8 Designers Take Their First Stab at Flooring

Mark McMenamin and Athena Waligore -- Interior Design, 2/1/2013 2:00:00 AM

Designer: Malene Barnett
Manufacturer: Surya

Products: Destinations 61, Voyages 29, Destinations 71

Standout: The brain behind Malene B brings her global perspective—and her boldly colored flat-woven and hand-tufted wool rugs—to a wider audience.















Designer: Bernardo Rojo
Manufacturer: Nourison

Products: MUL01

Standout: Extending his reach from fashion to flooring, the creative director of mens wear label Joseph Abboud continues his aesthetic in Mulholland, an ensemble of neutral hand-tufted polyester rugs.





Designer: Charlotte Lancelot
Manufacturer: Gan

Products: Canevas

Standout: Wool felt doubles as a scratchpad for the young Belgian designer’s imagination, the rug’s super-textural surface supplied by cross-stitch construction. 





Designer: Sandra Espinet
Manufacturer: Aga John Oriental Rugs

Products: Walk Little Bird

Standout: Quirky and classical coexist in the Los Angeles designer’s first stab at flooring, as fowl fades into a forest of abstraction across a ground of silk-wool blend.




Designer: Michael Wolk
Manufacturer: Pierpoint Pacific

Products: Leaves

Standout: Typically found frequenting furniture and upholstery showrooms, the Miami designer directs his modern tendencies to the floor with a freeform group of tufted-wool rugs.





Designer: Kit Kemp
Manufacturer: Christopher Farr

Products: Pebbledash

Standout: The Firmdale Hotels owner and design director’s modern English approach animates hand-knotted jute, appropriately enough, with varied pebbly textures.





Designer: Amy Lau
Manufacturer: Kyle Bunting

Products: Flow

Standout: Wavy strips of dyed cowhide simultaneously channel optical art and the architecture of Gio Ponti—and add to this designer’s growing product collection.





Designer: David Weeks
Manufacturer: Christopher Farr

Products: Onda

Standout: The pendant-fixture wunderkind shines his spotlight downward for his rug debut, arranging hand-tufted and hand-dyed wool in striking graphics and colors.