Sophie Robinson, Interior Designer and TV Interiors Expert, Images © Alun Callender
Sophie Robinson has worked in the interiors industry for over 20 years; working across magazines, TV and some of the top retailers in the country but is best known for her role as judge on BBC2’s The Great Interior Design Challenge. Self-confessed pattern clasher and cushion hugger, Sophie creates schemes with flair and of course lots of colour.
My philosophy?
Interior design should be fun and spark joy – I never take it too seriously. It’s your home and you should design it just how you want.
Here’s our Q&A…
Sophie’s Rug Stars choice is a Quirky B Flowers of Thorpe Summer Garden with a single cotton border in navy. © Alun Callender
WHERE DOES YOUR DESIGN INSPIRATION COME FROM?
I have a very strong colour palette that I draw from so I look to art, fashion and other designers for inspiration. I’m always looking out for interesting new patterns and colour palettes and how to put them together in schemes in new and exciting ways.
DESCRIBE THE STYLE IN YOUR OWN HOME?
A mash up, a colour explosion and all my favourite things in the same place, I like a homely look so I’m quite a maximalist.
Sophie’s Rug Stars choice is a Quirky B Flowers of Thorpe Summer Garden with a single cotton border in navy. © Alun Callender
WHAT PART DO RUGS PLAY AND HOW DO YOU USE THEM?
Rugs are a great way of layering up even more colour and texture and I like to layer up smaller rugs or use one super large on one in my designs. A large rug in the bedroom that you can sit the bed on really helps to ground a room.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR PARTICULAR RUG DESIGN?
It has all my favourite colours and I have always had a love of Liberty prints and I think it’s been translated in the most delightful way, the trick here is by tucking it under the bed it gives it a lovely border of flowers all the way around.
Sophie’s Rug Stars choice is a Quirky B Flowers of Thorpe Summer Garden with a single cotton border in navy. © Alun Callender
WHICH ROOM WILL THIS RUG GO INTO?
This will go into my bedroom.
HOW DID YOU FIND THE MAKE ME A RUG SERVICE?
I called in lots of samples beforehand to know that the rug will go the rest of my furnishings – this is a great part of the service. I like the fact that the rug can be made to any specific size too.
Sophie’s Rug Stars choice is a Quirky B Flowers of Thorpe Summer Garden with a single cotton border in navy. © Alun Callender
FINALLY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ALTERNATIVE FLOOR AND WHY?
I would have to say the rug I have chosen although to be honest I was spoilt for choice!
See Sophie on our Rug Stars
Visit Sophie on her website and follow her on Instagram
More fabulous flooring and interior inspiration on our blog
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Margo Selby – Textile Designer
Margo Selby is an award-winning woven textile designer and champion of craft. Her three-dimensional fabrics are the trademark of the Margo Selby brand. Margo is also an Alternative Flooring collaborator with her vibrant patterns woven as carpets and she is now one of our fabulous Rug Stars.
It is time to talk rugs.
Here’s our Q&A…
Margo’s Rug Stars choice is her Margo Selby Stripe Frolic Westbrook a multi-coloured stripe that she has teamed with an inner Double Piping Cotton Border in Pink and an outer Stripes Thick Black border.
WHERE DOES YOUR DESIGN INSPIRATION COME FROM?
I love travel, and the opportunity of collecting indigenous textiles from around the world. I am constantly gathering images and ideas and collating these into cohesive groups, which can then be translated into designs. The process of weaving itself also inspires much of my work. Mypatterns reflect the orderly nature of the craft with their repetitive and methodical layouts.
The work of the Bauhausweavers has always been an inspiration to my design process. Like them, I am equally passionate about creating a piece of weaving which celebrates the beauty of a woven textile as an art form as well as developing ideas in weaving which are suitable for commercial production. Weaving is my passion, and the starting point for all I do.
DESCRIBE THE STYLE IN YOUR OWN HOME?
My style is eclectic and relaxed with a love for materials and things hand-made. My family and I are collectors of ‘stuff’ and we live with the things we love without worrying about co-ordination and these create a voice and style of their own.
Margo’s Rug Star choice is a Margo Selby Stripe Frolic Westbrook
WHAT PART DO RUGS PLAY AND HOW DO YOU USE THEM?
I love to layer textures and create a warm cosy space, and a rug allows me to lay a foundation of colour and pattern, but I also like clean modern minimal spaces injected with bold pattern.I think rugs are a wonderful vehicle for enriching a space with warmth, texture and visual beauty.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR PARTICULAR RUG DESIGN?
The simple stripe design of Frolic Westbrook features colours that come from my colour palette theory of pairing dark and light, highlight and bright colours. The outcome is balanced but also interesting and playful.
Margo Selby Stripe Frolic Westbrook rug seen at Margo’s Whitstable Studio
WHICH ROOM WILL THIS RUG GO INTO?
I’ve been trying my rug in both my home studio and living room. The great thing about a rug is that it’s transferable, from room to room and house to house. I love change and recently moved house, it’s refreshing to bring familiar items into a new space and play with them to find them a new home.
HOW DID YOU FIND THE MAKE ME A RUG SERVICE?
It could not have been easier. I loved the level of details I could add to the rug; the flash cotton pink inner edge and striped boarder are details found in some of my home textile collections, it was an element of fun to be able to add them to my personal rug.
Margo’s Make Rug Stars choice is a Margo Selby Stripe Frolic Westbrook with an inner Double Piping Cotton Border in Pink and an outer Stripes Thick Black border.
FINALLY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ALTERNATIVE FLOOR AND WHY?
Frolic Westbrook of course. it’s one of my designs! I also have the Frolic Westbrook design on a staircase and it always gets comments from visitors on how vibrant it is. I feel it brings an injection of joy to an area of the house that can often get neglected.
You can see more of Margo Selby’swork on her website and follow her on Instagram
Scroll down for more fabulous flooring and interior inspiration here in our blog
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Emily Murray is the founder and editor of The Pink House, an award-winning interiors blog all about fabulous family living. The blog is all about taking interior inspiration and advice from fabulous people and places, and using it to make yourplace amazing. Emily has chosen our Quirky B Liberty Fabrics Capello Shell carpet for her bedroom, so we thought it’s time to pay a visit.
WHY DO YOU LOVE PINK?
It never fails to make me happy, especially in blush and fluoro forms. I named my blog and business The Pink House because, for me, pink is shorthand for fun and fabulousness. I wanted to speak to people who had the same passion for colour.
Alternative Flooring’s Liberty Fabrics Capello Shell Coral as seen in Emily’s bedroom The Pink House
DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM HOME?
It’s pretty much the house I live in now, on top of a hill in creative South East London, but with the following adjustments:
- the ground floor bathroom knocked out and added to the side of the house, to open up the hallway
- de-beiged hallway and stairs, with Alternative Flooring stair runner (I had Quirky Dotty Damson in my Edinburgh house – maybe this time I’ll choose Quirky Tess in Pink…)
- more pink (sadly, The Pink House Husband is nearly at pink capacity. Apparently)
WHERE DOES YOUR DESIGN INSPIRATION COME FROM?
Everywhere! Friends’ houses, magazines, the clothes I buy, cool boutiques, travel, random colour combinations, works of art, hotels, restaurants, bars, Instagram, Pinterest, interesting new people, my kids…
Alternative Flooring’s Liberty Fabrics Capello Shell Coral as seen in Emily’s bedroom The Pink House
WHAT ARE YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN TIPS FOR THIS BEDROOM?
This room is about tricking The Pink House Husband into thinking it’s all about blue walls, when really, it’s all about pink! I was told that under no circumstances was I allowed to a) paint the walls pink, or b) include a patterned wallpaper in my design for this room, so I thought, no problem – I’ll put the pattern and pink on the floor instead and Capello Shell is just perfect! This is a great tip for designing a bedroom where you have to take your partner’s dubious taste into consideration – just focus on the area you know he (or she) will approve of – in this case blue/grey walls (so very masculine) – leaving you free to get creative in the rest of the room.
I chose a wall colour that would go with the bed and carpet, without stealing its thunder. Un-patterned walls also meant that I could use books, lamps and plants to create interest either side of the bed. As it’s not a very big room, bespoke built-in wardrobes painted the same colour as the walls make the most of the space. As a final touch, I plan to add a mirror over the bed and hang a large artwork on the blank wall.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PATTERNED CARPET DESIGN?
I chose Capello Shell as it was simply the prettiest, most delicious carpet I had ever seen, and ideal for a bedroom – I had to have it! It also goes perfectly with the bespoke pink headboard I had made.
Emily Murray, The Pink House and Alternative Flooring’s Liberty Fabrics Capello Shell Coral
WHY IS WOOL AND WALL-TO-WALL CARPET GOOD FOR BEDROOMS?
Your bedroom is somewhere you want to feel comfortable and relaxed – it’s a room for winding down, waking up and taking time for yourself. A wall-to-wall wool carpet was my first choice for my bedroom because it’s soft, warm and welcoming as soon as my feet touch the floor in the morning, and last thing at night. As soon as I walk into my bedroom and feel the luxurious wool carpet beneath my toes, my whole body relaxes.
DESCRIBE ALTERNATIVE FLOORING IN THREE WORDS?
Creative, contemporary, luxurious
Emily’s cool boots on her new Liberty Fabrics Capello Shell Coral bedroom carpet
AF: DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE IN THREE WORDS?
Fun, fabulous, luxurious
Visit The Pink House and follow Emily on Instagram
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Lucy Gough is a London-based, Australian born Interior Stylist. Having worked in-house for Livingetc magazine and freelancing for various glossy titles including Marie Claire and Sunday Times Style she has worked at the centre of the interiors industry for 8 years running. Lucy also writes a successful interiors blog creating unique weekly content for her readers at blog.lucygoughstylist.com.
My philosophy?
Style your home exactly the way you want to. Don’t style your home because of a trend – your home should incorporate things that you have collected over the years and tell your personal story.
She also likes to use an Alternative rug, so time for a chat to get some insider tips.
Here’s our Q&A…
Rug Stars: Lucy’s rug is a Quirky B Cube Hawksmoor by the Ben Pentreath for Alternative Flooring collection with a Whipped border. Photography © Oli Douglas
AF: WHERE DOES YOUR DESIGN INSPIRATION COME FROM?
LG: I take a lot of inspiration from nature as nature never lies. If you see an odd colour combination do some research and see if it is found anywhere in the natural world and if it is then it will definitely work. For example, purple heather and yellow ochre are found in the foliage of Scottish Highlands and look amazing sitting next to one another!
AF: DESCRIBE THE STYLE IN YOUR OWN HOME?
LG: I can’t put a label on my style as I am inspired by so many different things but 90% of the walls in our house are dark (navy, black or dark grey), most of the furniture is vintage (a 1960’s ladderax, a weathered trunk from a coastal town and a well-loved old brown leather club armchair are a few examples. But, the kitchen units and all the bedding in our house are all bright white. Some things need to feel crisp and clean all the time from a hygiene perspective!
Lucy’s gorgeous son playing on his new rug. Photo © Oli Douglas
AF: WHAT PART DO RUGS PLAY AND HOW DO YOU USE THEM?
LG: We have rugs in every room as we have 150 year old floorboards that are very draughty (we even have one flower that grows back through the floor every year next to the stairs!) so we cover up most of the floors with rugs. It’s also an inexpensive way to add colour or interest to a room that might otherwise feel boring.
Rug Stars: Lucy’s rug is a Quirky B Cube Hawksmoor by the Ben Pentreath for Alternative Flooring collection with a Whippet border. Photo © Oli Douglas
AF: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR PARTICULAR RUG DESIGN?
LG: I love the Ben Pentreath designs as they are bold and playful and counteract all the dark walls in our home. I love the mix of yellow, pink and teal- it’s one of my favourite colour combos right now!
AF: WHICH ROOM WILL THIS RUG GO INTO?
LG: This rug has pride of place in our sitting room which happens to be the first room you walk into when you enter our home so it’s in-your-face colour!
AF: HOW DID YOU FIND THE MAKE ME A RUG SERVICE?
LG: I found it genuinely very simple and easy to use. It only took me about 15 mins to pick out what I wanted and order it.
Alternative’s Quirky B – Ben Pentreath Cube Hawksmoor Carpet
AF: FINALLY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ALTERNATIVE FLOOR AND WHY?
LG: It has to be the rug I have chosen by Ben Pentreath. I would ideally like it as runner carpet up my staircase. It is comfortable underfoot but also hard wearing and I absolutely love the pattern.
You can see more of Lucy Gough’s work on her blog and website and follow her on Instagram
Scroll down for more fabulous flooring and interior inspiration here in our blog
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Kate Watson-Smyth, Journalist and Interiors Blogger of Mad About The House
Kate Watson-Smyth is a journalist, author and creator of the award-winning Mad About the House blog – a generous sourcebook for modern living. It’s a place to show wonderful things and their creators as well as packed with advice to help you how to decorate your own home.
My philosophy? Your home should tell your story. It should make your heart sing when you open the front door.
She’s also a dab hand at Make Me A Rug, so time for a chat to get some insider tips.
Here’s our Q&A on the first of our Rug Stars…
Rug Stars: Kate’s rug is a Wool Pebble Stade with a thick stripe grey border
AF: WHERE DOES YOUR DESIGN INSPIRATION COME FROM?
KWS: Anywhere and everywhere. I always pay close attention to restaurant loos as they quite often use amazing tiles and decor effects to make the most of a small space. Hotel rooms can be good too as they often have to fit a lot into a small space and, of course, fashion is always good for colour and texture. What you see on the catwalk always works its way through to the cushions eventually and the time lag between the two is getting shorter.
AF: DESCRIBE THE STYLE IN YOUR OWN HOME
KWS: Well it’s currently undergoing a bit of a change and a lot of the grey is going. I still love dark grey but I am moving towards softer dark colours such as plum and dark chocolate. There is something vintage in every room whether it’s old Persian rugs or chairs from ebay. In short, every room adheres to my mantra of Something new, something old, something black and something gold. It doesn’t have to be gold but it does have to be metallic or shiny to add a sense of luxe and to bounce the light around. I don’t like too much colour but I do like it to be dramatic. I’m a monochrome maximalist if you like.
Enid the cat lounging on Kate’s Wool Pebble Stade rug
AF: WHAT PART DO RUGS PLAY AND HOW DO YOU USE THEM?
KWS: I love rugs and have them in every room apart from my sons’ bedrooms which are carpeted – partly for the noise factor. Everywhere else has white painted floorboards and rugs. In the sitting room, I have layers of old Persian rugs as I inherited (stole) a couple from my mother and they weren’t big enough for the space so we layered them to fill the space.
We are still a little wary of patterned carpet in this country but rugs are a great way to bring in lots of pattern in a way that seems less frightening. I think you can be very dramatic and bold with a patterned rug in a way that you can’t with a carpet. At least not yet.
Rug Stars: Kate’s rug is a Wool Pebble Stade with a thick stripe grey border
AF: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS DESIGN?
KWS: This rug is for my son’s bedroom – he is about to move bedrooms and take over the spare room. So, as a 17-year-old it was bound to be more conservative than I might otherwise have chosen. He likes black and grey – those are the colours he wears so it was logical that was what he would choose for his bedroom. I did manage to inject a little colour with the border though.
AF: HOW DID YOU FIND THE MAKE ME A RUG SERVICE?
KWS: It’s easy and effective. I have used it before.
Alternative’s Dotty Damson stairunner as seen in Kate’s home
AF: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ALTERNATIVE FLOOR AND WHY
KWS: I have had Dotty Damson on my stairs for nearly eight years now – since well before I started working with Alternative Flooring – and I love it just as much now as I did when I first laid eyes on it. Stairs are often the first thing you see when you enter someone’s home and they need make a statement. When you come home from a long day at work your house needs to welcome you in and make you happy. For me a beige oatmeal twist is never going to make my heart sing. Dotty, on the other hand, makes me happy to come home every day.
Kate also has a new book called How to decorate your home with style.
The book of the UK’s No.1 interiors blog, madaboutthehouse.com.
Expanding on her award-winning blog, Kate Watson-Smyth shares a wealth of experience in home design to help you make the most of your space, be it a house, apartment or single room.
Whatever your style, Mad About The House is a must-have for anyone who is interested in interior design and who wants to make their house a home.
‘Kate Watson-Smyth writes with great flair and humour, but what I Iove about her is that she encompasses core design principles, whilst giving people a chance to form their own opinions and see things in a different light.’ – Kelly Hoppen
http://www.pavilionbooks.com/book/mad-about-the-house/
Visit Kate on her website, read her blog and follow her on Instagram
See Alternative’s Rug Stars and Kate designing with Make Me A Rug
Scroll down for more fabulous flooring and interior inspiration here in our blog
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Elle Decoration’s March cover declares that colour is bold, brighter and better in an issue that has its first ever dedicated colour section. Here we learn that the Scandinavians are shifting from white, why 1970s shades are hip and how colour effects everything from our moods and emotions to our wardrobes and homes.
Trends from Paris
Where better to get ahead of the design curve than Paris? Fringing and feathers created an eccentric glamour but the most pervasive colour combination was green with terracotta. Maison et Objet was awash with a particular palette than ranged from English rose to Etruscan red. In the midst of all this sat peach which now seems ripe for a rethink.
Trendspotting at Maison et Objet 2018, Paris
Is Peach the new neutral?
If you love colour then you must follow the Instagram of Michelle Ogundehin. This is her edit of images that flow seamlessly from shade to shade with fascinating insights. She believes that we will see ‘more tea rose, lavender, mint, lilac and palest peach emerging as the nouveau neutrals du jour.’
The power of pink
Gabby Deeming, the Acting House & Garden editor talks about the transformative power of colour in her magazine opener. Inspired by her travels to India, she quotes legendary American Vogue editor Diana Vreeland who described pink as the ‘navy blue of India.’ Pink is just as popular here and just seems to reinvent itself.
Pink and orange is fresh and contemporary in the new Squares and Diamonds carpet runner from the Authentic Lucienne collection. The original Lucienne Day colourway looks just as vibrant as it did when it was first woven fifty years ago.
Lucienne Day Authentic Squares and Diamonds Runner by Alternative Flooring
Decorating with green
Katrina Burroughs also welcomes Fresh Spring Green in a colour story in The Sunday Times Home and quite rightly says that, ‘green is the colour we yearn for in February. The natural, wholesome hue is a vitamin-packed pick me –up for tired winter interiors.’ The green for SS18 has grey undertones, like Eucalyptus, a shade that looks perfect with our natural fibre flooring.
Alternative Flooring’s Seagrass Herringbone carpet
Can blue and green be seen?
If you think blue and green should never be seen, think again. It happens in nature so why not in your home. Green is serene and blue calm.
The beautifully woven Octagon carpet runner from the Authentic Lucienne collection shows how vibrant these combinations can be. The knack is to use these in equal measure as captured in Fanny Shorter’s cushions that are available at Pentreath & Hall. Fanny’s work has its roots in traditional British craftsmanship and inspired rural, country holidays reinforced her love of nature.
Lucienne Day Authentic Octagon Runner swatch by Alternative Flooring and Fanny Shorter cushion, available by Penthreath & Hall
So, say goodbye to Elephant’s Breath and hello to Farrow & Ball’s new colours Pitch Blue and Calke Green.
Farrow and Ball’s new colours Pitch Blue and Calke Green
There are many colour trends with some that that sound good enough to eat. Try the mouth-watering palette from Plain English named after dishes enjoyed in the breakfast rooms and nurseries of an imagined 19th century home. Whatever your taste, the message here is to veer away from every variant of white and be alternative and do something different with colour.
Did you know you can now search for colour online? see here
If you love colour discover Michelle’s Instagram here
Find more flooring inspirations here – and follow us on Instagram and Twitter
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Robin and Lucienne’s daughter Paula Day set up The Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation in 2012 to further public knowledge of and access to her parents’ design legacies, and to provide resources for the study of design. The Foundation is run by a Board of Trustees chaired by Paula Day. In this guest blog she tells how she has collaborated with Alternative Flooring to bring authentic Lucienne Day carpet designs back in production, more than fifty years after her mother created them.
Q&A edit, 10 January 2018
What is The Robin and Lucienne Foundation?
I set up the Foundation in 2012, two years after my parents Robin and Lucienne Day died. We are a design education charity dedicated to furthering public knowledge of and access to my parents’ design legacies. My mother was born in 1917 and last year we celebrated her centenary with a hugely successful programme of exhibitions, events, awards and new product ranges, mounted by partner organisations all over the country.
How did the collaboration with Alternative Flooring begin?
In December 2016, we were introduced to Alternative Flooring/ Wilton Carpets CEO James Sprint and Alternative Flooring Creative and Marketing Director Lorna Haigh to explore the possibility of collaborating on a new Lucienne Day carpet range to launch in the Centenary year. I was immediately impressed by the fresh and lively Alternative Flooring brand and by James and Lorna’s creative and positive thinking. The company clearly had a strong identity of its own but they were willing to listen and understand where I was coming from as representative of a design education charity.
Did Lucienne Day have a connection with Wilton Carpets, Alternative Flooring’s sister company?
Yes, there was already a historic connection between Lucienne Day and Wilton, as Wilton Royal was an important client of hers from 1957 onwards. Initially she did colourways for carpets by Wilton’s in-house designers such as Philip Coombes. In 1964, she created her own collection for the company’s ‘Architects’ Nova’ range – these are the designs which are now being revived.
Lucienne Day is best known for fabric, what about her carpet designs?
My mother is best-known for her curtain fabrics, but in fact she also designed patterns for many other applications, including carpets. One of her carpet clients was Wilton Royal. By the time she came to do her 1964 ‘Architects Nova’ collection for Wilton she had a lot of carpet design experience. This is a substantial body of work by one of Britain’s greatest textile designers, which up to now has been very little-known. I’m absolutely thrilled that the public is now being introduced to some of these wonderful designs for the first time.
Where did you find the original carpets?
When I met James and Lorna, I already knew that samples of four of my mother’s 1964 carpets for Wilton were held in the archive of the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. (Some of these carpet samples had been given to the Whitworth by my mother herself, others by Wilton). We had commissioned a photoshoot of all the Lucienne Day items held at the Whitworth, so I was able to show them images of my mother’s historic designs for their own company. I’ll never forget the moment when James looked at a picture of ‘Octagon’ and said ‘that’ll work’!
James promised to check the Wilton Carpets archives for the year 1964. A few days later he sent me images of their handwritten design records for that year, listing four ‘Lucienne Day’ designs, plus the painted artwork for some of them. I was so excited! As soon as we had launched the Lucienne Day centenary year in early January, I set off hotfoot to visit the Wilton factory and see this wonderful archive material for myself. From then on, the dream of reviving my mother’s original carpet designs seemed a real possibility.
Squares and Diamonds machine-woven carpet, Lucienne Day for Wilton Royal, 1964 Copyright the Robin & Lucienne Day Foundation
Are these vibrant colourways authentic?
Initially I’d understood that the designs would have to be re-coloured to be commercially viable. But when Wilton’s designer Damian Roscoe saw the original carpet samples at the Whitworth he was bowled over by my mother’s colourways, which he thought would be perfect for today’s market! Working with him closely on the new products has been fascinating – he recognized just how subtle and skillful a colourist she was, and took great pains to match each colour exactly, using the dyes available today. A colourway is a bit like a musical chord – one false note spoils the whole harmony.
Octagon machine woven carpet, Lucienne Day for Wilton Royal, 1964 Copyright the Robin & Lucienne Day Foundation
How did you feel watching the carpets being woven again at Wilton?
I was so moved to see my mother’s carpets being woven again in the very factory and possibly the very loom on which they had originally been made, more than fifty years ago. I found myself wondering if my mother had actually visited the factory and stood on the same spot in 1964.
Paula Day watching the Square & Diamonds carpet being woven on original looms at Wilton
Why the name Authentic Lucienne?
The name ‘Authentic Lucienne’ was Lorna’s idea and exactly reflects the Foundation’s mission to bring my mother’s original work back into production, so that the people can enjoy her actual designs. On our website page Licensees we celebrate our new relationship with Alternative Flooring, as a company which produces ‘high-quality, authentic productions of Lucienne Day’s original designs.’
Is design integrity and British making important here?
The ‘Authentic Lucienne’ range is an absolute model of what we aim to achieve in our collaborations with manufacturers. These are authentic Lucienne Day designs, produced for the original application, to the original scale and colourways, by the company which originally produced them, in the factory where they were originally made.
The best of 20th century British design has been brought back to life by a company which is maintaining the best of traditional British manufacturing. My parents worked for the British design industry all their lives and would have been proud and glad that their designs are still making a contribution. I should also say that my mother worked only for the very best companies – and I’m confident that we are following her example by collaborating with Alternative Flooring.
Authentic Lucienne at The New Art Centre, Roche Court Sculpture Park and Gallery
Will you have one of these runners in your home?
I’ve ordered a 45cm x 45cm sample of ‘Squares and Diamonds’ on the Alternative Flooring website.
I can’t wait to receive it! I think the intricate pattern and glowing fuchsia colourway will be absolutely perfect in my bedroom, with white walls, timber beams (it’s a barn conversion) and of course Robin Day furniture!
Q&A edit, 10 January 2018
Find out more about The Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation here
The Authentic Lucienne collection becomes part of the new Quirky Runners collection, explore the collection here
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Discover more than one hundred shades of grey….
Nothing says cool quite like grey. It has been described as the new black; but it is certainly the new neutral and comes in many shades at Alternative Flooring. A colour online section called Gorgeous Greys will help you select from over 100 shades!
From barely there and mid tone charcoals, patterns in greys are easy to live with. Working as a neutral, greys work wonderfully with highlight colours. Warm greys with a hint of pink is perfect for bedrooms, a white wall balances out a dark grey carpet or layer grey tones to create texture.
What are the new grey shades?
Grey is our guilty pleasure NEW greys include the luxurious Barefoot Hatha Sutra and Barefoot Bikram Nadi that are undyed wool, feel-good flooring.
Barefoot Ashtanga Silk carpet in wool with silky highlights tempts you to rediscover toe-touching luxury. This is deep pile carpet with its subtle silvery greys that brings a touch of discreet glamour to interiors.
Barefoot Taj is a patterned velvety soft carpet in exotic greys from Bageecha dark grey to Rauza cream and grey.
Why patterns work well in grey
Alternative Flooring brings great British pattern to our floors with its award-winning Quirky B collection.
Capello Shell Mist or Strawberry Thief Trellis from the Alternative Flooring with Liberty Fabrics collection give a crafty feel to carpet inspired by William Morris where pattern in tonal greys translate beautifully on floors. It works as grey is seen as a neutral and is naturally easy on the eye.
Ben Pentreath for Alternative Flooring had fun with greys pairing this colour with seventies shades in geometric cubes, Trellis and Tetra shapes.
Stripes never go out of style and Alternative has wide Wool Blocstripes and slim Wool Pinstripes in mineral greys.
How to make grey shimmer around your home
Alternative’s natural fibres with hints of grey given a fresh twist to natural sisal flooring. Sisal Metallics Aluminum introduces silvery shades with a natural shimmer.
See our Gorgeous Greys here
and follow us on Instagram and Twitter
www.alternativeflooring.com
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Wool ushers in not just warmth and cosiness for autumn but a whole feast of natural goodness. October is the month of Wool Week, an annual Campaign for Wool celebration of this traditional thread and how it is steeped in stories told by generations and interpreted by modern designers. Campaign for Wool’s Patron is HRH The Prince of Wales.
Why choose wool in the home
Flooring is where wool excels. Let’s spin some of the benefits of wool carpets in the home. Practically speaking wool is resilient, stain resistant, flame-retardant, a natural insulator and as a soundproofer brings much welcomed peace and quiet to interiors.
For eco-lovers, it is naturally sustainable. Grown on sheep which graze freely, wool is 100% natural, breathable and biodegradable. In design terms wool has the bounce-back factor, holds colour brilliantly and is beautifully tactile. In a word, it’s the wonder fibre.
How to use wool on floors
Wool is warm, natural and soft underfoot. Whether you spread it across a whole floor for wall-to-wall opulence, create generous oversize bespoke rugs or have fun with runners, wool is as versatile as it is vibrant.
Wool carpets give a wonderful sense of cosiness. We tend to choose tactile fine or chunky wools in plain or semi-plain design in a calm palette in bedrooms. This is the one room where you could invest in deep pile, luxe carpet.
Hallways are generally long and thin so a runner-style rug on painted treads is perfect. More of us want a wool on our stairs as it makes for an interesting and hardwearing entrance. Bordered semi-plains are popular, patterns make am entrance or multicolours are great for kids.
Downstairs we cross into braver territory with interlinked living spaces. Pattern makes grown-up stylish statements and a generous bespoke wool rug on wood flooring is hard to beat. Family sitting rooms are crying out for patterned, easy-care wool carpet. It is pure comfort and joy plus it really does hide the stains. Children just love rolling around on wall-to wall carpeted floor.
A good tip, whether you go plain or pattern or a happy mix is to choose a slightly darker colour on the ground floor, where people might be wearing shoes, and take it gradually paler as you go up.
Where interiors and fashion meet
Wool is a friendly fibre. The Wool Fusion pop-up showed that wool can be cosy and cool in fashion, furnishings, fabrics and flooring. Margo Selby with Alternative Flooring unleashed strident stripes while the work of Alistair Covell, Adam Blencoe and Marine Duroselle, Beatrice Larkin, Wallace Sewell, Jane Knitted Textiles, Catherine Aitken and Jessica Light bring wool to life.
Fashion from Brora, Wool and the Gang, Dashing Tweeds, Pringle of Scotland, Christopher Raeburn, Richard James and Jack Wills and many more show the latest trends in wool this season.
AND finally, watch out for the return of the simple blanket. From those we curl up with on the sofa, to those we wear, it’s the accessory of the season with models bored of carrying a bag, grabbing a woolly throw instead. Wool Fusion also reflected the global nature of
HRH The Prince of Wales’ Campaign for Wool which set out to put wool in the consumer spotlight. Hasn’t it done well!
Wool Fusion reflected the global nature of HRH The Prince of Wales’ Campaign for Wool which set out to put wool in the consumer spotlight. A highlight event was An Alternative Fusion – Lorna Haigh of Alternative Flooring and Margo Selby discuss wool and the power of collaborative partnership, skills and craft in Britain today. We filmed them in conversation. Watch here
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Great British designers love stripes.
We have artists and their stripes with Bridget Riley, the fashionable Paul Smith barcode and now we have designer stripes for interiors, beautifully crafted by woven textile designer Margo Selby for Alternative Flooring. These are design-led stripes – a super-size bloc, slim pencil and classic ticking, that take on the personality of the designer-maker.
The Margo Selby Stripe zings with character and seafaring shades
I have always been inspired by stripes and like to incorporate them in my designs. For me stripes are intrinsically linked to weaving and the process of weaving, which is linear by nature. Margo Selby
Alternative Flooring’s Margo Selby Stripe collection is available in three colourways of Sun yellows, Surf blues and Frolic multicolours
Why do we feel at home with stripes?
Stripes are familiar. They are commonly seen all around us in nature, emblems, clothing. They never go out style. The stripes in this collection are very versatile. The same design would make a striking statement as both a carpet or a runner and the different designs have been created to mix and match through a home to define different zones whilst linking the spaces.
How to have fun with stripes.
One tip is to go for the fun factor and play with vertical and horizontal together or use statement stripes in living spaces and ticking in narrower areas such as stairs and hallways.
Think about how you wear stripes. You can team a colourful stripe floor with a plainer wall just as you would a Breton tee under a crisp white shirt. Remember the height-enhancing illusion of vertical stripes in fashion can be used in the home too.
During the 60s and 70s, more and more people started to wear stripe as a symbol of rebellion. Alternative Flooring brings this rebellious attitude to its Rock ‘n’ Roll stripes to let your inner voice strut its stuff with texture and tone.
Alternative Flooring’s Rock ‘n’ Roll collection new Kiss, Parklife, Perfect Day and High Voltage
Parklife is the perfect partner to a leafy interior, blending sage greens and natural tones with flashes of blue, yellow and a hint of pink. Perfect Day is a classic to enjoy in navy, black and natural stripes with streaks of happy yellow. High Voltage is the upbeat number with splashes of neon red, yellow and aqua highlights mixed with shades of grey and black.
Kiss is feminine and fun. It is easy to fall in love with its on trend shades of powder pink and lipstick red with soft greys. The Dulux Colour of the year 2018 in Heart Wood, a heathery pink, warm neutral that will make a gorgeous backdrop for Kiss and bring a fresh but comforting vibe into your interiors. And like stripes, it is incredibly versatile.
Finally, did you know that there is #NationalStripesDay? Well, as far as we’re concerned, there’s a reason to wear stripes 365 days a year and we think stripes give an effortless vibe to your home too.
Browse our new Margo Selby Stripe
Browse our Rock ‘n’ Roll Stripes
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