A few weeks ago, I met with Jane Waggoner, a Dallas interior designer and creator of the most beautiful hand-knotted Tibetan wool carpets.  Having obtained a degree in art history, a tenure with both the MOMA and the DMA, and a passport full of stamped adventures worldwide, there’s no question where Jane’s inspiration comes from!

I absolutely LOVED her style and can’t wait to use her rugs in a project someday soon!  All of her rugs can be customized to any size or any color- there’s a ton of flexibility with these!

Here are just a few samples of some of her work:

Chinoiserie-Feng and Shue

Island-Leaf Cay

V.C. Barcelona-Mies

V.C. Barcelona-Daniela

Tribal-Orani (a personal fave)

Island-Voodood

Petit Chou-Little Chinoiserie

Petit Chou-Wild Thing

Stripe

Tribal Rug-Beni

Are you loving the bold patterns and gorgeous colors as much as I am?

And not only are her rugs incredibly chic, they are also of the highest quality and comfort!

On a side note, the rugs themselves are GoodWeave certified, which ensures that no child labor is used.  Jane takes 10% of the net profit from the collection and donates it to GoodWeave, hoping to better the lives and education of children in Nepal, India and Afghanistan.

To sum it up, Jane is amazing!  She really has a wonderful thing on going on here…you can visit her gorgeous rugs at retail store, Forty Five Ten in Dallas and if you are a designer, they are also available “to the trade” at Interior Resources.

Lately, I’ve been decorating a lot of clients’ stairways in funky, eclectic patterns that will make the entryways of their homes pop! If you want to snaz up your stairs and create a bold look, a runner in any pattern can do the job.

I prefer to use a natural material (like sisal) when the client wants something textural, muted, inexpensive and versatile for the future.  Alternatively, if the client wants something with a unique pattern, durability, softness, and doesn’t mind spending more, a long lasting wool is nice.

Looking for a runner yourself? Take a look at these options- hopefully they will help you decide what look is best for your home!

Geometrics-

You can never go wrong with a bold geometric print.  Using a geometric for your stair runner is most desirable in neutrals (black and white, etc) because a bright color paired with a bold pattern, might be a leetle too crazy for something so permanent.

 

Chevron-

This trendy print would look great as a runner but I have yet to find a source for it! Anyone out there know where to find something like this?

Stripes-

Stripes are always classic and never go out of style.  I prefer wide stripes myself, but of course you don’t want to go too wide with your stripes, as your stairs are only so wide.

Animal prints-

Zebra, leopard, cheetah, antelope, you name it.  I LOVE a good animal print as a stair runner..and by good, I mean “not a nylon”.  Recently I went looking for an animal print stair runner and the nylons looked really cheesy to me, but the wool versions were heavenly! Jan Showers always makes the animal printed stair runner look super classy.

Natural

I adore a good natural runner…more specifically, Stark’s diamond sisal.

If you don’t want the pattern (or want something less pricey), a regular sisal will work just fine too (with or without the thick binding on the edges)

Solid with Banding

I love this clean, graphic look.  This is a great look for someone who wants to avoid getting too trendy.  Also, the darker background will wear really well for high traffic areas.

Washable/Uber Durable

Dash and Albert makes super durable rugs that can be made into runners.  They even have a diamond pattern that resembles the diamond sisal.

Just Plain Funky

Peacock! Enough said.

This month’s giveaway winner will receive a rug from Decorative Carpets, a family-owned business that has specialized in providing high quality flooring for the world’s most prestigious commercial and residential interiors since 1955. With headquarters in West Hollywood and a manufacturing facility in Bangkok, Thailand, all of Decorative Carpets’ products adhere to the highest of standards and can be found in every corner of the globe!

One lucky MG reader will win a 3’x5′ hand spun rug inspired by late 19th century Mongolia, made from hand carded Himalayan natural wool. With a retail price of $1078, this rug will make for a stunning accent piece in any room!

**To be chosen, you MUST fill out the entry form here AND either “Like” Decorative Carpets’ Facebook page or follow their Twitter account! The winner will be chosen from those lists.

The giveaway starts today and will end on Tuesday, May 1st with a winner announced on May 2nd. Enter today!

 Good luck to you all!

Thank you Merida for blogging about our Frisco client’s dining room!

We used one of Merida Meridian’s gorgeous sisals on this project- (Luxe Silver Topaz with a Soft Cotton Twill binding to be exact) and we loved how it turned out.  The textured sisal was an amazing juxtaposition to the shiny metallics, smooth blown glass and sleek mirrored finishes.

It can be challenging to source a grayed out sisal.  Since sisal is a natural material, it’s much more common to find them with warm gold tones.  When we stumbled across this one from Merida, we knew it would coincide perfectly with everything else in the room.

The lighter rug ended up making such a huge difference in a room that started off as a sea of dark brown.

{Luxe Silver Topaz Sisal}

When the client and I first met, she said that everything in the room could go except for the trim and wall colors.  We both agreed that since we were leaving the dark brown paint, a wallpapered accent wall on the back wall would give this room the pizzazz it needed to set it apart from the extremely traditional neighboring Frisco homes. (Anyone who reads this blog knows that I’m not a fan of the painted accent wall, but wallpaper is a totally different story)

As they say..out with the old, in with the new!

Before-

After-

For more about the Frisco dining room renovation, visit Merida’s blog!

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sisal, but lately I’ve been completely obsessed with statement-maker rugs at all price points. These rugs usually consist of a large pattern- a modern floral or geometric print.

I just had a geometric patterned rug custom-made for a client in a gray and beige color combo (not a combination you see very often), and I love how it turned out!

I’m thinking of using this orange Arabesque rug from Global Views for a male client’s bedroom…(and he went to OSU too- very fitting!)

This rug is actually about to come out in gray..all I can say is wowza! I’ll be lining up for that one too…

This Tracery rug designed by Kelly Wearstler for the Rug Company is it for me….I’d be happy with just this rug for the rest of my life-

You have to see it in the dramatic room setting to truly appreciate it-

Lauren and Sara at Decorative Carpets come out to Dallas every few months and update us on all their amazing new goodies…the quality of their rugs is amazing and I’m really loving their Minorca pattern

Although Merida is known mostly for their solid natural rugs, they also carry graphic patterned sisals by Barclay Butera.  This classic stripe has texture, pattern and color, and wouldn’t be something that you would tire of quickly-

FLOR just opened up a retail showroom right near my house off Knox and so I got to see this out-of-this-world chevron pattern there a few weeks ago and all I have to say is that I need to use this pattern somewhere ASAP!

I have to admit, this new Talaa rug made of luxurious mohair from Restoration Hardware is pretty unbelievable.

Barbara Barry knows how to make that icy gray-blue color in just about every product you can imagine. Here it is again in her Moire nickel rug design for Tufenkian-

For only $199, you really can’t go wrong with this IKEA Stockholm rug

For a softer, more elegant look, I think an Oushak can be really pretty (especially in a bedroom or a more formal living room). I love this muted rug from William Sonoma Home

I’ve been waiting to use this Thomas O’Brien Ikat rug for what feels like forever!

The lime green color in this Anthropologie Coqo rug really gets me energized! This rug comes in as large as a 9×12.

And last but not least, this graphic rug from Horchow, inspired by a tile from the archives of the Smithsonian would look really dramatic with dark walls in a home office or library-

We apologize for the tardiness in announcing the winner to the RugsUSA Giveaway, but the MG site has had some technical difficulties these past few days! Thanks for your patience!

Now for the moment you all have been waiting for…drumroll please….

The winner of the RugsUSA Modern Trellis beige rug is Julia of Richmond, Michigan!  Congrats!  This rug will add some serious style to any room. We hope you enjoy it!

We asked Julia where she was going to put the rug and she said-

“It’s going right under my dining room table, which has rested upon bare hardwood floors for years because I’ve been skittish about committing to a patterned rug. No longer!”

Also, when entering the contest, Julia was so kind to tell us her favorite design material (which is always our favorite question to ask 🙂 and her answer was toile.  We had to pry further and find out why this was her favorite material-

“As for toile, a few years ago friend of mine decorated her den in whites and neutrals, but did her window treatments and a huge overstuffed chair in green-and-white toile…it was so lovely; I wish I had a picture to share. I loved the look and have been hoping to recreate it in my daughter’s bedroom (she’s almost three, so I’m planning to upgrade her to a big-girl room over the next year or so).”

And you know the Material Girls couldn’t stop from asking her what her general design style is either-

“Preference-wise, I’m just sort of coming into my own and, after trying some trendy looks/colors, I’ve found that what I love most is a mix of classic and cottage, one of the reasons why I’m so excited about the rug!”

Thanks so much for sharing Julia!  Also, thank you to all of the MG readers who participated.  Be on the lookout for the next MG giveaway coming soon!

Just wanted to remind all of you that we have reached the half-way mark in the Rugs USA Giveaway! There are 2 weeks left to enter (HERE), and everyone should sign up for a chance to win this amazing area rug from Rugs USA!

Make sure your friends and family enter before time runs out! We will announce the lucky winner on Tuesday, August 2nd here on Material Girls. Good luck to you all!

We are SO excited to announce this morning that today is the first day of the Rugs USA Giveaway! Rugs USA is an online retail store that offers an eclectic range of area rug designs at fabulous prices and now one lucky MG reader can get one at an even better price… FREE! Simply fill out your contact information HERE for your chance to win this amazing 5′ x 8′ Modern Trellis beige rug from Rugs USA’s Homespun Collection!

The Material Girls love a good trellis pattern. The fun geometric print is a timeless classic and, as as many of you know, a staple in our designs!

Entries will be accepted through noon (ET) July 31 and the lucky winner will be announced Tuesday August 2nd here on Material Girls. Good luck to you all!

I met with the lovely ladies from Decorative Carpets, Inc yesterday.  They were kind enough to lug their suitcases full of samples out to my office and show me the latest and greatest within their product lines.

I learned that Decorative Carpets is based in West Hollywood, and has been around for over fifty-five years!  It’s a family owned business that provides hand-tufted custom rugs to residential, hospitality and commercial spaces.  Designers, especially, love their rugs for their bold colors and interesting patterns.

I was blown away by their product and the fact that each rug was so unique.  No matter your style, there really is something for everyone here.

One in particular that I was just head over heels for was their Palmerie carpet-

Apparently Barclay Butera just used this rug in the Pasadena showhouse-

How amazing does it look in here?

I got to see such a nice variety of all that Decorative Carpets has to offer.  Here are some of my faves!

Their newest collection includes Mar a Mar, a line of globally inspired cotton flat-weaves.  I’m completely digging the Raja pink

What a great visit we had! Hopefully I’ll make it out to their showroom one day to see all of their amazing rug displays!  Until then, you all might just have to check it out for me 🙂

8900 Melrose Avenue

West Hollywood, CA 90069

Gets put on the blog!

I was in Vegas this week for the Coverings Tradeshow Media Tour and had fun learning all about the latest and greatest in tile and stone (and meeting some really cool bloggers and editors, to boot!)

The show was held at The Sands Convention Center at The Venetian and consisted of 46,456 square feet of tradeshow! Now that’s alot.  There was so much to see in so little time, so I thought I’d highlight my top five parts of the Coverings’ experience-

#1- TREND UPDATE– On Tuesday, at the Tile of Spain Press Conference, Patti Fasan gave a very informative talk on the 2011 trends for tile and stone.   Here are some of the trends that she touched on-

  • Camel- “the new neutral”.  When it’s mixed with black, it’s a lot less stark than black and white together
  • Blues- from dark indigos to light shades (in a vintage look)
  • Mirror like reflections- opalescence or a clear/mirrored surface, and metallic tints/sparkle
  • Textured tile surfaces- folded, twisted, pulled, stretched (manipulated flat planes to create interest)
  • Ceramic tile in different shapes
  • Rich, tarnished gold mixed with brown is the new metallic (she pointed out that it “reeks of luxury”). She also said that copper is a big one (in stones, wood, and textiles)
  • Purple- influenced by browns, grays (and even standing on its own)
  • Faded, weathered sepia hues with vintage inspired motifs
  • Browns- less stark than black, but a warmer, softer palette than grays
  • Tile that looks like menswear fabrics (herringbone, linen, etc)
  • Thick tiles inset into the face of cabinets to match the wall tile and medicine cabinet tile
  • Lack of red (she said that red is receding this year and is used mainly as a temporary accent)
  • Digital printing on tile
  • Pastels- such as ice colors and champagne (hues with just hints of color)

#2- TILE OF ITALY- On Tuesday, we also visited the booths at the show encompassing the “Tile of Italy”.  First off, let me just say that the Italian tile that I witnessed was absolutely GORGEOUS (almost as much as the Italian men that were stationed at each booth 🙂  Talk about well dressed! Some of my favorite booths that we visited-

SICIS- there are no words to describe SICIS.  It was my favorite booth at the show and I knew that MG readers would really appreciate it, so I made sure to snap lots of pics.  SICIS is known as an “art mosaic factory”. I’m sure you’ve seen their ads in magazines, before, displaying their luxury mosaics.

On the Italy tour, we also saw-

Tile made from recycled televisions at REFIN

Incredibly thin porcelain tile at LEA (their Waves collection)-

Incredibly large tile (48″x48″) at FLORIM group in different neutrals.  This series, dubbed Nera, also comes in trapezoid sizes.  FLORIM also had lots of glass tile in neutral colors, that were nice and versatile.

Funky wild tile from Mosaico (a relatively new company- only three years old).  The new tile from their Area 25 Collection is composed of 95% recycled glass.  Their Dialoghi collection gives you the opportunity to create your own custom design.

We also saw tile from Viva and Emil that were made to look like wallpaper-

#3- TILE OF SPAIN- Tuesday morning, we visited the booths of Spain.  Spain is really on top of their game here.  They had fabulous booths with really informative presentations (and not to mention tapas AND sangria!)

Peronda showed us how they used inkjet technology to produce “Graffiti-like” tile-

Grespania– had lots of options for imitations of natural stone (shown here is an imitation of Carrara marble produced through ink jet technology)

Their Palace Collection of porcelain tile was also really interesting-

The Onix booth had their 98% recycled-content glass mosaic tile on display.  These tiles are great for pools and spas.  Their tiles can even be done in gold leaf for a high-end application)  They can also produce custom designs. I learned that they were one of the first companies to make atypical shaped mosaics, such as ovals.

#4- NORTH AMERICAN TILE- Now of course, I can’t forget the American tile tour on the top five!

Crossville had a very colorful booth which displayed their latest “Color by Numbers” collection.  This series coordinates  their color block porcelain floor tile with Benjamin Moore paint.

I enjoyed “learning about”/devouring their color coordinated M&M’s too-

Art Tile Village- we learned here how artistic tile in general, is a North American phenomenon.

We came across a lot of “tile that didn”t look like tile”….(made to look more like wood and stone)

{Wood done in ceramic at Florida Tile}

{Iris, one of the leaders in digital printing technology- which means that they take designs and make the tile look like real stone}

#5- OUT and ABOUT- Aside from the scheduled tours, I did venture out a bit to see what the rest of the show had to offer.

I had an appointment to meet with the folks over at Bondera and had fun playing around with their pressure sensitive adhesive-tile rolls.  This adhesive can be used on a countertop or backsplash and makes installing tile a breeze!  What a great and easy DIY project.  The process takes a lot of mess away from typical tile installation…literally just peel and stick!  *Warning- only 36″ tile or below, can be used!*

Since Material Girls are such nuts for metallics, I had to snap a photo of this wall tile from Villeroy and Boch

More fun accent tiles-

Thank you Coverings for such a great experience!