Book Release: Decorating with Carpets
BCFA members Stark Carpets have just launched an inspiring book, looking at how carpet design can transform a space.
In interior design, a carpet’s influence is never outsized. In fact, more than any other element of a room, the effect a carpet has on a space is every bit as great as its size. Decorators have long recognized the importance of a fine carpet: its impact on the colors, textures, and furnishings of a space; its contribution to creating an atmosphere; its feel of luxury; and, with the best examples, its lasting value.
Despite their essential role as the bedrock of any design scheme, beautiful carpets sometimes do not receive the recognition they deserve. A new book,
Decorating with Carpets: A Fine Foundation (The Vendome Press, December), aims to change that, tapping the extensive and remarkable archives of Stark for
interior design’s greatest examples.
Over the course of its history, Stark has worked with the country’s most notable designers, from Billy Baldwin and Dorothy Draper to Sister Parish, Albert Hadley, and Mark Hampton to contemporary leading lights such as Mario Buatta, Charlotte Moss, Jeffrey Bilhuber, Victoria Hagan, Katie Ridder, Bunny Williams, and Steven Gambrel. Featuring the work of these and dozens of other talented designers, and organized room by room, Decorating with Carpets presents
their imaginative solutions to practical problems ranging from the selection of appropriate carpeting for high-traffic areas, such as stairs and corridors, to using faux animal motifs to unify color and design, and countless other challenges.
Carpets produced by Stark demonstrate decorating trends at their highest level. Decorating with Carpets delves into types of carpets (Aubusson, dhurrie, Moroccan, oriental, Axminster, Wilton, flatweave, hand-knotted, hand-tufted, and more) and explores the most popular patterns (oriental, geometric, animal, ikat, floral, and classic) and textures. Decorating with Carpets promises to be the definitive book on carpet, a handsome, richly illustrated volume that, like its subject, captures inspiring, timeless beauty.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ashley Stark Kenner is senior vice president of design at Stark. Her fashion-forward point of view allows her to translate the best trends into luxurious carpets while staying true to the classics that are the foundation on which the company was built.
Chad Stark is senior vice president of Stark. Adhering to the core principles set forth by the company’s founders and their successors, he directs Stark’s day-to-day operations and deepens the company’s digital presence, maintaining its position at the forefront of the industry.
Heather Smith MacIsaac is a New York–based writer, editor, and designer. A long-time contributor to Elle Decor, House & Garden, and AD, she is the author of Vendome’s Lars Bolander’s Scandinavian Design and Katie Ridder Rooms.