Wilton Carpets Commercial has become one of the foremost suppliers of carpet for the hospitality industry, with its standard offer and bespoke design service delivering a blend of style, performance and value. Responsible for many of the manufacturer’s impressive creations, design manager Julie Robertson, explores the latest trends in carpet for the sector.
People will always be looking to create new and contemporary designs, but with the myriad of hospitality and leisure locations across the UK, there will always be a demand for a classic style that complements the formal elegance of historical buildings and the interior architecture of our heritage.
Exact reproductions of traditional designs do still have their place, but with interior fashion evolving and trends constantly on the move, it is becoming even more important to blend traditional design elements with contemporary influences, fitting with a more modern scheme that brightens interiors while playing homage to the style of the architecture. We’ve recently done this with great success at The Richmond Hill Hotel, where a classical acanthus scroll damask was given a fresh contemporary design treatment.
With simple plain areas of fashionable platinum and silver tones interspersed with a zingy sulphur that complements the fabulous luxurious fabrics used within the scheme, the carpet has a bright and modern feel. The classical elements were combined with more contemporary textural and almost geological structures that give an impression of a multi-layered design, but still creating an overall understated impression.
These subtle elements, along with striking bands of colour creating a border, introduce a contemporary feel to the overall design while still complementing the interior’s heritage. With traditional damask design influences reflecting the architectural style of the building, the carpet achieves an understated elegance while looking suitably modern, befitting the progressive approach to luxury hospitality at The Richmond Hill Hotel.
Carpets such as these achieve a balance between the classic and contemporary through design elements and on-trend colour palettes and bring harmony to the interior. They help the traditional interior features of historical buildings make sense for modern hospitality and leisure locations while remembering that the building is often a huge part of the venue’s appeal to paying guests. In effect, these contemporary classics are the perfect answer for Britain’s historical hotels.
