Kristan Cunningham » flooring & rugs – Trends and Design Ideas – Kristan Cunningham

New Flor-tastic Flooring

Kristan — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:25:07 +0000

The ever-useful carpet tiles from Flor are a great solution for lots of rooms- whether you’re a renter and want to take your carpeting with you, or you have kids and you want to have the convenience of replacing individual carpet tiles when uh-ohs happen. Genius! They’ve always had an amazing array of colors, patterns and textures… and the selection just got more amazing. They’ve introduced a few new styles inspired by ikat fabric, flame-stitch fabric, Suzanis, and crocodile skin, that are chic and fun!

Sophistikat

Mag-Neat-O

More Rockin’

Posh Croc

My Mind is Blown (UP)

Kristan — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:40:59 +0000

I recently discovered the British company “Printed Space”, who put your images (or stock images) on blinds and wallpaper… and now they do flooring too! You can use your own images, or you can buy images from any online source. They have partnerships with a number of stock image sources, photographers and artists. They then print these images- blown up to full wall size, floor covering or onto blinds. You can enlarge, crop, rotate, whatever, to suit the space. Printed Space even gives advice for planning around windows, doors, light switches and power outlets.

Stop. Think about that. Limitless potential. Did you feel that? Your mind has been blown.

Inspired IKEA

Kristan — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:05:37 +0000

The ever current and price-conscious IKEA has done it again! With their new line of textiles called Vilmie, they play on the current trend of African Kuba cloth via tasteful throw pillows and then throw in a few coordinating throw and curtain options to round out a totally gorgeous global look. Of course, being IKEA, the prices are right for a quick and totally affordable facelift to any room. Love love love.

Here are a few of my favs…

Vilmie Figur Cushion Cover $10
*just used this one on my AOL shoot- paired with an acid green leather chair. it was di-vine.

+, it’s reversible!!!

Vilmie Rund Throw $12.99

Vilmie Pair of Curtains $29.99

Painted Perfection

Kristan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:48:32 +0000

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a THOUSAND times, (actually at this point I may have actually said this a thousand times!) the cheapest and easiest way to change a room is with paint. But I’m not just talking about the walls this time. Tile, carpet, and area rugs are often prohibitively expensive when we want to make a big impact on a room makeover. If you have wood or concrete floors, you should definitely consider paint as a flooring option. There are zero limitations, just those of your imagination. Color palette, pattern, scale…it’s all up to you- knock yerself out!

Here’s some fabulous inspiration of what can be done with a roller, a brush, some paint (specifically polyurethane based porch and floor enamel) and tape tape tape!

Above from cocomale

Above from Country Living

Above from Nava Abel

Above from Remodeling Center

Above from Apartment Therapy

Floors: Aged to Perfection

Kristan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:25:22 +0000

Finally, my two loves meet… and what a partnership they make! Wine and design together at last. Check out this beeee-utiful line of flooring made from reclaimed wine barrels, from the geniuses at Fontenay Woods. The Cooperage collection uses the head of the barrel to display the markings unique to the wines stored inside. The Wine Infusion collection takes the unmarked pieces of wood and shows off the color variation that has developed during the wine making process. The Stave collection uses the outer sides of the barrel where the hoops have imprinted a distinct pattern. The aged patina and richness of color will give any home that well-worn homey feeling we all strive for. I especially looove the stenciled letters and numbers that show up here and there giving it a slightly industrial feel. Not to mention the earth friendly aspect of reducing, reusing, and recycling!!

Hope Floats with Down East Doormats

Kristan — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:01:32 +0000

I just love it when I find a product that I love, and then find out there’s a worthy cause and an ingenious idea behind it. That’s what happened with Down East Doormats. I saw one and loved it on purely aesthetic grounds. They’re colorful, fun, slightly industrial and right up my alley. So how psyched was I to learn that the company that makes them, The Maine Float Rope Co., is dedicated to a great endeavor. See, in Maine, lobster fisherman use float-rope to tether multiple traps together on the ocean floor. The problem with float-rope is that it can entangle whales, which sometimes leads to their injury or death. Now, Maine lobstermen are required to replace float-rope with sink-rope. But Penny Johnson (the company’s owner) had a brilliant idea- to collect and recycle the rope and turn it into terrific, colorful and virtually indestructible doormats. There are tons of choices of colors, both bright and muted, solid or striped. Now that’s a purchase you can feel good about!

Big Stars of the Big Box Stores

Kristan — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:49:51 +0000

It’s a delicate balance, to create a home that’s unique, rich and well-edited…and not spend yourself out of living in it!! Let’s be honest, we all covet some beautiful things with ludicrous price tags (I’m personally all hot and bothered over a $2,000 lamp at the moment) and investing in a few items that make you proud and make you smile is an important part of this balance. So, we rely on box store “stuff” to fill in the gaps. And this is where things get tricky, because if it’s available down the street for a good price AND you liked it… there’s a good chance all of your neighbors did too! None of us want our homes to look like everyone elses’, but budget and availability drive most of our design decisions. The trick is to lean on the chains for the basics- items that are classic and simple, and will create a beautiful backdrop for the vintage and the special. I try to strike a balance of fabulous flea market finds with luxurious splurges, and of course some tried and true BOX STORE STARS like these…

There are so many places in any home for this standby; neutral, natural and timeless. With Ballard’s Terrific Trio Table you get the whole shebang- table, skirt and glass for $149. It can be a side table, a nightstand, an entry table, I could go on and on… I popped one in the awkward corner created between my sofa and wing back chair, and it proved to be the perfect solution! Especially for Floyd, who uses it as a spot to hide from Bean…

Simple, gorgeous, and perfect for so many interior styles, Room and Board’s Architecture Bed is the one I sleep on every night! It was a great way to break up my long, narrow room- visually- and it creates such a strong frame for simple bedding. I’m dying, though, to use a pair of twin sizers in a guest room…

I love West Elm’s Jute Diamond Rug for its utility, its subtle hit of pattern and its durability. It’s also a great base to layer hides or more detailed rugs over, like I did in my living room. And $299 for a 9 x 12 – get outta here. It’s practically free!

I’ve used IKEA’s RIBBA Frames in every size and color- they’re unbeatable for the price; simple and utilitarian and elegant all at once. They let the art speak for itself.

Oh IKEA, what would we do without you? The LENDA Curtains are ideal for so many rooms, and, they’re only fifteen bucks a pair?! One five y’all…you couldn’t buy the raw fabric for that!!

Welcome To ‘Live A Little Lovelier’, My New Online Home!

Kristan — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:46:51 +0000

To Live A Little Lovelier is a choice. Or, rather, it’s the big beautiful result of lots of simple small choices that we make everyday. From the color toothbrush we pick, to the single souvenir we select on a trip and deem worthy of carrying back on the plane… heck, let’s even throw in matching our undies to our socks. No one designs our lives for us- we get to choose what goes into our homes, what music will create the backdrop to our memories and where to draw the line between perfect and perfectly lived in. We have the option of living a life that’s more… considered. Just plain… nicer. Or lovelier. See? It’s a fancier word. Didn’t cost any more money. Didn’t take any more time. It was a choice, and I feel fancier having said it.

For darn near a decade, I’ve had the privilege of being invited into so many of your homes, through your TVs. I hope now, that you’ll feel welcome in mine. This site is the place where I can share everything from my flea market finds, to new resources that I’m all jazzed about- with the hope that once you shake and sift, a few gems meant just for you will surface. An idea that’s sets you in motion on a home project, or an image that inspires the theme for your next party.

After years of designing a room or two a week- almost always to be installed in one day- I’ve learned a thing or two about using the resources I have available at my fingertips, and turning somethin’ eh into somethin’ kick ass. So, The Resource Library will grow as I tackle new projects and look for new things. I hope to turn you on to some new places, stores, sites, etc. but mostly, I hope you’ll find that, so many of the places you already know and love- have right there in your hood- are full of gorgeous well-priced things that you may have overlooked until now.

Under Do It Lovelier, I aim to give you ideas to do just that. Small projects or transformations- even minor tweaks- to apply to your home that will elevate your living… make your home feel more fancy pants… and these ideas won’t cost you a paycheck or require a pneumatic nailer. We’re talkin’- “put this, in this and you get this!” or “buy this instead of that, and you get awesome”. Doable. Just the way we like it.

My Morning Addictions reads like a roster of some of the heaviest hitters in the blogosphere and each morning, I have my coffee with them and sift through their offerings to find my own gems. I’ve been to places, made things, and given gifts that were all discovered on one of these fantastic blogs. I hope to be able to return the favor ; )

If you’re reading this, you’ve come to my home and knocked on my door. I hope you’ll be a pop-in-often kind of friend, and that every once in awhile you’ll leave a gift. An idea, a pic of something you’ve created, a suggestion about what you’d like to see more of… no need to wrap it!

You deserve to walk into your home each day and adore everything that’s waiting there for you, and I hope to be involved in the process of getting you there…

xo,