Surfaces and Bathroom Blogfest 2010

Surfaces, the annual exposition for the flooring industry, occurs once a year in Las Vegas. For Bathroom Blogfest 2010 - taking place this week - I thought I would share with you what I consider a clever way of showcasing flooring products.

[For more information about Bathroom Blogfest 2010, read the official release and consider visiting BathromBlogfest.com.]

Now, for the record, I don't have much related to carpet or rugs to share with you in this post.  However, Bethany Richmond has a really interesting blogpost about bathroom rugs and carpets you may find inspiring.

I think you'll also enjoy these design related Bathroom Blogfest posts:

• Jeanne Byington writes about Nostalgia and Bathrooms with tons of practical advice.
• Chris Moline shares interesting Bathroom ideas in "Stuck in the 60s?" inspired by Mad Men - this will be fun!
• Paul Anater's post about Bathrooms stuck in the 60s includes a rich selection of photos. His take: being stuck in the 60s may not be a bad thing!
• Renee LeCroy asks Are You Overdue for a Bathroom Redo?

Back to Surfaces...

These pictures below are ones I took on the last day of Surfaces having just finished using the women's bathroom on the ground level of the Sands Convention Center. I couldn't get over how cool the effect was.

The product manufacturer, Armstrong, had vinyl product samples displayed in the women's room.  I wish I had checked whether the men's room had also been decked out. Next time.  In any case, the product does a great job jazzing up, warming up and improving the acoustics of an otherwise uninspired and rather sterile space.

Sands Convention Center Women's Room

Look Down! Armstrong flooring sample

Look down again! Another Armstrong sample

Now, imagine Bethany's bathroom mats on there... Nice, don't you think?

Happy Bathroom Blogfest 2010!

BathroomBlogfest.com.
Like Bathroom Blogfest on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.

Be part of the fun!

This year's participants in Bathroom Blogfest 2010 include:

Blogger	Blog Name	Blog URL
Susan Abbott	Customer Experience Crossroads	Customer Experience Crossroads
Paul Anater	Kitchen and Residential Design	Kitchen and Residential Design
Shannon Bilby	Big Bob's Outlet	http://blog.bigbobsoutlet.com/
Shannon Bilby	Carpets N More Blog	http://blog.carpetsnmore.com/
Shannon Bilby	Dolphin Carpet Blog	http://blog.dolphincarpet.com/
Shannon Bilby	From The Floors Up	http://fromthefloorsup.com/
Shannon Bilby	My Big Bob's Blog	http://blog.mybigbobs.com/
Toby Bloomberg	Diva Marketing	http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/
Laurence Borel	Blog Till You Drop	http://www.laurenceborel.com/
Bill Buyok	Avente Tile Talk Blog	http://tiletalk.blogspot.com/
Jeanne Byington	The Importance of Earnest Service	http://blog.jmbyington.com/
Becky Carroll	Customers Rock!	http://customersrock.net/
Marianna Chapman	Results Revolution	http://www.resultsrevolution.com
Katie Clark	Practial Katie	http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/
Nora DePalma	American Standard's Professor Toilet	http://www.professortoilet.com/
Nora DePalma	O'Reilly DePalma: The Blog	http://www.oreilly-depalma.com/blog/
Leigh Durst	LivePath Experience Architect Weblog	http://livepath.blogspot.com/
Valerie Fritz	The AwarepointBlog	http://www.awarepointblog.com/
Iris Garrott	Checking In and Checking Out	http://circulating.wordpress.com/
Tish Grier	The Constant Observer	http://spap-oop.blogspot.com
Renee LeCroy	Your Fifth Wall	http://yourfifthwall.com/
Joseph Michelli	Dr. Joseph Michelli's Blog	www.josephmichelli.com/blog
Veronika Miller	Modenus Blog	http://www.modenus.com/blog
Arpi Nalbandian	TILE Magazine Editor Blog	TILE Magazine Editor Blog
Maria Palma	People 2 People Service	http://www.people2peopleservice.com/
Reshma Bachwani Paritosh	The Qualitative Research Blog	The Qualitative Research Blog
David Polinchock	Polinchock's Ponderings	http://blog.polinchock.com/
Victoria Redshaw & Shelley Pond	Scarlet Opus Trends Blog	http://trendsblog.co.uk/
David Reich	My 2 Cents	http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Sandy Renshaw	Around Des Moines	http://www.arounddesmoines.com/
Sandy Renshaw	Purple Wren	http://www.purplewren.com/
Bethany Richmond	Carpet and Rug Institute Blog	http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com/
Bruce Sanders	RIMtailing Blog	http://rimtailing.blogspot.com/
Steve Tokar	Please Be Seated	http://stevetokar.wordpress.com/
Carolyn Townes	Becoming a Woman of Purpose	http://spiritwomen.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Weaver	Experienceology	http://experienceology.blogspot.com/
Christine B. Whittemore	Flooring The Consumer	http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/
Christine B. Whittemore	Simple Marketing Blog	http://www.simplemarketingblog.com/
Christine & Ted Whittemore	Smoke Rise & Kinnelon Blog	http://smokerise-nj.blogspot.com/
Christine B. Whittemore	The Carpetology Blog	http://carpetology.blogspot.com/
Linda Wright	LindaLoo Build Business With Better Bathrooms	http://lindaloo.com/

Live UK Design Chat 10/15/10: George Clarke

Are you passionate about Home Design & Improvement [and how carpet fits into the overall picture]? If yes, you might be interested in a HousetoHome Live Web Chat taking place this Friday, October 15, 2010 with George Clark, UK architect, writer and lecturer, hugely successful property TV presenters on UK television and newest addition to Fun on the Floor's panel of experts.

Here are the details:

Location: Go to www.housetohome.co.uk

Time: 1 pm BST or 8 am EST

Be sure to register! Sign up below.




Here is some additional information on George Clarke from my friend Patrick Finn at FunontheFloor.com.

"Many of your UK readers will know George from The Home Show [launched in 2008] and Restoration Man [launched in 2009] programmes that he appears on at Channel 4. After three successful series of Build A New Life for Five from 2003 to 2006, George became the face of architecture at Channel 4.

George will be on hand via this Live Design Web Chat to answer questions on home renovation and design projects so I feel sure that this will be of interest to your audience. May I request that you let your readers know about this unique opportunity to quiz him about anything from carpet tips to basement conversions."

As I mention above, George recently joined the Fun on the Floor panel of carpet experts and now has a home design blog at Fun on the Floor where he adds more useful help and advice on all sorts of home improvement projects there.

Do register for Friday's event to participate in the Live UK Design Chat with George Clarke.  I bet you will be inspired!

By the way, you might also be interested in the HousetoHome Blogs.

Vegas Carpet: Surreal, Intense and Addictive?

What's your opinion of Las Vegas Casino carpet? Love it? Hate it? Tolerate it as a necessary evil? Is it too intense, somewhat surreal while also addictive?

This Wired magazine article builds on a related story in The New Yorker [see The Carpets of Vegas: Floorscapes at the Casino].  Titled Ugly Vegas Carpets Want You to Keep Playing, it, too, brings up Chris Maluszynski's Las Vegas Carpets photographic series.

In the article and the series, you'll experience the surreal quality of both carpet and Las Vegas. Where else but in Las Vegas can such intensely exuberant and patterned carpet be more appropriate? Where else can it support addictive activity?

I love the points made by Dave Schwartz, Director of the Center for Gaming Research, at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

He states that “casino carpet is known as an exercise in deliberate bad taste that somehow encourages people to gamble.”  Talk about addictive!

At the same time, each carpet design distinctly defines individual casinos.  Per the article, "Schwartz also points out that the busy carpets are not without design: There are floral designs at Mandalay Palace, abstract pointillist floors at Paris and, at Caesars Palace, the wheel – the Roman symbol of the “relentless capriciousness of fortune.”" [See Empty Pockets, Happy Feet & Casino Carpet.]

For me, prolonged exposure to the visual intensity [and energy] of the various bold and colorful patterns creates sensory overload. That's when I seek refuge in my hotel room where if I'm lucky, as you can see in Wow! Mirage Carpet, a tastefully subdued design scheme will definitely offer a well-deserved break!

What's your take on Las Vegas carpet? Do you have a preferred Casino pattern? Let me know!

A few additional casino-related carpet posts:
+ NY-NY Casino Abandons Branded Carpet
+ Way-Finding With Carpet

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!

Carpet Stain Removal iPhone App

I love practical solutions especially when they help me deal with messy hassles such as carpet stains.  The latest I've come across is an iPhone app offering specific instructions on how to remove carpet stains! It's the Shaw Floors Carpet Stain Center.

Available free, you can check it out on iTunes or download it directly to your iPhone, iTouch or iPad by searching on the exact name or also "carpet stain" [there may be a few other search terms, but my iPhone isn't cooperating at the moment].

The application lets your search alphabetically through almost 1000 different stain types. Alternatively, you can type the specific stain into a search window. Once you identify your stain, the app offers a recommended stain removal procedure, specific techniques and solutions [aka cleaning solutions] to have handy.

Some additional thoughts relating to carpet stain removal:

• You do want to act quickly when you have a carpet stain.
• You may want to keep handy in your home the carpet cleaning solutions listed. For example, a detergent solution in a spray bottle, water in a spray bottle, solvent, white vinegar, ammonia, ammonia/hydrogen peroxide mixture...
• The technique to use for dealing successfully with carpet stains is "Blot, don't Rub!" Check out this post on How To Remove A Carpet Stain for more detailed instructions.
• Removing carpet stains takes time.

I encourage you to download the app which is mighty handy for dealing with carpet stains.

And, then, let me know what you think!

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.

World Cup Extends To Grass Carpet

Yes, the amazing 2010 FIFA World Cup TM soccer or football [depending on where in the world you are :)] competition is underway in more ways than one. That's right, it extends to grass carpet!

According to Artificial grass woven into real turf at World Cup, Desso Sports Systems has created the Desso GrassMaster which ensures that the World Cup stadiums offer the best possible grass carpet for the teams playing.

It's a grass turf solution that has been used in the United States for the National Football League's Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles as well as in Europe for rugby (a.o. Vodacom Stormers-Newlands Stadium). 

Here's what I found fascinating about this product: it blends natural grass with artificial grass! Check out this information from the Desso GrassMaster website:


"Desso GrassMaster is a sports field of 100% natural grass reinforced with Desso synthetic grass fibres. The unique element of this patented reinforced natural grass system is the 20 million artificial grass fibres injected 20 cm deep into the pitch. During the growing process, the roots of the natural grass entwine with the synthetic grass fibres and anchor the turf into a stable and even field. In this way the natural grass fibres are well protected against tackles and sliding. Moreover, it ensures better drainage of the pitch. Despite the fact that 3% of the pitch is made up of synthetic grass fibres, Desso GrassMaster gives players the feeling of playing on a 100% natural grass pitch."

Can you tell that I'm in awe!

GrassMaster truly goes beyond Cushioning Play with Astro Turf Carpet.  How marvelous to see it being put through its paces at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, don't you think?

And, to put all of this competition - grass carpet and football or soccer - into perspective, have you watched this Nike Football video?

[Subscribers, click on Nike Football Write The Future for the link to YouTube.]


May the best team and grass carpet win the World Cup!

How To Care For Shag Carpet

This post about How To Care For Shag Carpet is dedicated to my friend Izzy who, in Isabelle Garland's First Smoke Rise Encounter, referred to an extraordinary sight: the raking a shag carpet.  Raking with a pilator as CRI's Bethany Richmond so elegantly demonstrates in this photo, constitutes a best practice in caring for shag carpet.

In my Wear-Dated days, with the expert guidance of Annette Smith, I proudly put together a Shag Carpet Maintenance document. I discovered, in looking for shag raking ammunition for Izzy, that the document was no longer available.  However, I'm able here to recreate most of the content and offer you expert advice on how you should care for your shag carpet.

Here goes...

Shag carpet is back. It’s thick, plush, luxurious and comfortable. It makes fantastic conversation piece area rugs and scrumptious wall-to-wall carpet.  For that reason, we share with you important information on how to care for and maintain your shag carpet.

General Shag Carpet Care:

Carpet generally wants to be vacuumed frequently, ideally twice a week and more often in high traffic areas. Shag carpet is no different. However, one major difference does exist between shag and other carpets, and it has to do with beater bars…

Vacuuming Shag Carpet:

The best way to care for your shag carpet is to vacuum it with a suction-only vacuum. If your vacuum has a beater bar, be sure to disengage it when vacuuming your shag carpet. When disengaged, the brushes on the beater bar should not come in contact with or abrade the fibers as you vacuum. The reason? Using a beater bar or brush may cause the yarns to “feather out” or lose their twist, resulting in pilling or fuzzing. That means your shag carpet would no longer look they way it did when you fell in love with it;. It would lose its unique character.

If you have a particularly thick shag carpet, you might consider using a pilator [see close up in photo] or grooming rake to keep your carpet looking well-groomed and carefully coiffed.

Caring for your shag carpet with frequent and suction-only vacuuming will ensure that your shag carpet provides you with the Beauty, Comfort and Durability you expect from it.

Something else to consider. Your vacuum… Have you checked whether it is certified through the Carpet and Rug Institute Seal of Approval/Green Label Vacuum Cleaner Program? The program has established industry standards on vacuum cleaner performance. Visit www.carpet-rug.org for details and listings.

Additional Shag Carpet Care:

For additional carpet care and maintenance guidelines, definitely speak with your carpet retailer.

For those of you with shag carpet, would you add anything to this post on how to care for shag carpet?

Shag Carpet & Pilator Image credits:

Thank you, Jenn Mendez and Bethany Richmond from the Carpet and Rug Institute, for capturing the shag pilator in action!  Check out the Carpet and Rug Institute Blog for many great carpet related resources.