

* Grand Bazaar

What I love most about how Victoria presents these carpet style trends is that she suggests how to get the look, create interesting design groupings, then complete the look with carpet recommendations.

As I read through each trend, I find myself thinking how I might go about creating that trend...

In addition to the style guide trends, you'll find two new interior design tips since my last post, both extremely practical and relevant:  How to make a small room look bigger and Simple Rules for Selecting Colours.

I invite you to go explore.  Then, will you let me know which carpet style trend you find most appealing and which interior design tip most valuable?

Thanks for reading!

Nourison Rug Accents A Room

I love how carpets and rugs add warmth and visual appeal to a room.  Rugs, in particular, create design accents that can define the purpose of a space, generate conversation and generally convey a sense of hospitality to a space.  Take this room scene from Nourison with its magnificent styled rug.

My friend, Elise Demboski, executive director North America of Wools of New Zealand, forwarded me this image. She thought I would enjoy it.

She was right!

I asked Elise for more information:

Style VA26 from Nourison's Vallencierre collection features an elegantly eclectic transitional motif that enhances both traditional and contemporary interiors with a sophisticated fashion accent. All rugs in the Vallencierre collection carry the Wools of New Zealand brand and are hand-washed, hand-carved, and hand-finished for an appearance that is both luxurious and unmistakably fashion-forward.

Note: what the photo above doesn't properly capture is how textural the pattern is with its hand-carved quality. Truly scrumptious!

What do you think about this particular carpet rug style?


By the way, you might consider checking out Elise's blog Wool For A Better World.

Carpetright Style Guide: Carpet Inspiration Online

How many flooring or carpet retailers have you encountered that offer customers interior style advice? Not that many, right?  Imagine then being inspired and guided online by an incredibly talented interiors trend forecaster who not only offers advice on how to make the most of your flooring or carpet decision, but also helps integrate the floor into an overall design concept.  That is what Carpetright in the UK has done with its Style Guide.

I learned about the Carpetright Style Guide from my friend Victoria Redshaw whom you may remember from Celebrating Carpet: UK's Fun on the Floor with Style, Design Trends 2010: Carpet, Floors & More, and Surfaces Blog: Source of Carpet Style Trends & More! She provides the guidance, inspiration and overall interior style advice for the Carpetright Style Guide.

Here is the post Victoria wrote on the subject in the Scarlet Opus Blog. It's titled Reaching Out to Customers With Carpetright.

She explains that the Carpetright Style Guide helps customers understand how important flooring is to the overall design scheme and achieve an entire look rather than a piecemeal one.  As Victoria explains "we wanted to help customers to understand how flooring can be an integral part of creating the hottest new interior trends in their own home... and of course let them know what those hot trends are."

The lowdown is as follows: every six months, Carpetright will showcase 3 new interior trends on their website and via in-store posters with montages of home products currently available at UK stores. Trend boards will help demonstrate how the entire look comes together.

As of July 2010, the trends you'll find on the website include:

• King & Country
• Indian Odyssey
• Imperial Glamour

Which is your favorite?

Furthermore, every month Victoria shares a valuable design and style related tip:

January - In Praise of Pattern
February - Getting To Grips With Grey
March - Blue is the Hot New Color for 2010
April - Make a Colour Statement in your Hall
May - Movie Magic
June - Making a Sample Board

I can't wait to read about the July tip!

The Carpetright Style Guide is practical, inspiring, helpful, educational and truly beautiful! And I love how completely it integrates carpet and flooring into the final look/feel of each design concept.

What do you think?

Congratulations Victoria and Carpetright for creating such a rich source of carpet inspiration online and integrating it with your in-store experience!

Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet From Shaw At Carpet One, Flooring America

Shaw Floors and CCA Global have just launched a new carpet product together.  It's called Tigressa SoftStyle, consists of a collection of 31 carpet styles and is available at Carpet One Floor and Home and Flooring America.

New Carpet Style Introduced Via Bloggers

What's particularly unusual with this carpet style introduction - beyond its "exceptional strength and ultimate softness" is that it involves bloggers, a first for the flooring and carpet industry.

That's right, on May 19th and 20th, 2010, Shaw and CCA Global invited bloggers to participate in a two day event, starting at Barnsley Gardens with an inspiring presentation from Amy Devers, HGTV's DIY to the Rescue and the next day at Shaw in Dalton, GA, with a visit tour of the Shaw Design Center and mini-manufacturing process, the creation of trend boards, and firsthand Tigressa demonstrations.

Here's who participated - a veritable who's who in the interiors and home furnishings industry each projecting strong voices in design, color, decor and green living:

• Carrie Malatesta from Building My Green Life, about living, working and building sustainably.
• Timothy Dahl from Charles & Hudson, an independent resource for do-it-yourself enthusiasts seeking the latest in home improvement tips and techniques as well as the finest tools and hottest news in the home building industry.
• Maria Killam from Colour Me Happy which exudes her fresh take on contemporary and her love of color.
• Danny Seo from Daily Danny, about green living expert Danny Seo's eco-friendly and crafty ideas for everyday living
• Creede Fitch from Grassroots Modern
• Jill Seidner from Material Girls which offers design inspiration from coast to coast. 
• Jocelyn Hagan and Kim Fauth from One Project Closer,filled with tips, advice, experiences, products, reviews, giveaways, finances, how-tos, tools and more that help us build better homes, communities and lives.
• Carmet Natschke from The Decorating Diva
• Amy Bleier-Long from Traditional Home Blogs

Preston Koerner from Jetson Green, a daily-updated web magazine blog obsessed with Green Living, wasn't able to attend. He did, though, describe in A Durable Soft New Carpet Tigressa the Tigressa materials he received.

Attending from the flooring trade media were Woman In Flooring Kim Gavin from Floor Covering Weekly [see CCA & Shaw launch Tigressa via bloggers] and Emily Hooper from Floor Covering News [see CCA launches Tigressa, markets via bloggers - note: registration required].

I was invited to participate and, unfortunately, couldn't attend. My friend and former colleague, Bruce Conlon -- we both called on CCA Global, he for Shaw and I for Solutia/Wear-Dated -- graciously sent me information so I could share it with you.

What The Event Was Like

To give you a feel for the event, I thought I would share with you posts written by the blogging attendees. [Kim and Jocie from One Project Closer Tweeted the event. I wish I had a transcript :(...] Here's their summary: New Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet Line By Shaw - Rolling Out this Weekend.

I love the detailed and visual overview that Material Girls' Jill Seidner shares in Tigressa SoftStyle carpet event from Shaw Floors.

Colour Me Happy's Maria Killam offers a marvelous visual description of the entire event in Tigressa SoftStyle; 4 Steps to Removing Stains from your Carpet. I love the photos of the trend boards!

There's The Decorating Diva's Carmen Natschke summary: Shaw Floors' Tigressa SoftStyle Carpets Debuts. And in Traditional Home Blogs, Amy Bleier-Long describes eye on the tiger - behind the scenes at shaw.

What makes Tigressa Softstyle carpet different?

According to FloorDaily,Tigressa is a "line of soft nylon carpets with fibers half the width of human hair... More fibers yield better color saturation within the carpet as well as greater durability and wear resistance since it spreads wear out across more individual threads."

DailyDanny's post Introducing Shaw Floors Tigressa does a great job of explaining what makes Tigressa unique as does Charles & Hudson's Timothy Dahl in Tigressa Softstyle Carpet From Shaw Floors.

What's the story behind the name "Tigressa"?

The Tigressa introduction includes a strong commitment to saving wild tigers in Asia, where they are on the brink of extinction.

"For all Tigressá sales made between May 16 and August 20, 2010, we’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation’s Save the Tiger Fund (STF). STF sponsors effective efforts to stop the killing of wild tigers, enabling them to recover and flourish, and empowers local people to live in balance with natural resources, providing tangible benefits to them whenever possible."

Accordingly, the Tigressa SoftStyle carpet introduction includes a Tigressa sweepstakes:

"One grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to India to see the tigers, a $12,000 value! Three first prize winners will receive a $1,500 gift card for Tigressá carpet, and five second prize winners will receive a Nikon COOLPIX camera. Enter now for your chance to win! 

Increase your odds of winning by sharing on both Facebook and Twitter. For every entry on Twitter, we will donate a dollar to the Save the Tiger Fund to help support the efforts to save this regal creature from extinction*."

The sweepstakes lasts until August 20th.

When you register for the sweepstakes, you have the opportunity to share on Facebook and on Twitter.  For every #Tigressa tweet sent out [you have 3 to choose from]:

• Just donated a dollar to the Save The Tiger Fund and entered to win a trip for two to India thanks to #Tigressa! http://bit.ly/tigressa
• Donated a dollar to the Save the Tiger Fund, entered to win great prizes, and learned about new #Tigressa carpet! http://bit.ly/tigressa
•  Found the perfect new carpet for my home and entered to win great prizes, including a trip to India! http://bit.ly/tigressa #tigressa

Shaw and CCA will donate $1 to the Save the Tiger Fund.  Note: you must issue the tweet from the sweepstakes registration page.

Here is Materials Girls' post about Save The Tiger: Tigressa Carpet & Save The Tigers.

The Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet Product

Now onto the Tigressa carpet product itself.

From the samples Bruce and Empower MediaMarketing sent me, Tigressa feels lush, thick and soft. The brochures describes it as "luxurious and durable" with "ultra protective color and microfiber technology, supreme, silky softness, stronger than ordinary carpet, richer stronger color."

In terms of nitty gritty details, Tigressa is made from type 6 nylon which can be repeatedly recycled into new nylon. For that reason, it is categorized as a Green Select product at Flooring America and Carpet One. 

Building My Green Life's Carrie Malatesta describes what she learned about carpet sustainability in Shaw Floors: Tigressa Carpet Launch.

That, then, is the lowdown of Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet from Shaw based on the accounts of the bloggers I've listed above.  Look for it at Carpet One and Flooring America and then, please, let me know what you think.

Note: Photos Courtesy of Shaw Floors.

Mannington's tx:style Design Challenge

Do you remember reading about Mannington Commercial Carpet Design Competition - tx:style? I first wrote about it in December 2008.

Well, I have news for 2010! According to Carly Jayne Rullman, account coordinator for ScoutBrand in Birmingham, AL, Mannington's tx:style Design Challenge is even Bigger and Better!

I invited Carly to tell us more.

-----------

Last year, The Carpetology Blog introduced Mannington Commercial’s tx: style Design Challenge, an online competition among young, aspiring designers to have their design made into a full carpet collection.

And because the competition was so popular among its 6,000+ registrants, Mannington Commercial re-launched the website this year.

This year, the website is even better. In addition to being the website for the Design Challenge, it is an online design community that is up and running year-round. The site presents monthly contests, a mood board where users may upload what inspires them and a product development tab.

The monthly contests have brought many to the online community. Simple in nature, the prizes are big—a trip to Greenbuild, a $500 gift certificate to West Elm and the current contest that will give one lucky winner a trip to NeoCon. And there’s more where these come from.

The "Who wants to go to NeoCon?" contest ends May 27th and the winner will be announced June 1st.

At this point, Mannington Commercial has chosen six design finalists who are in the running for the top honor. You can see their unique designs on the tx:style website, as well as video clips to get to know their personalities and the inspirations behind their work. Be sure to vote for your favorites!

Online voting closes June 14th, but remains open to visitors at NeoCon (June 14-16).

If you can make it to NeoCon this year, the finalists will be in Mannington Commercial’s showroom #1039. An entire section is devoted to tx: style, where the finalists will be showing off their design boards and encouraging online voting. Additionally, there will be awesome giveaways, including fun bags and iPads.

But don’t forget- tx: style online design community will remain active throughout the year, so there is always a chance to interact with other young designers and prizes to win.

-------
Thank you, Carly!

I hope you'll go vote. And, if you are passionate about designing commercial carpet, won't you consider joining the Mannington Commercial tx:style design community?

Surfaces Blog: Source of Carpet Style Trends & More!

Have you had a chance to visit the Surfaces Blog? If you're looking for design inspiration, ideas on carpet style trends and colors, with a dash of carpet - or surfaces - industry practicality thrown in, you will enjoy your visit!

The Surfaces Blog is managed by my friend Chelsie Z. Thornton, conference manager for Hanley Wood Exhibitions' SURFACES | StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas. [See Anticipating Surfaces 2011.]

My very favorite contributor is Victoria Redshaw who regularly shares entrancing thoughts and images that send my soul singing because of the combination of colors, patterns, and artistic inspiration.

You may remember Victoria from several previous posts:

+ Design Trends 2010: Carpet, Floors & More
+ Celebrating Carpet: UK's Fun On the Floor With Style

[I'm delighted to say that she is as inspiring in person. You see, I got to meet her and spend time with her at Surfaces 2010...]

In addition to flooring and carpet style trend information, the Surfaces Blog offers flooring business insights. Paul Friederichsen shares perspective on marketing and branding; Warren Tyler on sales; Lew Migliore on how to deal with flooring issues and how best to care for flooring. And others. All experts in their fields.

But, there's no one else like Victoria!

Do read the Surfaces Blog and let me know what you think.

Thanks,

The Carpets of Vegas: Floorscapes at the Casino

Have you checked out The New Yorker, and specifically The Talk of The Town? You're in for a treat because the 4/5/10 issue titled At The Casino FLOORSCAPES by Lauren Collins discusses carpet and more specifically 'psychedelic' Casino carpet as interpreted by New York-based photographer named Chris Maluszynski.

In addition to the article, there's a companion Slide Show: The Carpets of Vegas published on March 29, 2010 which offers a glimpse of 8 bold, kaleidescopic patterned casino carpet floorscapes. I suggest you look through them first then return to Lauren's article.

In the slideshow summary as well as the full article, you may notice that I'm quoted...

Collins quotes Christine B. Whittemore, who runs a blog called Carpetology: “A lot of the busyness of the patterns may be about keeping people active, as too much relaxing may not inspire gambling.”

Talk about excited!

I spoke with Lauren Collins on March 22nd. She had noticed several stories covered here in the Carpetology Blog about casino carpet and wanted to further discuss big, bold and busy carpet patterns to put into perspective Maluszynski’s show “Feared and Loathed: The Carpets of Las Vegas” which opened April 1st, 2010, at the 25CPW gallery, on Central Park West in NYC.

Thanks to the annual Surfaces show, I've seen my fair share of casino carpet in Las Vegas. What's more is that I toured the Wynn and the Encore this past February and was able to share some of those insights with Lauren. The carpet photo you see in Carpet Style Trends 2010 is from our starting point for the tour in the Wynn. Its sister in the neighboring Encore featured the same red background but with butterflies.

I love Maluszynski's characterization of three categories of Vegas Casino Carpets:

1. geometric shapes

2. organic shapes

3. themed shapes

Can you think of other categories?

In her article, Collins mentions David G. Schwartz, the director of the Center for Gaming Research, who has posted on his blog the die is cast pictures and an essay on Casino Carpet: The Quest & Conundrum. Definitely check those links out.

Thanks, Lauren, for a really fun conversation and for the opportunity to contribute to your article.

I wonder if I should relaunch A Foot's Perspective with a Casino Carpet angle?

Carpet Style Trends 2010

It's that time of year again... to consider Carpet Style Trends for 2010. More specifically, with a focus on 'upbeat' design and color.

Two recent flooring articles on the subject caught my attention:

• One from Floor Covering News dated January 25/February 1, 2010 titled Color splashes into 2010 styles.

• The other from Floor Covering Weekly dated January 4-18, 2010, titled "Style watch: Surprisingly upbeat designs, colors".

Yes, both articles mention how, in tough times, consumers tend to gravitate toward safe flooring choices. They also both call attention to color, pattern and design to banish the doom and gloom and bring joy, energy and enthusiasm back.

It works for me!

The carpet photos above comes from the Wynn in Las Vegas. I couldn't help admiring it. It filled me with warmth and delight. Isn't that the kind of effect - perhaps not with the same color palette or design scheme - that you'd like to create in your home?

Getting back to the articles and bringing some of that inspiration home:

The Color splashes article refers to "bold colors with dramatic, over-sized patterns... in an almost out of context scale". How better to "break free from the doldrums"?

The Style Watch article details interesting color trends that gravitate around "vintage, reused and recycled material." Brings to my mind the notion of everything old is new again. Even though both "color [and] pattern [are] showing restraint", consumers are nonetheless looking beyond beige and safe. With patterns, they are leaning toward small to medium scale patterns, organic designs, animal prints as well as contemporary, geometric and organic patterns. I see small scale and organic patterns in the image above, don't you?

I love the ending of the article: "...the downturn has caused everyone to look at things in a whole new way... We have a new appreciation for things. The downturn has given us a chance to turn inward and try new things we wouldn't have..."

How are you looking to infuse that new appreciation in the carpet style trends you're considering?

Celebrating Carpet: UK's Fun On The Floor With Style

Fun on the Floor with Carpet.

Fun on the Floor is a UK campaign sponsored by several carpet manufacturers [and not the Carpet Foundation and its member manufacturers which are not connected with Fun on the Floor - edited 1/19/10]. I first heard about it in 2008 in Is carpet about to make a comeback? A bit later, I was delighted to come across Carpet is back in style which offered delicious carpet style trends and details about Fun on the Floor.

A few weeks ago, I exchanged emails with Patrick Finn from Fun on the Floor, who graciously made possible the interview below with Steve Elliott, managing director of Associated Weavers in the UK and part of the Fun on the Floor panel of home experts offering free consumer design advice. He has worked in the carpet industry for over twenty years, has a varied and experienced background within the industry regularly dealing with manufacturers and suppliers. Steve is particularly knowledgeable about product development, the link between carpet and fashion and the changing colour trends that emerge. With an excellent understanding of the UK and world carpet market and also what consumers want from a carpet he is perfectly placed to comment on all carpet related issues.

Steve, what is the purpose of Fun on the Floor?

In 2008 a collective of carpet manufacturers, distributors and retailers joined forces to create a major generic marketing campaign under the banner of ‘Fun on the Floor’. The campaign aims to get the nation embracing the attributes of carpet.

The website www.funonthefloor.com is an interactive resource for anyone interested in learning more about the transformation that carpet can bring to a room – whether home owners, home improvers, retailers or media.

What objectives does Fun on the Floor want to achieve?

Fun on the Floor (FOTF) has four main objectives, to make carpet seen to be:

Noticed
Desirable
Affordable
Practical & fashionable

How did the members of FOTF get together?

All the UK’s major carpet manufacturers and retailers were invited to become part of FOTF, with Carpetright and Headlam spearheading the campaign. A total of 13 companies now make up the FOTF group.

What was done in the first year of Fun on the Floor?

In the first year Fun on the Floor ran a national campaign highlighting carpet as a flooring choice by bringing to life its versatility, practicality, affordability, and ability to transform a home!

The first phase of the campaign launched July 31st 2008 with the opening of a unique house in central London designed and curated by Interior Designer and Sunday Times Style Columnist Danielle Proud [mentioned in the article above].

The Fun on the Floor house acted as a showroom through a medley of creatively designed rooms featuring carpet in stunning, creative and fun ways based on current interior trends and popular carpet choices. The house was visited by trade, national, consumer, regional journalists as well as key influencers such as interior designers, production companies for a free shoot location and celebrities.

Following the launch of the Fun on the Floor House, an eye-catching press and outdoor advertising campaign launched in the Autumn that covered billboards and vans nationwide.

Supporting all the activity and creating a consumer hub to the campaign, an interactive website launched to coincide with the house opening (www.funonthefloor.com), helping consumers understand carpet and offering advice and tips from Danielle.

What about the second year?

In the second year Fun on the Floor continued with a national advertising campaign and developed the website further through the provision of an expert panel. Funonthefloor.com created a unique panel of home experts to offer consumers free advice on home improvement offering expert knowledge of interior flooring trends, carpets, colour and crafts. The panel consists of modern craft expert Danielle Proud, Interior Design expert Andrea Maflin, colour expert Victoria Redshaw and carpet industry brain Steve Elliott head of AWE carpets. Each member of the panel had been carefully selected for their individual areas of expertise.

In addition to the expert panel Fun on the Floor worked with leading trend forecasters Scarlet Opus to produce an interiors bible featuring all you need to know about forthcoming interiors trends with an emphasis on the most popular flooring choice – carpet. The report acts as an informative yet stylish guide with exclusive photography, quotes from the FOTF experts and a ‘get the look’ section.

Who are the experts on the FOTF panel and what do they specialize in?

Andrea Maflin – Interior Design Expert

Andrea Maflin is an interior design expert with many television appearances including Home Front and Real Rooms, both for the BBC, and Renovation Street for Carlton. She was the resident interiors expert on Channel 5's Britain’s Worst DIY-er as well as presenting on UKTV Style's Our House (Series 1 and 2). She has also designed a house for GMTV and appeared in regular design slots on Sky interactive and This Morning. A contributor to numerous interiors magazines Andrea currently has a regular, weekly slot in The Sunday Times.


Victoria Redshaw – Colour and trend forecaster expert

Victoria Redshaw is one of the trend forecasting industries brightest new stars and founded leading trend forecast agency Scarlet Opus. Quite visionary in her proven ability to read world events and social change and translate these into consumer trends with total accuracy for any business concerned with products &/or Services for the home.

Steve Elliott – Carpet industry expert

I am the managing director of Associated Weavers and have worked in the carpet industry for over twenty years. I have a varied background and am very active within the industry regularly dealing with manufacturers and suppliers. With a specific interest in product development I pride myself on being knowledgeable about the link between carpet and fashion and the changing colour trends that emerge. I follow the UK and world carpet market closely and also what consumers really want from a carpet so I can help make sure we create products people want to purchase.

Danielle Proud – Interiors and craft expert

Danielle launched the Fun on the Floor campaign last year with the stunning Fun on the Floor house. Described by the Sunday Times Style Magazine as "The sexy blonde Nigella of homemaking" Danielle Proud is the new face of modern craft. Danielle runs House Proud Craft, an umbrella company through which she sells her own design craft kits. In 2006 she moved into craft and home-making for UKstyle and a series of daily appearances on GMTV. In 2007 Danielle presented the highly original interior design format ‘All in the Best Possible Taste’ for BBC2, which paired her with husband Alex Proud. She is also developing an exclusive craft range to be sold throughout the UK and had a regular column in the Sunday Times Style Magazine.

What trends can we expect to see develop in 2010?

King and Country

This October Chanel hosted the most elaborate fashion show of the year as models took to the catwalk surrounded by an enormous barn and piles of hay. Rural colours dominated, with deep greens, sand and wheat colours making ‘country chic’ truly the hottest look of the show. This trend is destined to start filtering its way from the catwalks of Europe to the home as funonthefloor interiors FOTF colour expert Victoria Redshaw predicts the King & Country look will be big in interiors next spring.

The King and Country trend it is not about severe austerity, but rather cheerfulness in the trend’s styling that reflects the spirit of 1940’s wartime Britain. An abundance of simple patterns inspired by the reworking and recolouring of classic men’s suiting fabrics [e.g. tweed, herringbone and plaids] to create fantastic carpets, upholstered furniture that has patches of appliqué, cushions, throws, lampshades and even wallpaper!

Eastern Odyssey

An emerging influence, Eastern Odyssey is a huge trend that will bring much needed colour and pattern to a darker season such as Autumn/Winter. In addition to the bright sari shades the colour palette is updated by the addition of rich spice and dark maroon tones inspired by monsoon rain and mists. Maroon is a key colour development in this trend e.g. its inclusion in décor schemes through one step of laying a new carpet will help to refresh rooms and deliver a contemporary look. A visual opulence is reinforced by the use of an orange toned gold as well as burnished copper and brass.

The hustle and bustle of Indian city streets with their jostling crowds, decorative tuck-tucks, billboards and market stalls inspire mash-up patterns and colour mixes that reflect the vibrancy of life. This trend is not about co-ordinating, it is about lively mixes of different patterns on upholstered seating, wallpaper & oversized wall decal motifs, curtains and carpets. The abundance of pattern is balanced by areas of strong, plain colour blocks, with the introduction of bold carpets which can stop room schemes from looking chaotic. The juxtaposing patterns enrich and add character whilst the plain areas add depth and provide a calming foundation.

Magic Garden

This trend’s look can be achieved by the playful use of scale. Much of the Alice in Wonderland story involves manipulating scale and this is an important feature of furniture design and interior design relating to this trend and other home trends in 2010. Carpet's essential role in this trend is to provide a neutral or vivid base, either of which works well to enhance the magic garden look. Another important feature of this trend is storybook illustrations. They inspire surface pattern designs with a doodled, naive styling or narrative layouts that appear to tell a story and have a logical progression -- e.g. around the edge of a plate, up wallpaper or around a tabletop.

These placement patterns are much more interesting than conventional pattern layouts. The tangled foliage and colourful blooms of magical, fairytale gardens are an integral part of this trend. Vibrant mixes of large scale floral prints that appear to grow up wallpaper and wall decals create indoor English country garden scenes. Floral wallpapers can be used to decorate fitted wardrobe doors and bedside tabletops. Carpet with tiny, scattered flowers also helps to bring the outside, inside. For a bolder look select small scale gingham patterned carpet or for a plainer look invest in a pale blue or pale pink cut pile carpet.

For more on what are going to be the top trends in the home next year go to www.funonthefloor.com and ask the Fun on the Floor experts.

Is the trend report available on the FOTF website?

FOTF is constantly updating with new images and new content such as the expert panel to keep consumers interested and returning to the site. The full FOTF trend report is due to go live on the site by the end of 2009, giving consumers exclusive access to what is going to be hot in the interiors world next year.

What advantages do you think carpet has over other flooring choices?

Well for a start there are now a seemingly uncountable range of colours, styles and designs available on the market now. Carpet is also great for giving a house a cosy feel and can save consumers up to £100 [approx. $165] a year on their energy costs due to its insulating qualities. Carpet is also very affordable, an average sized room can be carpeted for as little as £200 [approx. $330]. Another great advantage of carpet is it’s noise canceling properties, many hard floors carry sound all over the house and therefore can be a very noisy flooring choice.

Finally, what does Funonfloor.com have planned for the future?

We will be continuing to innovate and produce great content on the site for consumers, trade and the media. Carpet has a great heritage in the UK and our aim is to continue the nation’s love of carpet and showcase it in as many compelling and visually appealing ways as possible. With regard to what we have planned coming up specifically I cannot say too much other than – keep checking the site!

Steve, many thanks for all of this wonderful, fun and style-filled carpet information! I look forward to learning more as Fun on the Floor continues.

The Fun on the Floor website is worth exploring. It includes details on the House that designer Danielle Proud re-imagined [definitely take the 6.42minute video tour], helpful and useful advice about carpet, inspiration for living on carpet, and responses to Ask the Experts questions. From my U.S. perspective, I particularly enjoy seeing the range of rich carpet style patterns, textures and colors.

And, I LOVE the carpet creativity that Danielle shares. She has truly brought new dimension to carpet, furniture and the 5th wall!

What do you think? What are your reactions?




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