House Beautiful Gold Award for Best Flooring

The FLOR by heuga team was delighted to be presented with the Gold Award for Best Flooring at the the House Beautiful Awards 2009! The Awards ceremony took place on 26th November 2009 and FLOR by heuga's Tonal Trends Rugs collection was selected as the winner.

The judging panel was made up of various experts and celebrities from the world of design. Tonal Trends was selected for the top honours in the flooring category because, “It’s creative and easy to use. When tiles wear out or get stained, they are easy to replace. A great choice for a busy family home.”

We all feel that these Rugs packages are a fabulous new concept for the FLOR by heuga brand but it's really great to have the backing and recognition from design experts outside the business.

All our Rug collections are available to browse and buy online at florbyheuga.com and we are launching another 3 new designs in January. Click here to go to the FLOR by heuga Rugs Collections.

The Tonal Trends Rugs collection is made up of carpet tiles combining different colours and textures from our PuzzlePieces and LazyLounge ranges which have been developed with an expert colourist so you can create a stunning accent on your floor.

Stunning Luxurious Rug

Here's a sneak preview of our latest edition to the FLOR by heuga Rugs collection - this is a luxurious purple shag pile rug designed with carpet tiles:

FunkyFeet/2 carpet tiles in colour Amethyst is the basis of this package. Most of our pre-designed area rugs combine two or more different colours and textures but the new deep purple Amethyst colour of shagpile carpet tiles looks fabulous on its own. This new Rug will soon be available in the FLOR by heuga Rugs packages but you can order FunkyFeet/2 in colour Amethyst from our retailer network (see Store Locator) or order direct on our website FunkyFeet2 collection - simply choose how many square metres you require.

Alternatively you could create a bright red rug in the recently added dazzling Red Garnet in the FunkyFeet2 collection. Creating a rug area in this vibrant colour would certainly add a strong focal point to a room.

Luxurious wool carpet tiles

With a fabulous luxury look and feel, CountryContemporary is the latest addition to the FLOR by heuga carpet tiles collection.

Available in 8 attractive homey colours this collection of carpet tiles is an 80/20 wool mix and looks stunning. The deep cut pile draws you in to touch and feel the sumptuous texture.

The colours have been selected for compatibility so that you can mix and match to create your own floor design.

CountryContemporary carpet tiles are ideal for creating a unique rug design or a wall to wall installation.

View the full range of CountryContemporary carpet tiles online at florbyheuga.com

Sustainable flooring for your home

FLOR by heuga is comitted to Mission Zero - our company sustainability policy.

In line with our sustainability commitment CountryContemporary is 'climate neutral' which means FLOR by heuga compensates any negative impact this flooring may have on the environment.

FLOR by heuga only use green electricity in manufacturing, and are constantly working to reduce any greenhouse gas emissions associated with production.

Any further emissions are balanced through pre-paid carbon offset verified by a leading environmental organisation. This means that CountryContemporary is a truly responsible flooring collection.

You can read more about Mission Zero at http://www.florbyheuga.com/.

LFC carpet tiles design

Here's a great illustration of how carpet tiles can be used to personalise a space in your home.

Here a Liverpool Football Club fan has created their own floor design using FLOR by heuga carpet tiles. The design shows the flexibility of carpet tiles meaning you can be as creative as you like on the floor. The floor design incorporates our shag pile range Funky Feet along with the Puzzle Pieces cut pile range. The tiles have been cut to size and fit together which works really well.

Thanks to Richard and Jez Attwater at The Tile Centre, Chesterfield who supplied this photo.

FLOR by heuga at the National Floor Show

Here's a couple of photos from the National Floor Show in Harrogate yesterday.

The FLOR by heuga sales team were certainly kept busy all day talking to retailers and other visitors and hopefully today and tomorrow they will be similarly busy.

Many people commented that the FLOR by heuga stand was an excellent display and people were delighted to see that we are one of the few flooring companies doing something different and really developing as a company.

Over the last few months we have launched many new products and an entirely new designer rugs package along with the FLOR by heuga Studio, which is a new way to display our products instore. We genuinely are an innovative and inspirational brand and we are pleased to show off our fabulous range of carpet tiles for the home which can all be seen on the FLOR by heuga website.

National Floor Show, Harrogate

Next week we will be exhibiting at the National Floor Show, the UK's largest trade flooring event. We will be meeting with retailers, flooring buyers and contractors as well as showing off some brand new products including a really special new wool product that we will be launching in October.

For anyone involved in the flooring industry this is an event not to be missed and you can register by clicking here.

National Floor Show 2009 will be held on the 8-10 September 2009 in the heart of Harrogate at Harrogate International Centre.

Arrows Design Kitchen Carpet Tiles

Here's a funky modern floor design using New Nature carpet tiles from FLOR by heuga to create an arrow floor design in a kitchen. These carpet tiles feature a woven texture and are suitable for a range of demanding areas such as kitchens, dining rooms and hallways.

These carpet tiles are treated to be stain resistant and have an antimicrobial treatment to inhibit the growth of bacteria so they are good looking and practical.

While the design looks quite complicated, it is all possible with a metal straight edge and a sharp carpet knife. When installing a design of carpet tiles it's often easiest to place them loosely to play around and rearrange them then once happy cut the design into place and use the cut tiles as a template and fit them into the main floor of carpet tiles.

Most people don't think of the floor as a design area but with carpet tiles the design flexibility is limited only by your own imagination so you can be really flexible and create a carpet to get noticed.

How to install carpet tiles

How do I install carpet tiles?

FLOR by heuga would normally recommend that you get a professional fitter to install your carpet tiles especially if you wish to create a special floor design. However if you are comfortable with DIY then it is possible to install tiles yourself and all the instructions are included in your box of carpet tiles.

Firstly I include the 'straightforward carpet tile installation instructions' as used by me then below I include the similar but slightly more complex version that is preferred by more technical DIY people. Maybe a combination of them both is best.

Straighforward carpet tile installation instructions:

1. Sub-floor

FLOR by heuga carpet tiles can be laid over any smooth, hard floor like parquet, laminate and stone. Ensure the surface is clean, level and dry.

2. Preparation

FLOR by heuga recommends that all carpet tiles are removed from the box and allowed to acclimatise for 24 hours to room temperature.

You will need:
A Stanley knife fitted with a new heavy duty blades
A metal straight edge, cutting board and tape measure
Double sided tape, carpet tape or spray adhesive (if a big area)
A marker pen

It makes sense to do some preparation in advance and place some tiles in position to check how it will look. This is especially important if you are combining different products and creating your own floor design. Also this will show if you have a thin strip of tiles at one end - if this is the case, work from the centre of the room to ensure equal sized tiles at each edge.

You may use double sided tape or a spray adhesive (if a very large room like an office) to attach tiles to the floor. If using a spray adhesive refer to the instructions on the container.

The arrows on the back of each carpet tile indicate the direction of the pile. When laying your carpet tiles you will need to refer to the catalogue or the packaging to ascertain the installation methods available for each product (monolithic, quarterturn, brick, ashlar and non directional - see catalogue for reference). If more than one method is available, select the installation method you want - try them out to see the different effects and then lay the tiles according to the arrows on the back of the tiles.

3. Cutting carpet tiles

Use a sharp carpet knife and a metal straight edge to cut the tiles to the right size. Turn the tile with the backing facing upwards and cut it from the back. Crack the tile from behind and cut through the top fibre from behind.

When cutting tiles to fit at the wall turn the carpet tile upside down and set it flush with the wall and mark at both ends where the carpet tile overlaps the next tile. Then cut the tile using the straight edge.

When cutting tiles, make sure you mark the direction of the pile on the back of the cut tiles that lose the arrows. You could use your knife to draw an arrow on the back of the tile for example or use a marker pen.

4. Installation

Put the floor design together without fixing permanently to make sure you are happy with the design.

Place the tiles on the floor making sure you fit the tiles closely together. If using double sided tape you will only need to stick down occasional tiles and those on the edges to keep these in place.

5. Completion

Vacuum your floor and it’s ready!

You can easily update your floor design by replacing tiles as and when required or when you fancy a change.

More Complex Carpet tile installation instructions

Step 1 - Sub-floor

FLOR by heuga carpet tiles can be laid over stone, ceramic or vinyl floors. Do not lay on a soft sub-floor such as existing carpet, underlay, cushion, vinyl or cork tiles.

Before laying, ensure that the floor is clean, hard, smooth, level and dry.

Step 2 - Tools and preparation
You will need:
A Stanley knife fitted with a new heavy duty blades
A straight edge, cutting board and tape measure
Pencil or chalk marker

FLOR by heuga recommends that all carpet tiles be removed from the box and allowed to acclimatise for 24 hours to room temperature.

The arrows on the back of each carpet tile indicate the direction of the pile. For ranges designed to be laid in a 'monolithic' or 'same direction' style, the tiles should be arranged with the arrows pointing in the same direction. However, other ranges can be installed in a variety of ways to achieve pattern effects (e.g. quarterturn, brick, ashlar or random - refer to catalogue or packaging to be sure). In these cases, you should always follow the instructions printed on the packaging.

Step 3 - Measurement

Plan your floor installation by drawing a straight line approximately 75cm from the main wall and then draw a line at right angles to this. The lines must be straight and at right angles to each other.

If you have an L-shaped room, you will need to subdivide the room into oblongs and for planning purposes, treat each oblong as a separate unit.

Step 4 - Trial run

It is best to carry out a trial run along both lines to ensure that the planning is correct. Lay the first tile into the right angle formed by the crossing lines, and continue to lay tiles along the main line up to the wall.

If you find that this leaves you with a very narrow strip against the wall, you may have to replan the guidelines.

Step 5 - Laying the first carpet tiles

Once you have ensured that your initial laying point is suitable, fit the tiles along the first two lines, creating two crossed lines of tiles. To do this, attach adhesive tape in each corner of the tiles and stick each tile to the floor. Perimeter tiles must be anchored firmly. When laying carpet tiles install closley but be careful not to trap the pile between the edges of the tiles, particularly for shagpile or cut pile carpets.

Step 6 - Laying the main area

Now cut the tiles in to the main wall and continue the tiling by building up a pyramid shape. Continue to expand the pyramid outwards until you are less than one tile width from each wall. Where necessary, adhesive tape to keep the tiles in position. Ensure that each tile is butted tightly against its neighbour.

Step 7 - Cutting the edge tiles 1

You will have to cut the edge tiles to fit the space between the last row of full tiles and the wall. Turn the tile to be cut over, with the backing facing upwards and the arrows going in the opposite direction. Place the upside-down tile against the wall and underneath the last full tile of the installation. If cutting a tile you may need to draw arrows on the remainder of the tile with a marker pen to ensure you can still see the direction of the pile.

Step 8 - Cutting the edge tiles 2

Using the edge of the full tile as a guide, draw a line across the tile to be cut. Remove the tile and score along the line with a Stanley knife and a straight edge. Then crack the tile from behind and cut through the top cloth. When cutting, always use a sharp blade and take precautions to cut safely.

Step 9 - Positioning the edge tiles

Position the cut tile with the cut edge against the wall. Make sure that the arrow on the back is pointing in line with the installation direction instructions.

Step 10 - Pile direction

The arrows on the backs of the tiles indicate the pile direction. They must all point in the same direction to ensure a consistent finish. Please note that special care must be taken with other laying directions.

Carpet tiles - pretty pics from FLOR by heuga carpet tiles!

Grey carpet tiles with an accent of purple carpet tiles from FLOR by heuga complement each other for a really modern look for any room in your home.

Carpet tiles from FLOR by heuga offer a modern and truly unique floor design.

Neutral coloured carpet tiles are very popular for a modern look.Brown carpet tiles form the main floor with light cream and duck egg blue carpet tiles used to create this really special farmhouse kitchen look.

Choosing a carpet for your home is a difficult decision. Flooring for your home should be comfortable and stylish so heuga carpet tiles are a great option for a good balance of comfortable and practical flooring.

Colourful home decoration appears popular this year with some bright fresh shades in decoration magazines and interior trend forecasts.

The Instant Impact range of FLOR by heuga carpet tiles has featured in various magazines due to the vibrant modern colour range.

Natural flooring is a popular choice - natural carpet tiles are available from FLOR by heuga in the form of 100% wool carpet tiles - these are our CountryClassic range of tiles. There is also an 80/20 mix called CountryContemporary. Environmentally friendly flooring, sustainable carpet tiles, a company with a social conscience - that would be FLOR by heuga.

Carpet tiles from FLOR by heuga are stylish and give you new ideas for flooring. A variety of textures are available including shag pile carpets, cut pile carpets and more hardwearing loop pile carpet tiles.
If you want to be creative on the floor then carpet tiles are a great way to get inventive and create something personal for your home.

Colourful Living Room Floor

If you fancy creating a colourful living room design scheme then why not consider the last place you look - the floor!

FLOR by heuga carpet tiles let you be as creative as you feel so you can create something truly unique in your own home whether that's for a modern sophisticated look or a more traditional formal theme.

This contemporary colourful floor combines various colours from FLOR by heuga's Instant Impact range - a collection that includes various zesty bright shades!

Here's some ideas for a different approach to your floor that you may not otherwise have considered:
- stripey carpet (you choose how thick or thin the stripes are)
- border of carpet tiles around the edge in a different shade or texture
- create a rug feature using different colours and textures of carpet tiles

New FLOR by heuga catalogue

We have just launched our fabulous new catalogue and here's the result of lots of hard work over the past few months...

The new catalogue includes some fabulous new products including our Tonal Trends collection and information about our company and our design inspiration. We have developed the catalogue in a new format that really shows off our products and we really hope you like it as much as we do!

Click on the link below to view the online version of the catalogue:

New FLOR by heuga catalogue - online version

With special thanks to Gary Hepworth at Digital Bubble for design and artwork and Mike Reynolds for creative direction.

Design your own Rug

We have just launched a range of rugs which allow you to create a truly unique rug using colours and textures from our Tonal Trends range. This is a flexible rug system as you select the tiles so you can combine different colours and textures and coordinate with your exisiting furniture and interior scheme.

You can choose from 6 suggested designs and then you can choose which products to use.

Here are two of the designs which combine the shag pile look of LazyLounge/2 carpet tiles and our cut pile PuzzlePieces/2. Colours in the Tonal Trends collection range from these beautiful rich purple and aubergine shades to calming neutral brown and beige tones.

Along with the rugs you receive a number of TacTiles (adhesive fixers) which hold your rug together - these are really strong once left for a few hours so they will hold all the pieces together and you can even lift your rug and move it around.

See the link below to see these on the website and the pricelist shows you step by step instructions on how to choose your design, colours and prices.

FLOR by heuga designer rugs

Step by step instructions to choose and buy your FLOR by heuga design your own rug

Link to Tonal trends collection

Cowboy themed bedroom

If you're trying to create a funky cowboy themed bedroom then you must check out this cow print flooring.

FLOR by heuga has a range of animal print carpet tiles that are just perfect for creating a range of themed rooms and cowboy themed rooms seem to be popular at the moment. This would be great in a bedroom or playroom.

Kids and teenagers love to personalise their bedrooms and this range of animal print carpet tiles is perfect for a unique look such as a cowboy inspired theme.

A friend of mine create a fabulous nursery for her son using this cow print floor along with our LazyLounge shagpile carpet around the outside - fantastic!

60 Minute Makeover Black and White themed bedroom

ITV1 will be showing repeats of last year's 60 Minute Makeover series including an episode that features our luxurious shagpile carpet tile - LazyLounge.

The black and white design themed bedroom is scheduled to be shown on ITV1 on Thursday 30th July at 10.30am. The black and white bedroom will feature a classic chequerboard design of black and white carpet tiles.

We have recently updated our LazyLounge range to feature some fabulous new colours in line with latest colour trends in interior design so the nearest equivalent colours are Black Velvet and Waterlily as featured in our recent photoshoot and shown here in these photos.

The black and white combination is a design classic in all things creative including clothing and interiors and it will remain a favourite amongst designers and decorators everywhere.

Tonal Trends - Colour trends 2009 3

Here's the final product within our new Tonal Trends range - Basic Beauty.

This is a loop pile product available in 17 fantastic contemporary colours as selected by our European colour expert Cenk

As the loop pile carpet within the collection, this is the durable hardwearing option but still available in the same great colours.

The photographs go to show how creative you can be with carpet tiles to design a truly unique floor .

See the following link for more details about the Tonal Trends range from FLOR by heuga:

Tonal Trends

Tonal Trends - colour trends 2009 2

Following on from yesterday's post here is another product within the Tonal Trends range. This is an update to our lovely luxurious shag pile carpet called LazyLounge. LazyLounge/2 has been recoloured by our expert colourist and will be available in 8 stunning colours including Green Olive, Biscotti and Dark Chocolate.

The colours featured in the images here are Waterlily and Black Velvet and the close up shot on the right really shows off the soft luxurious texture - perfect for a bedroom or other cosy area.

The colours are designed to coordinate with the same colours in our PuzzlePieces/2 range which is a cut pile carpet tile so you can combine the same colours in different textures or different colours in the same textures - whatever you want as FLOR by heuga is totally flexible designer flooring!

For more info visit our website page: Tonal Trends from FLOR by heuga

Tonal Trends - colour trends 2009

We have developed a fabulous new range called Tonal Trends which we shall be launching next week.

This collection includes 3 ranges of different textures and has been developed with an interiors colour expert called Cenk. The collection includes updated colours in cut pile carpet PuzzlePieces/2 (shown in photo), shag pile carpet LazyLounge/2 and brand new loop pile carpet Basic Beauty.

The Tonal Trends collection is all about allowing you to combine different colours and textures on the floor to create a truly unique carpet or a bespoke rug.

For more info visit our website page: Tonal Trends online

More news and photos to follow...

Summer decorating - bring a bit of colour into your home

You can't beat a glimpse of summer to lift your spirits. The trees and flowers are blossoming and it's great to see the vast array of colours outside.

So, why not bring the outdoors in and brighten up the inside of your home.

In the current climate many people are seeking to surround themselves with colour to escape the stresses of work and the doom and gloom of recession.

Within the FLOR by heuga range we have a vast array of colours and textures to brighten up the dullest of living spaces. Most people look to the walls as the first step to update their interior, but it's amazing what a difference it can make to refresh the floor. Whether it's zesty lime green, bright cherry red or sunflower yellow there's a wide selection available from FLOR by heuga. And the beauty of carpet tiles is that you can mix and match colours to create your own unique design - as subtle or elaborate as you like!

Other simple and refreshing ways to add a bit of colour are new cushions and vases or other accessories which are a cheap way to transform a room. Fresh flowers are always a sure way to add a touch of summer and help improve your mood.

Bathroom carpet with a modern twist

Carpet in the bathroom - this divides us all into those that love it and those that hate it!

On one side you've got those that like the warmth and cosiness of carpet and hate the cold, hard and slippery alternatives. On the other side are those that think carpet in the bathroom is unhygienic, old fashioned or likely to get damaged.

As a comfort seeker who hates the cold, I prefer the feel of carpet underfoot and here's some reasons for choosing FLOR for your bathroom - along with some counter-arguments for those that don't like the idea of carpet in the bathroom...

- Hygiene - FLOR by heuga offers a wide range of carpet tiles that include an antimicrobial treatment - this inhibits the growth of bacteria to prevent mould and mildew on your floor.

- Old fashioned? - take a look at some of the designs on florbyheuga.com and you'll see the variety of modern colours and designs available including shagpile, pebbles prints, berber styles and many more. Also with carpet tiles you can create your own personal floor design by combining colours or textures.

- Damage - with carpet tiles you can easily lift a tile to clean and scrub it or you can replace individual tiles that get most wear (saves you replacing the whole floor!)

- Mmmm cosy warm feet!!!