New Floors In the Fall

We need to discuss a few flooring considerations that are fairly important right now. And by right now, I mean… well… right now. Because on one hand, I could try to convince you that the fall is the right time to think seriously about redoing, refinishing, revamping, or replacing any number of flooring spaces in your home. That should actually makes sense – it’s almost the holidays, kids are in school already for the construction time you’ll need, and you’ve been wanting a few new punches of beauty and comfort in your home anyway. Plus, as everybody starts showing up for the big family gatherings in the next few months, you’ll be proud to tell them all to leave their shoes at the door!

But on the OTHER hand, you need to consider flooring options right now, not just because of all those brilliant reasons, but because everybody else is already considering flooring, too. I am Not. Joking. Around. Two years ago at the end of October I sauntered on in to The Home Depot to discuss new upstairs carpeting, and new entry-way tile; both items I wanted to have installed within the month. As it turns out, pretty much everybody the whole town over wanted the same thing – and all of it HAD to be done before Thanksgiving!

Now, mind you, the friendly folks in Home Depot flooring were nothing short of miraculous, and they seriously worked to make it happen. But the scheduling was tiiiiight, and you do NOT want to miss out on showing off your new gorgeous under-foot amazingness to Aunt Meriweather.

Plus, fall is the time for new flooring, because so many new options are pouring in to the Home Depot. If you’re a bargain shopper, this means loads of great clearance pricing on wood and tile, but also the new innovative and modern products are stocking the shelves right now. Here’s a few to consider…

There are new thin tiles that display beautiful stone or wood, and simply require a click-together and lay-it-down kind of installation. It can go right smack on top of the floor you’ve already got! I fell so in love with this white marble, I had to order some up for my laundry room. And speaking of crazy easy instillation, were you also aware that the Home Depot now carries thin vinyl tiles that can be set down like stone or ceramic, and grouted?!

Of course, in order to make sure the colors and textures match my home and design intentions, I wanted to buy a few samples to take home. But not at The Home Depot! Oooooh no – they just want to GIVE you samples for free! Sitting right there with the products you’ll find exact small samples of all their gorgeous flooring products, or sample boards they’ll let you check out and take home with a smile. Of course, the boards ARE kind of like a library book you need to return, which is OK, since you won’t forget them in your school backpack. (I think I owe back school library fees upwards of about a million bucks.)

And don’t get me started on carpet, because I’m kind of a lover of all things soft under my tosies. At the Home Depot you’ll find an incredible selection of ready-to-install in stock carpets, several incredibly well priced quick-ship options, and any other variety you could possibly think up. They carry more colors than I would put in my surprisingly neutral house, but also enough variations on shades of taupe to make a picky little selector like me quite happy. Plus, their competitively priced high shag carpets (my absolute favorite and the pick I ultimately went with) can be installed this fall starting at $37. But only if you get on it NOW!

It’s the time people. Refurbish those floors. Get new freshness to walk on! Or for the simplest and fastest kick of all, dive into the very impressive and supremely competitively priced isle of rugs hanging up over in the flooring section. I picked up a soft but practical indoor/outdoor rug for under my table in the kitchen. Next up is finding the right spot for THIS fluffy wonder; my daughter informed me that this run was so nice she fell asleep standing next to it just hanging there. I’m not even making that up.

It’s the right time to do flooring improvements; they increase home value, and severely impact your complete sense of happiness as you tip toe around in these freshly brisk coming months.

Art Deco Design: Deco Rugs and Carpets

Art Deco Design: Deco Rugs and Carpets

Art Deco Rugs

Art deco rugs were introduced to the world at the Paris Exposition of Modern and Decorative Art (Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes) in 1925. For that historic world’s fair, the buildings were decorated in art deco rugs and the style took hold.

Art deco designs featured bold geometric shapes, stylized floral patterns and other natural forms, often with juxtapositions of dark and light. Artists from around the world started to design rugs and textiles. Some of the most creative rug designs were created by Jean Michel Frank and Emile Jacques Ruhlmann of France.

These rugs continue to be popular with interior designers today, and you can create your own Art Deco look with these stylish Art Deco rugs. This page showcases some of the best deco rugs available to buy online and at reasonable prices. So if you are looking to create a new style for your home, think about using rugs as decor highlights. Although antique rugs from this era can be quite expensive, you can buy new Art Deco style rugs from $80 to $600. Scroll down to enjoy some easy online shopping.

Art Deco Style

Deco Design Characteristics

The Art Deco Style was influenced by the formalized lines of ancient Egyptian and ancient Aztec art, and it borrowed from neoclassical, modernism, art nouveau, cubism and constructivism.

This time period, just after the First World War, was also known as the Machine Age. For the first time, rugs began to be made my machine, and because they were not expensive like the traditional hand-knotted oriental rugs, they were seen as rugs of the people i.e. stylish designs that the common man could afford. A new market was started and art deco rugs gained increasing popularity in Europe and America.

Not all art deco rugs were machine made, but this was an option, and the world was ready for it.

Art Deco Rug

Deco Rug Design

 

Art Deco Rugs & Deco Carpets

Designs of the 1920s and 1930s

When it comes to rugs and floor coverings, Art Deco rugs encompass an infinite range of design possibilities. Other applied art movements defined one over-arching theme, while Art Deco embraced influences for all ages and from all over the world. These modernists designs were highly sought after and are still relevant and in demand today.

Rugs and carpets designed in the Art Deco era of the 1920s and 30s represent the best and most beautiful side of industrial design and globalization. By the late 1920s, the rugs and carpets that were produced were colorful and derived their influence from many areas, highly decorative Persian rugs being only one. Designers in rugs, as much as anywhere else where the style was being copied, rated the latest innovations in construction, design and color theory.

The people who designed and wove Art Deco rugs were innovators who paved the way for mid-century and modern designers, abstract artists and many contemporary design movements. At a time when commercial air travel was new and novel, designers, importers and carpet traders provided a vital link between east and west. The cultural diffusion that occurred in the early 20th century is ever-present in Art Deco rugs, even today. The creative atmosphere and historic design conditions of the era resulted in a colorful melting pot that combined influences from all parts of the globe.

Deco Rugs

In Summary

Art Deco rugs and carpets run the breadth of the spectrum in design from stoic masculine rugs with sharp geometric shapes to feminine floral weaves with contrasting colors and pastels. In China, the vibrant jewel-tone carpets manufactured for the explorer and entrepreneur Walter Nichols, are in a league of their own while rugs produced in the same era in England, Europe and Scandinavia were all pieces that led to the designation of the Art Deco or Art Decoratif term in the mid 1960s. British colonial influence in India led to the creation of many phenomenal Art Deco rugs there and they continue to present a combination of modernity and glamour.

In recent years, Art Deco rugs, along with other modernist design, have seen a resurgence. In many places, people are falling back on the reliable, often simplistic, forms to decorate their homes and with good reason: Modernist design fuses form and function into a single beautiful piece that is a work of art in its own right.