Boutique Design New York - Dec 2015

By Ruth Simon McRae

The Boutique Design New York (BDNY) show is building up more and more steam as a major influence for trends in the hospitality sector for owners, operators and designers. This year visitor attendance was up to over 50,000 and the energy of the show was robust.

From a flooring trend perspective, organic designs with painterly or watercolor effects and creative cut loop constructions, some even integrating print, were seen throughout the show. Collections of carpets with layered designs were so compatible that when laid side by side, the patterning flowed from one carpet to the next. And although highly patterned, as needed for the hospitality market, these carpet designs were executed with a subtlety of color that felt fresh and new.

Hard surface materials ranged from the omnipresent LVT in stone, wood and abstract looks to exquisite glass and ceramic products in a wide range of sizes and designs. Metallic accents, particularly gold tones, were seen in many materials throughout the show, including high luster accents in carpet, ceramic and glass mosaics, as well as furniture, accessories and lighting.

In a sign of how hard surface flooring is gaining traction in the hospitality market, several firms that have traditionally been carpet specialists, like Milliken, Signature and CM Hospitality, came to the show with LVT offerings.

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
Atlas featured the new Bellissimo Collection, with three running line patterns and 20 defined custom options. Enlivened by the higher contrast cross-color palette enabled by solution-dyed yarn, patterns include Livenza, a warmly textural look of woven threads, and Biela, an abstract organic with floral shapes, which was installed on the booth floor.

Crossville’s concise yet dramatic booth at BDNY showed an effective narrative of its recent products and inspirations. Two standouts were Ready To Wear, a refined textile look in eight colors and multiple formats for floors and walls, and Grove Glass, a new wall collection in eight stunning warm and cool neutrals with accent options of triangular-shaped retro mosaics in funky colors. Also featured was a thin, large format metallic line, I Metalli.

Emser introduced several new porcelain lines, highlighting Formwork, a new concrete visual, Reclaim, a 71” wood-look plank and Expanse, a collection of thin (6mm) panels in a 5’ x 10’ format. Suitable for multiple interior and exterior finishes, Expanse is available in 16 different looks ranging from polished marble to contemporary matte grays. Emser’s display also featured an exciting range of mosaic and small shaped tiles in diverse looks, shapes and textures.

Shaw Hospitality Group received BDNY’s Best Product award in the flooring category for its Noble Materials collection. Inspired by alchemy and sacred geometry, Noble Materials features a compatible mix of marbleized organic designs with detailed geometrics, all with veining of a higher luster metallic-look accent. Shaw also showed hard surface products in new formats and sizes for the hospitality market.

Brintons made a bold statement on the floor of the SG Henna Lounge with an ornamental medallion pattern from the Urban Nomad collection, designed in collaboration with Stacy Garcia.

Interface featured the Portmanteau collection, six groups of patterns that play with layers and textures in such a way that the carpets transition seamlessly one to another. The booth design clearly demonstrated the design concept. Tufted of Econyl fiber, the air-entangled solution-dyed yarn creates a unique carpet texture. This collection is offered in both skinny and standard size planks. Interface also showed its new Color Studio, a system that allows designers to pull palettes of colors for custom products.

Signature showed some exciting new carpet designs, mixing watercolor effects with fine-art inspired abstract imagery, and also showed a new click-type luxury vinyl plank with tabs on all four sides.

Durkan featured designs created by its Synthesis technology, a hybrid of dimensional tufting and integrated print. The Amora collection, designed in collaboration with Virginia Langley, layers organic pattern over fabric-inspired textures. Durkan also emphasized Mass Appeal, an LVT line with stone, modern metal and linen textures.

Masland highlighted its CYP capabilities, showing several custom examples from the Sojourn collection. Bold and highly textured, these products use cut and loop pile textures to maximum effect.
OW Hospitality featured the Neo Collection, a group of Axminster designs combining neo-classic motifs with painterly effects. As with OW’s other design collections, Neo is composed of 20+ patterns that offer concepts and inspiration for creating custom carpet.

Milliken reinterpreted its successful Color Field program for the hospitality market, expressing the trend of flowing painterly looks with vibrant marbled accents against a tonal base. In keeping with the interest in hard surface for hospitality interiors, Milliken also showcased its LVT collection of abstract, stone and wood designs.

CM Hospitality unveiled its new Genevieve Collection, a patterned all wool cut pile construction, tufted yet with the aesthetic of an Axminster. CM also featured a range of product types from tufted graphics to LVT, in order to fulfill a designer’s vision.

Beaulieu’s Aqua Hospitality showed its new floorcoverings in two multi-product lounge spaces. A small-scale abstract print from the Graffiti Collection in combination with a thematically-related CYP design were featured on the floor of “The Bar” space by Meyer Davis Studio. The PIX Lounge space by Design Poole was pulled together with Aqua’s bold, futuristic carpet.

Nourison displayed examples of its Fusion collection of Axminster carpets, featuring the company’s hand-carving capabilities and abrash dye system. Intricate patterns from the Folk and Geometric sub-collections were showcased on the floor and flowed from one carpet to the next.

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