Patterned Carpet

After several years of plain carpets dominating sales, pattern is back in the spotlight. The good news for period homeowners is that many of the new styles coming through in 2010 have a traditional bias that works particularly well with older properties. Historic influences currently infusing patterned carpet include designs inspired by the Art Deco era, which are imbued with a sense of scale and proportion, plus more modern retro geometric patterns with a 1950s feel, often featuring bolder colours. Elegant boudoirs might also benefit from a French flavour via 18th-century Savonnerie-inspired designs, which have Rococo elements and floral motifs.

Patterned carpets can have an effect on the spatial qualities of a room. Horizontal stripes make a corridor or small room appear bigger, and vertical stripes will lengthen the appearance of a narrow space. Simpler striped designs that stick to just two colours provide a subtler backdrop, while those featuring varied stripe widths and a more adventurous colour palette are great for achieving impact. ‘The bolder the stripe or pattern, the bigger and more open the room should be, while smaller stripes or blends of a multitude of colours are ideal for high-traffic areas as they help camouflage any signs of wear and tear and have more of a subtle overall effect,’ adds Stephanie Tissier, joint owner and chief designer at Hartley & Tissier.

Those considering patterned carpet will need to look at the decoration of walls, fabrics and soft furnishings. While plain carpet gives you the freedom to choose bold flocked wallpaper and strong fabrics, patterned flooring often has enough impact in itself to carry the whole room. Smaller scale patterns such as well spaced fleur-delys or leaf motifs are of course less intrusive, but balancing the amount of pattern on walls and floors will prevent a colour clash that makes the room look small and cluttered. Laura Cohen, interior trend specialist at yourfloors.co.uk, suggests painting walls in one of the accent colours in your patterned carpet to unite the two. ‘Don’t be too extravagant with flocked wallpaper and a patterned carpet. Instead keep walls neutral with perhaps one area covered in a textured, flocked wallpaper that shares the motif in your carpet. Then use accessories such as cushions with geometric shapes, polka dots, or bows to layer the pattern in the room,’ she says.

In the gallery...

1. Brinton’s Abbeyglen Fermanagh Plaid is a woven Axminster in an 80% wool, 20% nylon blend, from £56.76 per sq m
2. Multi-striped flat weave carpet in 100% wool from Hartley & Tissier, from £83 per linear m
3. From top: Atria in teal, 80% wool, 20% nylon, £106.26 per sq m; Blandings in aqua, 100% wool, £141.68 per sq m; Bertie in aqua, 100% wool, £141.68 per sq m, all Tim Page Carpets
4. Mystic Grey bespoke carpet is 100% wool loop pile with 100% silk cut pile floral design, from the Flora Dance Collection by Loomah. Prices from £1,127.45 per sq m
5. Axminster Carpet’s Royal Seaton Calico in Light Mink is 100% pure new wool. From £59 per sq m
6. Ziegler Indian Rug, Design IZV070, in 100% Twisted Argentine Wool, from £199, GH Frith
7. Ulster Carpets’ Medallion Dune 80% wool, 20% nylon woven Axminster carpet, around £52 per sq m
8. Roger Oates’ Newbury 100% wool flat weave runner, from £95 per linear m

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FEATURE LINDA CLAYTON
Featured in the January 2010 issue of Period Living