Hicksville, N.Y.—With all the hubbub surrounding hardwood, ceramic tile and laminate recently, what’s been happening with broadloom lately? As seen in the last few years, both carpet mills and fiber producers, via new technology, have stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park with new textures, patterns and designs, letting consumers know to take another look at the segment.

“What we are finding is that consumers will trade themselves up if given the opportunity,” said Tony Prestipino, executive vice president, sales and marketing for Gulistan Carpet. “Across the board our higher end products are doing well with styles using Stainmaster Tactesse fiber leading the way.

“Soft hand is still...hot,” he added. “Our Bella Vista Collection best exemplifies what I am describing. It is a collection of nine styles —six pattern level cut loops (LCLs), plus a texture, a frieze and an all loop pile random pattern. All are manufactured with Stainmaster Tactesse nylon in 60 common colorations. The Bella Vista Collection allows a consumer to customize and create a feel that reflects her personality.

“We have been so successful with this program that we have followed it up with an even higher end collection of Tactesse products called the Ultimate Luxury Collection. It consists of three pattern LCLs, a texture and a saxony in 36 common colorations with a custom color program where we offer custom colorations starting at 50 square yards.”

The latest trend in residential carpet, says Robin Tankersley, director of residential product development for Masland Carpets and Rugs, is still “Pattern, pattern and pattern,” but now there’s something more.

“The demand for pattern is still quite strong, but we are seeing growth in pattern with color, not just textural patterns. And the demand is not coming from the design community alone —average consumers are making choices that include bolder colors and more pattern than they’ve historically been comfortable with.”

“Homes today have more hard surfaces, but in the areas where consumers are using broadloom, they are willing to view it more as a design element than a backdrop,” she added.

“Patterns today are larger and more clearly defined,” explained Tankersley, “not abstracts, but distinct motifs—like florals.”

Successfully mixing multiple patterns and colors in fabrics and floor covering lies in choosing styles with common colors and common scale, Tankersley said. “If the patterns are on equal footing in terms of color and scale, with no one element fighting for dominance, then things will work well together.”

Consumers seem to be spending more of their time at home, noted Mike McAllister, vice president of marketing for Beaulieu of America. “This trend has precipitated the desire to surround themselves with warmer, more upscale designs. They are more confident than ever in their fashion choices and select bolder patterns and colors that are less neutral than in the past. No more beige saxonies and textures to blend in with other home furnishings. Today’s consumers see the floor as a place to make a personal fashion statement, adding dimension and color to their homes.

“Patterns are very popular now; especially organic ones, and are being used as a focal point from which to decorate around,” he added. “Greens, reds and golds are very much in favor today. These new warmer colors create a more intimate feeling in the home.”

Beaulieu recently introduced its Fashion Essentials collection of products. “Half of these products are LCL styles that give the consumer the elegant patterned look in the organic themes that are so desired today,” said McAllister. “The products are nylon, tenth gauge, very dense and available in the current warm colors. A full compliment of traditional neutrals is also available for the buyer less willing to make a fashion statement on the floor.”

The Fashion Essentials collection also features a like number of styles in olefin engineered loops. “These PermaTwist products offer high fashion at very competitive price points,” he said.

In commercial, Karastan Contract from The Mohawk Group has unveiled Continuum, a collection comprised of six patterns —Twisted Field, Method Twist, Knotted Weave, Parallel, Degree and Succession. In it, architect Robert Cox and the Karastan Contract design team have created a collection of six styles reflective of couture fabrics. It’s a modern interpretation of classic weaves —pinstripe, basketweave, tweed, which includes a non-traditional palette of 15 saturated hues.

While corporate, public and retail spaces are the likely end uses for any one or all of the six Continuum patterns, noted a company spokesperson, they also are likely to be destined for more fashion-forward type installations.

From Invista, comes Antron Brilliance carpet fiber, an innovation in fiber engineering that delivers richer, more vibrant color along with the proven soil hiding capability of a hollow filament fiber shape.

“The Antron Brilliance carpet fiber modernizes the Antron fiber styling toolbox with extreme color clarity and a more natural luster,” said Bobby Berrier, Invista’s vice president of commercial/transportation flooring. “Antron Brilliance carpet fiber can be used alone or in a combination with other Antron fibers, including solution-dyed nylon and the Antron Fiber Effects Soie, Glimmer and Merino fibers.”
—Louis Iannaco