Domotex is one of the most important fairs for flooring and carpets. For the third year in a row, I got to attend and find the trends in carpets. Here are my thoughts.
Do you remember last year when all carpets had a white base and symmetrical and geometrical patterns? All gone. Carpets of 2020 brings another story, than that of straight lines in a floor. Instead we will see a bit of folklore, blue and also pastels – and of cours sustsainability.
Besides carpets with lines, we have also seen carpets in various shapes. That newness has faded and carpets are now more square and regular. Back to basics?
You do of course find a handful examples of carpets that are so arty that they are almost art. Talking to carpet expert The Ruggist the industry itself have pushed the limits on art carpet. Maybe we are willing to pay 5000 euro for an art piece – but for a carpet? Well if you put your carpet on the wall, then you might be willing to pay that.
The Ruggist also mentioned a new feature I didn’t realise myself, and that is the mix of materials. You will find silk with wool and other material combinations. And this is getting more and more common.
One trend theme I saw was something I want to call “folklore”. I was woven carpets with blue and orange.
All kinds. They were more or less all woven.
And lots of checkered patterns.
What we did see on the colour scheme – was a lot of blue. A lot of blue. Perhaps as a follow on Pantone’s colour fo the year, or simply just a reaction to the beige and white we have seen for a while.
So blue got your attention. Pretty nice and easy to like. A whole new pattern is emerging, especially on tufted rugs and that is this watercolour, cloudy pattern. So – no more strict lines – more watercolour. And it is all in grey.
The grey carpet is really everywhere. Some call it silver, and perhaps it sounds more exclusive – but regardless, it is grey.
I saw the same idea but also with bright pastels. Watercolour and cloudy.
There were some symmetrical patterns, but what was new was how they kind of became 3D. As a relief.
Finally a few words about sustainability. The topic is on everyone’s mind and all fairs are addressing it. So are the exhibitors at Domotex. In my previous post on sustainability at Heimtextil I mentioned that basically everyone was using certifications and logos all over the place. Not as much here at Domotex.
The carpet industry has a different approach to sustainability than other parts of the design world. Here it is very common to use natural fibers as wool or silk. But also recycling and waste has been often been used. Some of the first products of recycled plastics have been made into carpets, so in a way the carpet industry is very much ahead then others.
However, they don’t necessarily communicate it. There are examples. But more could talk more and better about sustainability.
As we saw at Heimtextil there are some exhibitors here who focus on getting as many certifications as possible. But not really common.
A lot of producers use their own label. I would say it is actually quite common to find good quality carpets in recycled PET today.
As mentioned earlier here, the carpet expert The Ruggist made a project where they used recycled fishnets to make this nice looking carpet. As with many recycled or new materials this is also certified and branded. This is Econyl. Read more about the project here.
At the dedicated inspirational area, you could find more materials on display – like hemp.
But mainly carpets are about natural fibers and focus on good craftmanship. Like Natur Pur who lets the colour of the sheep determine the colour instead of dyeing.
Besides looking at carpets I was invited to talk about my perspective of things. As previous years I got to hang out with my crew of international friends of social media, trends and interiors. Hosted by Holly Becker from Decor8 and with a panel of Desiree Groendendal (Vosgesparis), Mette Jakobsen (Monsterscircus), Michael Christie (the Ruggist) and Camilla Bellini(blog here).