Flooring

Staff -- Interior Design, 5/31/2008 12:00:00 AM

Nanimarquina

Victoria by Sybilla is a majestic carpet for when you need a 21st-century design with an Imperial air. Vivid colors and palatial scale pay homage to the romantic traditions of the Victorian era with this hand-knotted, New Zealand wool rug. 34-932-376-465; nanimarquina.com. circle 630

Gandia Blasco

It's springtime, and the flowers are in bloom at Gandia Blasco. The 60 's is cheery, with its yellow and white daisies. Dandee is even punchier in color, a collaboration between the company and Marc Krusin, who designed for Gandia in 2007. Flowers might not be an unusual inspiration for flooring, but how about measuring sticks and toilet paper? The minimalist, hand-tufted Metro features a black background with white line segments and numbers, recalling old-school rulers. Metro measures (really) 36 inches wide by 158 inches long. And, finally, the playful Rollos portrays toilet rolls clustered together. 212-421-6701; gandiablasco.com. circle 631

Roubini

A whimsical feel and tongue-in-cheek theme are equally afoot in the Fornasetti Rug Collection, recreating the archived works of 20th-century Milanese Renaissance man Piero Fornasetti. Bacio offers the delicate lips of a kiss-able but unattainable woman. Serratura, where a stranger's eye peeps through a keyhole, may be the most surreal area rug imaginable. Classical architectural styling, too, has its place here, from the boldly graphic Emisfero Orientale Blu, with its celestial subjects, to Cortile White's faux aerial courtyard view. In Ortensia, a highlight of the nature-themed series, a butterfly rests on a leaf. With Amiamo il Serpente, the reptile happily snaps up the forbidden fruit. All 26 rugs are hand-knotted silk and wool pile, and are available in standard or custom sizes. 212-696-4648; roubinirugs.com. circle 632

InterfaceFLOR

Aqua Colours, a multicolored kaleidoscope pattern, is available in festival, or 11 other colorways of tufted cut-and-loop nylon, with 20-inch-square carpet tiles. 800-336-0225; interfaceflor.com. circle 637

Bentley Prince Street

The essence of industry informed by the individuality of craft? Think Machine Made, a cut-and-loop-pile product with the tactile qualities of felted material, augmented with a modern pattern and vibrant texture. Machine Made is available in both broadloom and 18-inch-square carpet tile, in 24 colorways. 800-423-4709; bentleyprincestreet.com. circle 633

Joan Weissman Studio

A Chinese water garden comes alive with Lotus, a hand-knotted rug in wool and silk. It is made with a traditional Tibetan weave, and each rug is crafted in a small, family-run workshop in Katmandu and is made to order exactly to client specifications. 505-265-0144; joanweissman.com. circle 636

Amy Helfand

The topology of Ragged Wandering brings the palette of the Appalachian Trail into the most urban of interiors. The artist may be based in Redhook, Brooklyn, and her thoughts set far to the south in Tennessee. But this 9-by-5-foot Tibetan wool and Chinese silk area rug is hand-knotted on a higher plane—the dramatic peaks of Nepal. 718-643-9577; amyhelfand.com. circle 634

Twinkle Living

If you secretly hold a torch for Liza or Marlene or Liz, Poker and Glamour Girl will call upon your inner starlet. All this Hollywood glitz is hand-tufted in New Zealand wool. 212-625-8710; twinkleliving.com. circle 635

Judy Ross

With the delicacy of blossoms floating in lazy circles on a pond, the bloom formations of Carousel appear to bob and sway. Runners are 3 by 6 feet, and rugs are 6 by 9 feet. All are hand-knotted wool, with up to 30 percent silk, in a palette that includes pollen, fig silk, cream silk, and silver silk. They are also fully customizable and available in chainstitch. 212-842-1705; judyrosstextiles.com. circle 642

Emma Gardner Design

With Aviary, Emma Gardner incorporates silk silhouettes overlaid on densely patterned wool grounds. The drama of the debossed silk is heightened by the peacock colors. These hand-knotted carpets are available in both standard and custom configurations. 860-567-5201; emmagardnerdesign.com. circle 638

Kasthall

For this Swedish firm, designer Johan Carpner has developed Storm, a wall-to-wall carpet with woolen and antistatic nylon pile in 6½-foot widths. The carpet's expressive geometrical repetition creates a soft pattern, while its yarn generates a grid, bringing to life the circular movements of the motif. 212-421-0220; kasthall.com. circle 639

Vicki Simon Rugs

The Secret Life of Turtles as they saunter off in their inimitable, meandering way is reflected in the design of this rug's raised and cut-pile woolen areas. Fallen leaves are represented in cut-pile green linen on an olive and dark-brown, earth-toned ground. Custom sizes and colors are standard for these U.S.-made rugs. 800-400-6636; vickisimon.com. circle 641

Chilewich

Sandy Chilewich continues her mission to resurface the world with her ubiquitous woven vinyl, by offering Scratch Plynyl Floormats. They are produced from jacquard woven vinyl facings backed with urethane foam, and designed to capture the energy of motion. The rugs are available in 4-by-6-foot and 6-by-9-foot formats and in three colors: espresso, cement, and saddle. 212-679-9204; plynyl.com. circle 640

Dennis Miller Associates

This rug is based on the flooring designs of Morris Lapidus, the acclaimed architect, whose name is synonymous with the resort-hotel style of 1950's Miami. South Beach's mid-century glamour is reborn with Sunburst. It is offered in wool or a wool/silk blend; in the colorways Hot, Cool, and Earth; and in standard and custom sizes. 212-684-0070; dennismiller.com. circle 643

Delinear

Anemones are renowned for showing off some of the most glorious, most chromatic color on the reef. With this new design from the Landscapes collection, Chris Baisa delivers similarly dramatic deep sea color in a custom, cut-pile carpet with a tempting tentacle texture. 800-282-8961; delinear.com. circle 647

SoFar/SoNear

Gurkha is a hand-knotted carpet with a distinctly masculine touch. Sober deep gray is tempered with a touch of fuchsia; the carpet's 70 percent wool content is offset with 30 percent silk. Like the Nepalese warriors for whom it is named, this rug conveys a brave use of color and strength of design. 39-340-543-5370; sofarsonear.com. circle 646

Fort Street Studio

Walton uses unexpected color combinations of ochre, raspberry, and lavender to orient a traditional Asian design toward the distant future. These handmade silk rugs have 120 Persian knots per line with a luxurious 25/8-inch pile height. Custom tints are available, along with berry and melon. 212-925-5383; fortstreetstudio.com. circle 644

Contemporary Life & Textiles

Fight free radicals with the deliciously tart yet stunningly sweet summer berries of the Fruit Naturals range. Luscious choices include bilberry, mulberry, and persimmon. Fourteen colors of the wool and nylon blend cut pile are offered in both 13- and 16-foot widths for seamless installation. 44-1254-296-829; contemporarylife.co.uk. circle 645

Rug Art

Sigal Sasson has based her hand-knotted wool and silk area rug, Pieces, on the "pin cushion" protea flower found in Israel and South Africa. This most Lowry-esque stick figure of blooms is laid out with the linear creativity of a musical score. The rug is fully customizable. 877-478-4278; rug-art.net. circle 648

Edward Fields

By focusing on a neutral palette of beige wool with chocolate accents, the Bastide Edition relies on texture, not color, to convey subtleties of design. The edition's twin inspirations, European needlework and architectural ornament, are evoked in Occitan, Amande, Pombaline, Sorso, and Isili, with hand-tufted geometrics and stylized florals. 212-310-0400; edwardfields.com. circle 649

J&J Industries

Frequency, from the Good Vibrations range, is a broadloom or modular 24-by-24-inch carpet tile system suited for a variety of commercial settings. Along with complementary patterns Static and Wavelength, this largescale, skewed geometric option delivers high energy in nine shades, including Quiver, Ripple, Pulse, and Throb. 800-241-4585; jj-invision.com. circle 652

The Nought Collective

Using natural materials, the ETU collection explores notions of volume and luminescence, forms organic and abstract. The chalk-, graphite-, and charcoal-toned palettes of Cydonia are available in three sizes: 7 by 9; 8 by 10; or 10 by 12½ feet. Custom dimensions and colors, as well as pure silk, silk/wool, or silk/cashmere versions, are also available. 212-620-3024; thenoughtcollective.com. circle 651

International Floors of America

Zen from Centiva is a tranquil vinyl with a linear design and distinctive, frosted surface. It's available in tile sizes from 9 inches square to 18 by 36 inches, or planks 4 or 6 inches wide by 36 inches long. This is vinyl suitable for the heaviest foot traffic, so don't be fooled by its apparent glacial serenity: The slip-resistant Contour Series won't leave you feeling like you're on thin ice. 256-767-4990; centiva.com. circle 650

Martin Patrick Evan

The safari-inspired, playful yet primitive Vamburg is conveyed in wool, silk, and blended wool and silk yarns, and is hand tufted in loop-and-cut-pile combinations. Just one of the rugs in the Africa Sophisticate collection, it is available in custom sizes and colors. Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to PATH programs, to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. 800-734-8214; martinpatrickevan.com. circle 657

ABC Carpet & Home

By adding a Persian Kilim to the mix, the Nabati Collection has successfully redefined the lines of the traditional striped flatweave. The collection has layered together seemingly disparate, horizontally-banded kilims to form one vari-tonal, multi-colored rug. The result is available as a 7-by-13-foot handspun wool area rug. 212-473-3000; abchome.com. circle 653

Tai Ping

Limouna I is just one of 46 exuberant, Moroccan-derived designs from the Caravan collection. The organically-shaded palette is punctuated by the vivid tangerines, shimmering pinks, voluptuous reds, and rich greens of the North African bazaar. The irregularity of natural fibers and the stippled, striated, and variegated effects of hand-dying are celebrated in a custom carpet of silk and wool, with cut and recessed loop pile. 212-979-2233; taipingcarpets.com. circle 654

Top Floor Rugs

El Dorado is Esti Barnes's interpretation of a January sunset at the Estancia El Rocío in Argentina. Metallic yarns are combined with glossy fique fibers from a native Andean plant to cast a shimmering copper tone over the endless pampas. This is one rug that will not be eclipsed. 44-207-795-3333; topfloorrugs.com. circle 656

Brintons

Aficionados of the 19th-century Biedermeier furniture movement, listen up. You'll appreciate this collection of custom-designed Biedermeier woven carpet, presented alongside the groundbreaking exhibition "Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity" at the Milwaukee Art Museum. A dozen designs are available in four historically evocative colors: Gravitas dark, Veritas blue, Bravura red, and Charisma gold and neutral. 877-332-9013; brintons.net. circle 655

Zoë Luyendijk Studio

Twist is an expressive Kandinsky of a carpet from the Dance With Me collection. This handwoven piece is knotted, using Tibetan wool and refined silk, at 150 knots per inch. It is available in five colorways. 604-524-8383; zoeluyendijk.com. circle 658

Odegard

The opulent carpets of the Mughal Collection hark back to the embellished fabrics, decorations, and jewels of this Indian dynasty. Sha Jahan's Garden is named for the 17th-century emperor and his great appreciation of the horticultural arts. The iconography of the floral shrub has become synonymous with his reign. These Himalayan wool carpets are hand-knotted, using vegetable dyes. 800-670-8836; odegardinc.com. circle 659

Nying Zemo

Glyphos by Aziz + Cucher is a looped wool and level-cut silk pile rug with a fascinating bi-level design: The upper plane is rendered in a precise and geometric manner, and the lower in a free-wheeling, organic style. Both approaches work symbiotically toward a harmonious resolution. The rug has 100 knots per square inch. 646-234-0559; nyingzemo.com. circle 663

Warp & Weft

Fine Tibetan Rugs from the Modern & Custom Collection offer a repertoire ranging from the updated Orientalist florals of Lhasa to the pared-down calligraphic simplicity of Concepts. Area rugs are handwoven in satiny Tibetan wool and Indian silk. A vast palette is available for the choosing, in 8 by 10, 9 by 12, or 10 by 14 feet, or in custom sizes. 212-481-4949; warpandweft.com. circle 662

Carpets of Imagination

Lay down your arms and submit to the flamboyant color and vivacious design of Alicia D. Keshishian's latest offering. Surrender is hand-carded, hand-spun, and hand-knotted from three-ply Tibetan wool with silk accents. Four knot densities are offered, and can be fully customized to any size, shape, or color. 707-775-3494; acarpets.com. circle 660

Tandus

This broadloom is modeled on the characteristic and naturally occurring pitted holes and troughs of Travertine. It is produced from Invista type 6/6 nylon fiber and is also available as a 24-inch-square carpet tile. It is densely tufted with a cut-and-loop construction, and comes in 19 colors. 800-248-2878; tandus.com. circle 661

Designtex

If mighty oaks from Little Acorns grow, then expect great things from Abstract Matters by Loophouse. This line of contemporary, hand-tufted wool rugs was developed through a relationship with the Guggenheim Museum. The design of this rug, with its swirling, jutting, and circling multicolored lines, seems completely unrestricted—perhaps because its designer conceived it by scribbling to the rhythm of a pop song. 800-221-1540; designtex.com. circle 664

J. Milo Design

Lief is a 9-by-11-foot area rug in which Jessica Miller Lobeck redefines nature in an effortless, up-to-the-minute manner. Tumbling autumn leaves fall like computer-generated confetti. This hand-knotted Tibetan rug is 100 knots per square inch. 970-870-3030; jmilo.com. circle 665

Parterre

Hardcore may be a resilient 12-by-24-inch floor tile collection, but with the launch of Monet's Garden, it is also a canvas of soft reflective colors designed to mirror the Impressionist studies of water and light. The tranquil essence of Giverny now can be adapted to a variety of retail, health-care, and corporate environments. Muted tones include Silver Mist, Willow, Reflection, and Sunset. 888-338-1029; parterreflooring.com. circle 668

Mannington

Get Floored marries the sophisticated to the downright funky. The swirling color of Tie Dye, the pulsing circles of Lava Lamp, and the broad, linear brushstrokes of Graffiti define an interior with high-style fashion in mind. This modular carpet tile system is constructed of nylon and is available in sixteen lustrous, tonal, and saturated colorways. 706-629-7301; mannington.com. circle 667

J. D. Staron

The Hand Tufted Carpet Collection now can be used in wall-to-wall installations, on staircases, or in any custom configuration required. This durable product delivers true versatility without sacrificing the quality of its tip-sheared, hand-tufted New Zealand wool. 203-351-1130; jdstaron.com. circle 666