Carpet Shopping

Recently I was carpet shopping at a local showroom and spotted this cutely patterned, nicely textured carpet.  It was much too rough of a wool to use in a place where bare feet are present but I do love the warm colors and the pattern.

The One That Got Away

My residential work has either been really high end, everything custom, and really low end, bargains galore.  I recently was in a carpet showroom's unheated warehouse in the dead of winter, looking for someone else, and found this David Hicks carpet remnant at a super low price. 

It was an awkward size and I'm really not in the market for a carpet right this very moment, but if I was it would have come home with me.  It would go really well with my living room sofa and pillows.  I'm sure someone else will give it a good home, and I'm even more sure I'll find the perfect carpet when I finally do move and need to find one.

Does anyone else hate the feeling you get when you pass something up that could be perfect?  My life will go on, but still....it was one billionth of the regular price.

On My Desk: Herringbone and Geometrics

I thought I would start an occasional post about things "On My Desk".  Things I have been working on, things I am considering, and finishes I am hoarding because I want to find an appropriate place to use them.

The two finishes below literally sat on my desk for a couple of weeks keeping me company before they got the boot.  The geometric carpet is in the running for an elevator lobby, I'll know the verdict on it this week, but I really hope it's a yes.  The large orange herringbone was for a chair I would like to reupholster.  I have decided to go with the brown colorway {if I use it, it's a bit pricey so it's still just being considered} so you'll probably see it's buddy in a later post.

If only I could figure out how to photograph it well.

Naja Utzon Popov Carpets

A couple of days ago I posted about my desire for a carpet that isn't used as a kitty skateboard. This carpet by Naja Utzon Popov {seen at this year's ICFF} is also on my dream carpet list. It's made of wool from New Zealand {which is where you want your wool from, not a place with rainy and dry seasons.  This is why cheap wool carpets shed a lot, the change from wet to dry climate makes the wool brittle in spots and likely to break}.

These carpets are sculpted wool so the edges of all the fuschia leaves are carved by hand and I believe some also have silk. I did take some time to pet the carpet and it was super soft.

So beautiful.

Amy Helfan Carpets

In my dream world where I can have everything I want, I would have a new carpet. I currently use carpet squares which, if I had a normal pet would be wonderful. Unfortunately my cat pulls the squares apart, eats the tape used to hold them together, and then uses them as flying carpets to slide around the room.

One of these beautiful carpets from Amy Helfand, seen at this year's ICFF, would fit the bill perfectly and look so nice with my newly upholstered sofa.  Silk and wool carpets are my absolute favorite carpets on earth.  The silk looks and feels amazing and the wool grounds the carpet {you can see the shimmery color of the silk in the blues above}.  Sadly for my living room, these carpets generally cost more than my car did, so it will have to go on my "if I win the lottery list".

I can dream, can't I?

Luke Irwin Carpet

I'm always on the lookout for interesting carpets and Luke Irwin Carpets has quite a few that caught my eye.

My favorites are the African Crescent and the Hittite carpets {not pictured above}.

{photos: jeanine}

Khouri Guzman Bunce Limited

I really like these carpets I've been noticing for the last year or so, at the ICFF last year {but I forgot what booth} and locally at the Design Center.  The most recent was by Khouri Guzman Bunce Limited.

It is less distinct than other carpets I've seen but the pattern is distinct in some portions of the carpet but deconstructed in others.  It almost dissolves in the middle of this green carpet.

{photo: jeanine}