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Five Finds: Clerkenwell Design Week

This year at the third Clerkenwell Design Week, the focus was firmly on the floor with the launch of Covered, a new exhibition space dedicated entirely to materials for floors and walls. Here are my five favourite finds from there.

First up a collaboration between traditional carpet company Brintons and the edgy Scottish duo Timorous Beasties. The range consists of broadloom carpets and tufted rugs.

Brintons Timorous Beasties Rug
Brintons Timorous Beasties Rug

There are eight rugs in the collection and each one can be recoloured or resized to suit your space.

Tree of Life rug by Timorous Beasties and Brintons
Tree of Life rug by Timorous Beasties and Brintons

Staying with rugs, the Swedish company Bolon is marking its tenth anniversary with the launch of a new tile called Wing. With different colours and a graphic feel, Wing offers endless creative possibilities.

Wing_7
Wing tile by Bolon

The company was founded in 1949 when Nils-Erik Eklund, had the idea of using textile waste from the neighbouring factory to manufacture woven rag rugs. The company’s name is a combination of the first and last letters of the Swedish words for cotton and nylon. Now run by his granddaughters, sisters Annica and Marie Eklund who draw their inspiration from the world of fashion to create their floors.

Wing tile by Bolon
Wing tile by Bolon

Thirdly, I just love these rugs by Spanish company Nanimarquina. This year the company has collaborated with Erwan & Ronan Bouroullec.

estambule by Erwan & Ronan Bouroullec for Nanimarquina
estambule for Nanimarquina

Well you know how I feel about monochrome and this rug is also part of the black on white collection.

manuscrit by Joaquim Ruiz Millet for nanimarquina
manuscrit by Joaquim Ruiz Millet for nanimarquina

Moving on to Loophouse which was founded by Lorraine Statham in 1992 designing custom made contemporary rugs and wall art. Her first collection was featured at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York in 1998 and in 2002 she won the Small Business Bureau’s Women into Business prize.

rugs by loophouse
a rug by loophouse

New to the range at CDW 2013 is the Pop Alchemy range but the great thing about Loophouse is the 360 colourbox, which allows you to customise the colours to suit your own palette.

loophouse rugs
a vibrant loophouse rug

 

And finally, as they say. Leading UK tile supplier Domus is launching a new range of tiles designed by the Spanish designer and architect, Patricia Urquiola. The collection, Azulej, draws inspiration from traditional encaustic (cement-based) Victorian floor tiles, with a 21st century spin.

domus tiles from the Azulel collection
domus tiles from the Azulel collection

Aren’t they gorgeous. I love them.

Azuelej collection by Patricia Urquiola for Domus
Azuelej collection by Patricia Urquiola for Domus
Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.