Wall-to-wall carpets are back! Yes, you may have noticed that wall-to-wall carpets have experienced a resurgence in popularity. And it’s not only due to their superior comfort, warmth and acoustic qualities. It’s because wall-to-wall carpet designs and the way they are employed have the ability to set the mood of a space that tells a story or tells the occupants how the space should be used.
The thing about wall-to-wall carpets is that they create a seamless look, the appearance of one large pattern. These “fitted carpets” or “broadloom carpets”, as they are also known, cover a given space in a few pieces – or even a single piece – of carpet. This means patterns aren’t disrupted by breaks in the fabric, offering a high degree of design freedom.
Let’s delve into some of the modern wall-to-wall carpet trends out there through the lens of a number of design themes.
Starting with the classics. These wall-to-wall carpet designs hark back to times in history and conjure up feelings of heritage and the ancient arts. Classic carpet designs are about historical details and tradition, florals and filigree, medallions and cloth, imperial and baroque eras. The look and feel of a classic carpet design tells a story of sophistication, flamboyance and refinement.
Which takes us nicely to the ‘essentials’. These wall-to-wall carpet designs are inspired by classic men’s suits - sophisticated, understated and evergreen. Think tartans, stripes, herringbone, braids, argyles, dots and tweeds. These essential carpet designs celebrate the love of good artisanship with refined blendings, colour gradings and balanced tones.
From the classic and the essential, the arts and crafts have moved into modern carpet design, with handmade motifs and textures, timeworn vintage patterns and honest materials. These designs bring impressions of knits and crochets, woven cloths and smocks, oil paints and watercolours, string art and hessian, paper and lace. They stand for traditional craftsmanship that has been refined by skilled artisans and translated into original and handmade wall-to-wall carpet designs.
Every country and every community is strongly tied together by culture – an intricate tapestry of values, norms, identities and history. Through rich, vibrant and expressive symbols and colours, unique wall-to-wall carpet designs are the narrations of cultures. Look for rhythmic and repetitive patterns, originating from authentic crafts and national costumes, reflecting the stories of spiritual, religious and tribal cultures from around the world.
Bringing nature into urban environments is important to our well-being and if we can’t bring real nature indoors, then lifelike or abstract imitations of nature still have beneficial effects. So much so that more and more workplaces are embracing the trend of biophilic carpet designs that incorporate natural elements. Wall-to-wall carpet designs that mimic forests, deserts, oceans, foliage, rocks and seasonal colours in delicate details, random patterns or rustic textures are all based on biophilic design principles and tell the story of our human connection with nature.
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Goodbye minimalism and hello bold! Geometric carpet designs have gotten a whole lot sexier and are the wall-to-wall carpet trend to watch out for. Shapes and patterns find expression in wall-to-wall carpets through the use of triangles, circles, rectangles, cubes, cylinders and 3-dimensional grids. These bold and dramatic designs take inspiration from 1920s modernist cubism and constructivism and provide a powerful language to wall-to-wall carpet designs.
Speaking of art movements, artistic ideals, styles, technical approaches and even timeframes, can often emerge in wall-to-wall carpet designs. Carpet designs reflecting and inspired by movements such as the abstract expressionists of New York’s 1950s, make interesting and strong flooring statements.
Designers from other disciplines also enter the world of wall-to-wall carpet designs, bringing with them textile designs created from personal archives and shaped by personal influences. Fashion designer Christian Lacroix, for example, designs carpets with a clear reference to fashion. The degree of detail in the patterns and colours of his carpets reflect his haute couture designs.
Furniture and accessories designer, Tom Dixon, brings the rough and raw elements of industrial London to his carpet designs, taking inspiration from his British roots and reflecting his maverick innovation.
These motifs are just some examples of the story-telling potentials of wall-to-wall carpet designs. Whether it’s a tale of tradition, ancient ornamentation, symbolic interpretation or contemporary expression, wall-to-wall carpet designs have the power to be the narrator of any space or project.
