STRIPED CARPETS AND FLOORS

STRIPES UNDER FOOT


(Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi)
Having just returned from Umbria with friends, I noticed so many patterns I love, especially stripes! The Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi is the oldest Gothic church in all of Italy, with its cornerstone laid in 1228. The courtyard of the basilica has random-width paver stones laid in alternating colors - which looks quite modern - even if it is over 800 years old.... 

Personally, I'm inclined to choose geometric and lineal patterns over organic ones. I've always loved stripes, concentric squares and windowpane plaids, there's a 'clean' crispness about stripes.


TRANSITIONAL SPACES


(Source: Kathryn Ireland)
This brightly colored Moroccan carpet makes this space feel earthy and cozy as the colors are bold and warm. The other textiles are tribal as well, and it all works so well within a bright white envelope... perfection!


(Source: Schuppacher-White)
A bold black-and-white carpet makes this boring room feel modern and fresh. The striped pillows are the perfect accent to the carpet.


(Source: English Country Living)
Have an old wreck of a house and want to make it snappy and happy?  Try a runner up the stairs like this, and finito, you got happy and snappy, baby!
(Do not run the stripes side-ways across the steps, it's confusing when descending the stairs and will cause people to fall).

(Source: Nicky Haslam, London)
This bold juxtaposition of black and white is inspired by the work of groundbreaking American designer, Dorothy Draper in the 1930's.


(Source: Vastu, DC)
Look what a new carpet can do for your snorrrring house!
Don't worry about refinishing the floors, carpet them with some crazy-ass stripes and you are rockin' it!


(Source: Elle Decor)
Traditional and contemporary furnishings are made successful by using a striped rug as a segway between the two styles.


CONTEMPORARY SPACES

(Source: Stockholm Design)
The striped carpet under the table and chairs makes this room feel less cavernous whilst adding softness and interest to the hard-looking architecture.


(Source: Photobucket)
In cold climates wall-to-wall is always a great option. 
This ah-mah-fackin-gawd pink carpet softens the rooms hard edges and makes it feel larger. Running the stripes the length of the room draws your eye outward.


(Source: Unknown)
This bitchen kitchen uses a striped runner for practical reasons as well as a design element! The runner catches the spills and bits and doesn't create visual clutter. It's also soft underfoot which is good for the back and legs!


(Source: Elle Decor)
Because all of the upholstery is covered in solid fabrics, that fantabulous carpet brings the pattern - which serves as an art-piece in this space. Be careful however as too much pattern on a floor makes a room shrink.

(Source: Misczynski Design)
This sophisticated room used rustic and natural elements in conjunction with the clean-lined Jean-Michael Frank upholstery. The hand-made carpet is the perfect, barely patterned component for this space. 
I LOVE this room!


(Source: Jacques Grange)
The white slab-marble wainscoting with striped tile floors = BOOM-drop-the-microphone!


(Source: Jacques Grange)
Concentric squares in black and white marble...Magnifique!

TRADITIONAL SPACES


(Source: Keller Donovan)
Stripes sometimes imply a nautical feeling depending on the color scheme. Here, a crisp blue and bright white rug feels very Nantucket'y.


(Source: Unknown)
Stripes can hide the wear-and-tear kids subject carpets to.
Also, stripes aren't a juvenile pattern - so, as the kid grows up, the carpet won't look like it's leftover from his nursery.


(Source: Unknown)
This casual weekend home created stripes with the floorboards stained intermittently using walnut and whitewashed stain. 
Cheap and chic, gotta love that!


(Source: Coastal Living)
This woven cotton rug implies casualness with the simple pattern - a floral or bold-patterned rug would change the feeling entirely, creating some nasty visual clutter. 


(Source: Elle Decor)
This modern mash-up shows that someone with true style lives there! The juxtaposition of the furniture and paintings with the casual 'found objects' are complemented by the surprise use of a casual cotton striped rug.


(Source: Country Living)
This cheerful, breakfast room has vinyl-woven cafe chairs and a galvanized-top table resting on a polypropylene woven outdoor carpet - Yup, 100% kidproof!

BEDROOMS


(Source: Elle Decor)
How cheery without being cute-sy!
They've let the carpet do the heavy lifting, design-wise. It's inexpensively done with furnishings from affordable retail stores.


(Source: Citadine's London)
This sexy loft bedroom is tight on space and needs the wall-to-wall for acoustic purposes. The stripes elongate the room and add pattern to a room that can't afford too much visual clutter.


(Source: Traditional Home)
Tired of the old Stark Carpet look (twee garlands and floral's) in bedrooms? Use a simple striped carpet, dial back the patterns and don't use too many accessories and you'll have an updated traditional bedroom!


(Source: Domino)
I love this bedroom for one reason...
it looks so un-decorated!  Call me crazy, but I love rooms that are not over tweaked or too matchy-poo.


(Source: Coastal Living)
LOVE this bunk-room!
Think of a weekend house with all the cousins piled in there together laughing themselves to sleep. The simple striped cotton runner can be washed at home when the cotton candy and caramel corn gets puked-up on it!


(Source: Unknown)
The bedroom has very basic furnishings and simple textiles. The wool rug adds some snap, referring to an awning stripe in Nice or Capri.

OUTDOOR SPACES


(Designer: Carlos Miele)
This groovy loggia defines eclectic!
The rug is perfect for adding color and tying everything together!


(Source: AD)
This rockabilly Appalachian-style porch is totally serene with no pretense. The striped polypropylene rug gives the space a cool feeling while not being a "decorative" textile. Doesn't everyone want this porch??

 
My own pool deck in Florida.
I couldn't decide what surface to install over the tacky concrete patio around my pool...stone, brick, tile, etc.. So, I decided that I wanted something more contemporary (and inexpensive!). 
The espresso and white stripes are painted right over the cement, so forget the $25K coral stone job...

You can do it, I'm here to help!