House Beautiful Award for FLOR by heuga

The FLOR by heuga team were delighted to win a prestigious award last week at the House Beautiful Awards ceremony held at Madame Tussauds, London.

Our climate neutral wool product CountryClassic
won silver award in Best Flooring category. The judging panel was made up of a number of high profile interior design experts, namely: Jeff Banks, Celia Birtwell, Simon Boyle, Sebastian Conran, Sophie Conran, David Domoney, Terri Dwyer, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Oliver Heath, Jane Packer, Melissa Porter and Tommy Walsh.

CountryClassic is a great flooring product available in 5 neutral colours each featuring a stylish flecked appearance. The light Vanilla colour is the perfect option for someone that wants a light coloured carpet without the fear of destruction as the tiles can be lifted to wash or swapped with less conspicuous tiles when inevitable spills occur!

The texture is made from 100% wool so it is soft and luxurious and the product is climate neutral in line with our company's sustainability mission. See http://www.heuga.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=20001&catalogId=30001&langId=-1 for more details.

Stylish Pebbles Theme Bedroom

Here's a great way to use our 3D Pebbles carpet tiles as an accent within a floor design.

Under and around the bed we installed our soft luxurious shagpile carpet LazyLounge in colour Cloud as a real treat for feet on a cold morning. The main grey area is our Puzzle Pieces range in colour Smoke. The Pebbles tiles were placed at random positions within the floor and throughout the en-suite. This scheme proves that you can combine stylish design with cosy warmth which can be a tricky balance, but so important for liveable bedroom schemes.

Installing carpet tiles design

It's that time of year again when I'm all consumed with next year's catalogue. The layout is looking great and we have stepped it up a bit to make it a little more stylish. Obviously a key part of the catalogue is the images and we had a photo shoot a couple of months back to get some new shots all showing great combinations of colours and textures.

I have some step by step pictures below of one of the more complicated floor designs. Mike Reynolds (creative director) designed the floor, inspired by vibrant colourful flames and the warmth and welcoming ambiance that a fire adds to a home.

Eddie Kempster and his team of fitters were on board to install the design.
Initially they installed the Country Classic colour Pecan as the background floor . Then they cut and laid the coloured tiles of Tender Touch on top. We photographed the layout and then they cut and lay it into the background floor using the photo for reference. This was certainly a job for professional fitters!

The all important final touches were added by Avril O'Donnell (stylist).

Once all was ready including lighting and a roaring fire, two brothers were brought in to play Monopoly in the background and finally photographer Nick Yarsley took the shot.

The final shot is a stunning demonstration of what you can achieve with FLOR by heuga carpet tiles - a completely unique floor design!

The result is both cosy and warming and funky and modern – the flame device looks like a free form rug - a unique new way of having the design impact of a rug that is created specifically for the room.

ITV 60 minute makeover features FLOR by heuga

We have supplied products several times to ITV's 60 minute makeover show and the latest show in Cardiff featured a black and white chequerboard pattern combining LazyLounge in colours Cloud and Night.

The next show to feature FLOR by heuga is on Thursday 16th October at 2pm and will feature LazyLounge in colour Grass along with our Animal Print carpet in the Cow design - sounds like a fab and funky combination for a kid's bedroom or playroom!

Another show will be featuring an eco makeover and will include our climate neutral flooring ComfyCord which is a great wool product and once I know broadcast dates I'll post them on here.

Floor display In-Toto Kitchens, Redbrick Mill

Back in August last year I wrote about visiting Redbrick Mill in Batley and how I hoped one day we could get a display in there (click here for post).

This post was read recently by one of the store owners from In-Toto Kitchens and we have since installed our flooring in the design consultation area in their store.

The showroom has just undergone a massive refurbishment and showcases some fabulous new kitchens - click here for the In-Toto Kitchens website and store details.

Although not complete here's a photo of the new design area showcasing a great floor design using LuxuryLiving, FunkyFeet and TenderTouch. Other products used are leBistro and SmartSteps which are ideal for kitchens and dining rooms so here is a great opportunity for people to see our designs on the floor in a stylish environment.

Along with a very stylish range of kitchens, the guys at In-Toto (Andrew and David) offer full design and installation support and they are really friendly helpful guys who understand good design.

John Lewis Display Nottingham

Here's a couple of new installations in John Lewis store, Nottingham. This is a really great demonstration of how carpet tiles can be used to create a modern rug combining different colours and textures.

We know that people want to see and walk on our ranges in store so it is great to see John Lewis supporting our brand and using our FLOR ranges in their store showcases.

Creating a rug using carpet tiles means you can be totally flexible in size, shape and design of your rug so you can create something that is perfectly sized and coordinated for your home.

Unfortunately photos are never as good as the real thing so if you fancy seeing these in situ then you should head to the store:

John Lewis, Victoria Centre, Nottingham, NG1 3QA

Click here to view the store's own website and opening times

Contemporary farmhouse floor design

A couple of weeks ago we did quite a large scale photo shoot down in Kent to show off some really inspirational floor designs combining different colours and textures of carpet tiles.

This was one of my favourite shots featuring a stylish farmhouse kitchen and all the current interiors magazines prove that the colours used on the floor are very up to the minute with latest trends in interior design.

This isn't the final version of the photo but a quick snap taken during the set up.

Products used were Working Week Cut in colour Plant (blue/green colour carpet tiles), Puzzle Pieces in colour Tobacco (brown carpet) and PuzzlePieces in colour Lemon (light cream carpet tiles). This was created mainly using full tiles so something that could be easily recreated in your own home.

Animal Print Carpet Tiles

These bold animal print floor designs are really wild and guaranteed to get noticed. These prints are great for bedrooms, living rooms, playrooms, conservatories...

Whether you want something really wild like the zebra print carpet tiles or the more subtle giraffe print floor they are really great modern designs.

Click here to see these designs on heuga.com.

These are perfect if you are creating a themed room such as safari style, cowboy theme or if you have a thing for animal prints and want to incorporate it into your interior design schemes.

These pictures all show these animal print carpet tiles used in a wall to wall pattern. If you would prefer to tone it down, you could use a tile or two within a plain floor of carpet tiles or you could create a rug design incorporating an Animal print tile as an accent within a patterned rug.

See our FLOR by heuga stories page on http://www.heuga.com/ to see how one of our customers used our zebra print floor tiles on the wall and another customer that created a rug using the zebra print carpet tile amongst other plain colours.

Heuga TV Advert

Last year (before the name change to FLOR by heuga) we created a TV advert.

The advert features some children playing with the carpet tiles and changing the design on the floor.

I have uploaded it to You Tube and you can go directly to it by clicking on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/v/lEcerTaJlsM

Store display in Aldiss, Norwich

In answer to our customers seeking a more inspirational experience in stores, we have recently developed a new store display that we are introducing to our top retailers.

These photos show one of our first to be installed in Aldiss in Norwich.

The stand sits on our fantastic Russian floor design which means customers can see and feel the floor in situ as well as see full tiles, catalogues and sample chips.

The man on the left of the photo is the floorcoverings manager, Neil Hubbard. The man on the right is the assistant manager, Ian Dodson.

All the staff in the store are really excited about the new display and absolutely love the Russian design on the floor so they will be more than happy to chat to customers about the FLOR collection.

Aldiss is a great store selling furniture, homewares and of course flooring including FLOR by heuga. If you want to see our display the Aldiss superstore is located on Hall Road Retail Park, Norwich, Norfolk. Tel: 0845 230 3388.

Florbyheuga.com - find me!

Recently it has come to my attention that our website http://www.florbyheuga.com/ isn't coming up in the results on UK search engines. It turns out this is because our website is a .com site rather than a .co.uk site and some other technical complications.

Not only is this an irritation to me (as I like to see lots of visitors on our website), but it's also not nice for the people in the UK that actually want to find our website and are denied the opportunity to see our pretty pictures, inspirational carpet designs and learn all about FLOR by heuga.

We are working on a solution and it will take some time to kick in with Google and the like so in the meantime, this is a blatant attempt to get some results for FLOR by heuga in the UK so that people can find our site when searching for us. I don't know if it will work but it's certainly worth a try!

Noisy hard floors - sound proofing with carpet tiles

We are getting a lot of enquiries from customers about reducing the noise problems with hard floors such as laminate, solid wood and slate.

Carpet tiles are a great solution to the problem of noisy floors as you can simply lay the tiles on top of the hard floor (as long as the hard floor is fairly level).

Here you can see a coloured runner created on top of stone tiles. The FLOR tiles are simply stuck down with some double sided tape and this has reduced the noise problem in a big way. These are not permanent so they can be changed around or lifted as and when desired without damaging the hard floor below. Also there is no need to worry about slips and trips as the low height of the tiles means this is not a problem.

This 'rainbow runner' was created using various colours from the FLOR by heuga Tender Touch and PuzzlePieces ranges.

If you want to read some technical info about reducing noise and improving sound insulation then click on the link below: http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/Noise/citysounds_fact/FactSheet9Floors.pdf

FLOR Inspirational Designs Brochure

Click here or on the link below to view our new Inspirations brochure. This shows some stunning floor designs combining different colours and textures from the FLOR by heuga range.

Inspirations Brochure

There is also a creative flooring page on our website which shows some design ideas for creating a really unique floor design.

Teamwork - Dinner at Grand Designs Live

Here's some of the team relaxing and enjoying a well deserved Tapas meal in Canary Wharf following a long day at the show. Over the nine days at Grand Designs Live we saw and chatted to thousands of people - many who had never heard of carpet tiles, modular flooring or FLOR by Heuga and were amazed with this amazing new concept!

It was tough on our feet but we all kept each other going and made it a really great show. Sanne did a great job organising things and making sure everything ran smoothly and spirits remained high as we all kept each other going throughout the show.

Pics from Grand Designs Live

Today is the fourth day of the Grand Designs Live show and it is going really well with lots of interested and inspired visitors to our stand. Yesterday (Bank holiday Monday) was a bit manic with lots of people to chat to throughout the day and today seems to be a bit quieter as you'd expect.

We have shared out the staffing on the stand and I got landed with the whole bank holiday weekend so this afternoon is the first chance I've had to rest my weary feet.

Anyway, I wanted to share some photos from the stand to give an idea of what we're up to down here at the Excel exhibition centre so hope you like them and we'd love to see you down here as this is definitely the best place to come and see our creative floor designs and see and walk on FLOR by heuga carpet tiles.

FLOR by Heuga at Grand Designs Live

Come and see FLOR by heuga at Stand L346 at Grand Designs Live, London Excel 3rd-11th May.

- Stunning floor designs
- Mix and match samples
- Talk to us - the team will be there to answer your questions
- Free goodie bag

The team are really looking forward to this show and we have spent the last few weeks getting everything ready. We are all going to be down there at different times to chat to people and show all the fabulous colours and textures in our ranges.

This is a great show with truly inspirational design ideas for contemporary homes.

FLOR by heuga stand











Click here to see some more info on what to expect from FLOR by heuga at Grand Designs Live.

Click here to go direct into the Grand Designs Live website - http://www.granddesignslive.com/home

It is worth buying tickets in advance as this will save you £5!

Hope to see you down there!

Moroccan Theme Bedroom

This is a new image from a recent photoshoot for FLOR by Heuga. We wanted to show how you can be creative on the floor to create your own unique design scheme in your home.

Inspiration
The inspiration for this room design came from the dark wood Moroccan style furniture that was already in the room.

Morocco is a beautiful land, rich with heritage and culture. Moroccan style reflects the vibrant nature of the place and inspires a sense of comfort, warmth, luxury and elegance.

Colours and Textures
When it comes to Moroccan style there are some great colours to choose from including rich purples, vibrant reds and deep oranges which we combined through the furnishings and the floor. Texture is a key element in Moroccan style and we used a number of different sumptuous textures including a luxurious shagpile carpet tile around the bed, suede cushions, soft cut pile carpet tiles and a silky soft bed cover.

The white walls ensured the room remained light and the border of white fluffy tiles - LazyLounge around the bed provides a great feeling for your toes when you climb out of bed each morning.

The jewel design in the foreground of the picture creates an elegant regal look which we created by cutting different sizes of carpet tiles and then fitting them into the base floor design.

I think this design is stunning and I love the fact that you can easily create something unique in your home based on inspiration from a special holiday or a favourite piece of furniture. The bedroom is a great place to create such a personal space.

FLOR by Heuga ranges used:
Main floor - Working Week Cut - colour Seal
Fluffy white border - LazyLounge - colour Cloud
Jewel design - TenderTouch - colour Heather and PuzzlePieces - colours Tuscany and Aubergine

FLOR by Heuga advert

Over the past few months we've been working on a big advertising campaign for FLOR by Heuga which we're launching this month.

The FLOR by Heuga adverts will be appearing in magazines such as the Radio Times, BBC Good Homes, Daily Mail Weekend, You Magazine, Sunday Times magazine, Your M&S and Good Housekeeping.

I think the adverts look really great and I can't wait to see copies of the advert in print. This is the first time we've communicated the new FLOR by Heuga brand so we're all hoping it goes down well with the public.

New name - FLOR by Heuga

FLOR by Heuga is our new name and we are busy updating things to get our new name out there on everything we do.

We have a new website URL - http://www.florbyheuga.com/ although the old one still works too - http://www.heuga.com/

We have a new FLOR by Heuga logo as you can see above.

Also we have updated our catalogue and we've refreshed it with some stunning new pictures showing some truly inspirational carpet designs.

Pictures from the Ideal Home Show

Here's some photos from the Eco House at the Ideal Home Show.
Heuga flooring has been installed throughout the house using a variety of patterns and designs. The lighting isn't ideal but it's nice to be able to show some of the designs.

I was hoping to get these on here earlier but have been away on my holidays so a bit delayed.

Just few days left before the show finishes - Sunday 6th April.

If you are on our mailing list you will have received an email offering tickets to the first 50 respondents for the show. Anyone that has ordered a catalogue, samples or product on the website receives emails like this from time to time to keep up to date of what we're doing.

Ideal Home Show 2008

Heuga flooring has been selected for the entire space in the Eco Home at the Ideal Home Show which starts on 14th March.

The show runs from 14th March - 6th April at Earl's Court, London so there's plenty of opportunity to get down there and be inspired by the latest interior trends and home ideas.

Click here to go to the Ideal Home Show website where you can find out more and order tickets.

The Eco House is the central feature of Hall 2 at the show, highlighting the future of living in a way that is also friendly to the environment.

Heuga flooring was selected due to our company-wide commitment to sustainability - click here to read about our company vision Mission Zero.

The house is the brainchild of architectural designer, John Prewer, who for over 20 years has advocated sustainable innovation and the virtues of modular building. Working with the Heuga team, interior designer Oliver Heath has created some fabulous floor designs that will feature over 20 different Heuga designs throughout the home.

The Eco House will demonstrate that you don't need to compromise on style and comfort when choosing sustainable materials.

Here's some facts you may not know:

Heuga flooring is made using 100% green electricity.

As part of Interface, Heuga is dedicated to recovery, reuse and recycling. On average, our products contain 35% recycled content, with some ranges also using renewable materials such as wool.

Heuga's entire range of 25 styles is fully recyclable - using a technology to recycle old product into usable raw materials, we can now create new flooring from old, providing a valuable contribution to the elimination of landfill waste.

So when you imagine an inspired new carpet design using Heuga, imagine how much good you’re also doing for the environment.

New Nature - new to the Heuga range!

With the launch of the new 2008 catalogue we have a few new products including New Nature. This is available in 8 colours: Gold and Rustic iron (shown here) make a nice combination in my opinion!

This flooring is suitable for most rooms in the house but we think it's perfect for kitchens and dining areas if you want a bit of softness as it features a stain resistant treatment and antimicrobial so you don't need to worry about spillage issues. As with all tiles you can always lift and clean a tile or replace it with one from somewhere inconspicuous!

New Nature has a textured woven appearance. It is good for keeping its structure and appearance and it looks really smart when you install it. We recommend this to be installed quarterturn whihc gives you a subtle chequerboard effect.

This is now available on Heuga.com where you can order free samples of New Nature or any other of our ranges.

Heuga Christmas Party

It seems like a distant memory now, but I need to make a note of the Heuga Christmas party which took place on Friday 7th December in Eindhoven in Holland.

Most of the team were there from across Europe, mostly with their partners in tow to celebrate the festive season which made for a really good atmosphere and a great night was had by all!

There was lots of dancing and chatting and plenty of fun.

Here's some photos of the gang...