Today is a little different. Instead of my usual beautiful room post, here’s a beautiful product.It’s the result of months of work and meetings, and we’re so excited to finally reveal it to you. Quirky Bloom, worked with Alternative Flooring to design a carpet in all her floral glory. A British wool carpet has been added to the sustainable sofa “VIta*” that I made two years ago.
Some of you may remember me using this quirky Spotty Damson in my old house. For 12 years she welcomed me every day and never grew old or tired. When buying this new home, Spotty knew it would be a difficult act to follow. And, as regular readers know, I’ve long said that the hall is one of the most important rooms in the house. Because it’s the first thing you see when you enter the front door and it sets the mood for the rest of the space.
So I spoke with the team at Alternative Flooring about what works for their new home. And I expressed my desire for something floral this time, noting that I hadn’t seen many modern designs in colors that matched my muted palette.
The result was something like, “If you think it’s hard enough, come and try it.”
I couldn’t pass up the chance, even if it was loosely represented, and within an hour I had a series of sketches. A week after that he said my design was good enough to discuss at an internal meeting. A few weeks later, news arrived that Quirky Bloom had gone Go. There was obviously more going on, but in short, meetings were held, commerciality assessed, sketches rendered, then scaled. And the colors were also chosen.
Thus, a few months ago, I began to see my designs come to life in a carpet factory.
There is nothing I love more than a factory tour, but it was fascinating and somewhat hypnotizing. As with many British factories, the skilled staff was aging and it was difficult to find replacements. The factory is serious about developing young talent, which has resulted in a young team and a very lively atmosphere around the loom.
They were all very excited (or happily polite) about my design as well, pointing out that although the pattern is flashy, there are only three colors, soft and muted, making for an acceptable and bold design. I also decided to have a random pattern so that the daisies would look like they were tumbling down the stairs rather than marching in line.
This is also useful for curvilinear stairs, as it allows the pattern to flow through turns without the distortion that would occur if all were straight.
A few weeks after my factory visit, the carpet was installed in my home. Seen here in Tiramus, he is one of six colors. I hope you like it. The walls and railings were intentionally kept simple to let the carpet stand out, but of course you could add more color to create something really rock and roll.
To see other colors – Gelato, Polenta, Pizzelle, Oliva, Cavolo – and order your own samples, visit: alternative flooring.
Add to your diary as the entire collection will be on display at Decorex (Stand A34) from 8-11 October 2023 as part of the London Design Festival. And as with the rest of the house, we’ll have more images to show you soon. It will be published in the October issue of Red Magazine (actually he is due out in September).
Having partnered with leading designers such as Ben Pentrice and Margo Selby, we are thrilled to be working with this award-winning company. Their products are made by skilled artisans and installed by artisans (mine is hand sewn in place around curved steps – shout out) lord’s floor – see more in the reel I posted on Instagram), woven from English wool and I share their brand values.
Quirky Bloom will debut at Decorex (Stand A34), part of the London Design Festival from 8-11 October 2023.
For more information on the Vita*, see Vita designed in collaboration with Love Your Home. click here. Read the post that featured her here.
