La Grange, GA, Oct. 9--In one of the first episodes of "Trading Spaces: Family," there was a serious need to find a solution and replace the old carpet without breaking the budget by refinishing the wood floors underneath. When the designer enlisted the help of a pre-teen, the project had to be simple. The goal? Installing new wall-to-wall carpet, a task traditionally left to the professionals.
The Legato and Tesserae Carpet Systems by Milliken--two new do-it-yourself carpet panel products--are the first products Milliken will promote under a new licensing agreement with Discovery Consumer Products, utilizing the "Trading Spaces" brand, one of the hottest television shows in America.
Legato is sold exclusively through The Home Depot, while Tesserae can be purchased at carpet specialty stores nationwide.
Like all those funky items from the 70s that you thought would never see the light of day again like lava lamps and bean bag chairs, shag carpeting--reinvented in the form of frieze--has emerged from the past with more personality than ever before.
Frieze, often referred to as "mini shag", is a tightly twisted yarn construction that is rising in popularity because of its contemporary durability. Frieze is featured in both the Legato and Tesserae carpet systems. Legato is a new do-it-yourself residential carpet panel system that is made of 100 percent nylon. Tesserae is made with 100 percent Wear-Dated DuraSoft nylon and is a residential carpet panel system that can be installed professionally or used as a do-it-yourself product. Both products are ScotchGard protected.
And the 80s is not an era to be outdone. The rich, daring colors that represented 80s' opulence are also making a comeback in today's contemporary carpeting and home accessories.
"This is not the wild child shag carpeting that we associate with 1970s apartments, vans or even recent 'Austin Powers' movies," said Sharon Hanby-Robie, interior designer and author of the My Name Isn't Martha series of decorating books.
"Like most trends that experience a resurgence, shag-style carpeting has been updated to fit in well with current times. The new shag is much softer, provides an incredible texture and is more refined than the untamed shag of the 70s."
Audacious 80s-inspired colors are also being revisited as major features in 21st century carpeting. Homeowners are beginning to surround themselves with colors and designs that provoke the senses, according to the Color Marketing Group (CMG), a not-for-profit association that forecasts Color Directions for all industries.
Americans are spending more time at home and are looking to redecorate to help comfort and lift their spirits, while not breaking the bank. Many homeowners are fulfilling those needs by using bold colors and customized looks, turning homes interiors into extensions of their personalities. Carpet can now be one of those cost-effective extensions.
Tesserae helps fulfill both homeowners' color and design needs by offering more than 20 colors to choose from, including such brazen colors as Mercury, Cotton Candy, Denim, Radish, Boysenberry and Lilac. In addition to offering a wide range of colors, Tesserae--which comes in 24-inch square panels--allows homeowners to mix and match these colors to form stripes, blocks, borders and colorful mosaics. Since Tesserae can be installed professionally or used as a do-it-yourself product, it is versatile enough to give homeowners the ability to cut down costs and create virtually any pattern that might not be available in traditional broadloom carpeting.
