Concept For Living

Floor Show

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

For warmth and comfort underfoot, step out in style with our selection of covetable carpets, rugs and runners.

Magic Carpet

Opt for luxurious carpet in bold colours, smart stripes and tactile textures.

(1 ‘Moniak’ wool carpet, £75 per sqm, Anta. 2 ‘Leila Rose’ 80% wool woven Axminster carpet, £69 per sqm, Brintons. 3 ‘Berwick’ 80% wool twist carpet, from £23 per sqm, Cormar Carpets. 4 ‘Corona’ 100% Antron Nylon Fibre, £59 per sqm, Vorwerk Carpets. 5 ‘Chicago’ wool carpet, £80 per sqm, Crucial Trading. 6 ‘Puzzle Pieces’ wool smooth cut pile carpet tiles, £39 per sqm, Flor by Heuga. 7 ‘Zen’ polymide saxony carpet, £29 per sqm, Fun on the Floor. 8 ‘Hand Made Wool’ heavy velvet carpet, £77 per sqm, Jacaranda Carpets.)

Natural Style

Choose woven fibres and grasses in soft natural shades or surprising brights.

(1 ‘Panama’ sisal carpet, £37.30 per sqm, Alternative Flooring Company. 2 ‘Coir Herringbone Natural’, £12.51 per sqm, Urbane Living. 3 ‘Jamaica’ sisal carpet, £49.10 per sqm, JAB. 4 ‘Designer Sisal’ £50 per sqm, Kersaint Cobb. 5 ‘Seagrass Original Natural’, £20 per sqm, Crucial Trading.)

Statement Rugs

Roll out an instant focal point with a versatile rug and bring art to your feet.

(1 ‘Calligaris’ black and white rug, £538, Mac & Mac Interiors. 2 ‘Do-Lo-Rez’ rug designed by Ron Arad €2,240, Nanimarquina. 3 Audrey Hepburn wood tufted rug, £350, Icon range, Mail Order Rugs. 4 ‘Stella felted 100% merino wool rug, £350, by Michelle Mason, Love Eco. 5 ‘Laya’ 100% acrylic pile, rug with faux suede inserts, from £59, Modern Rugs.)

Stylish Runners

Make a great first impression with a chic runner in statement stripes

(1 ‘Blocstripe’ and ‘Pinstripe’ wool carpets £45.85per sqm, ‘Fine Lines’ Collection, Alternative Flooring. 2 ‘Medici’ 80% woven Axminster runner, £73 per sqm, Brintons. 3 ‘Mississippi’ wool runner, £45.22 per sqm, Fun On The Floor. 4 ‘Rabat’ sisal runner, £59 per m, ‘Morroco’ Collection, Kersaint Cobb. 5 ‘Stowe’ flatweave runner, £95 per m, Roger Oates.)

Check out Hale for home interiors

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

At Gallery 22 you will not only discover fantastic works of art and sculpture but, thanks to a collaboration between owner and art expert Lesley Mitchell and interior designer Lana Filippova, you can also take home the latest designer wallcoverings, carpets, fabrics, furniture, lighting and accessories – in fact everything you need to make your house a home, including a full interior design service. So if you’re looking for a shopping experience where interiors and art merge to provide a complete interior solution just head to Hale in Cheshire.

You will find Gallery 22 at 22 Victoria Road, Hale, tel. 0161 929 4040 or visit: www.artofinteriors.co.uk.

Colourful Outlook

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

CFL is excited to introduce the ‘Collect’ cabinet – the latest addition to online retailer Amode’s range of exclusive furnishings. Made in Sweden and designed by Sara Larsson, this compact matt white wooden cabinet features vibrant multi-coloured squares and reflects the ever-growing trend to inject colour into the home. The ‘Collect’ cabinet costs £995.

Buy online at: www.amode.co.uk or tel. 0845 508 4457.

Underfloor

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Looking for something different when it comes to hard flooring? Then check out ‘Art At Your Feet’, a totally new concept in decorative floor finishes by Cheshire-based Barefoot Floor Couture. Barefoot’s floor stylist, renowned artist Jeanet Hönig, creates unique masterpieces underfoot that are guaranteed to be as individual as you and your home. Prices are on application.

To find out more visit: www.barefoot.co.uk or tel. 01260 222 122.

A Real Gem!

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Here at CFL we just cannot get enough of Manchester-based designer, Penelope Batley’s wonderous hand made glass and ceramic  lights.

Launched at 100% Design her ‘Drop Earring’ lights and ‘Big Bling’ necklace light are based around the concept of giant jewellery and are intended to be both playful and escapist – choose from a variety of colours and adorn your home as you would adorn yourself!

Penelope’s ‘Drop Earring’ lights cost £595 each, and her ‘Big Bling’ necklace light, £850. A bespoke service is also available.

Email: mail@penelopebatley.co.uk or visit: www.penelopebatley.co.uk.

White Magic

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Having rented an apartment in Manchester’s city centre after he first left home, Dean Barlow never dreamt he’d move back 20 years later having bought the apartment, ready to turn it into a sleek, chic, unique city pad.

The hustle and bustle of life in Manchester’s city centre is infectious and all around you: trams, shoppers, workers and hundreds of people hurriedly going about their business every day. It’s hard to imagine living in this great northern city centre.

Harder still to envisage finding a home that serves as an oasis of calm amid the hectic urban life, but that’s exactly what Dean Barlow managed to seek out and create when he discovered the city centre apartment he now calls home. “That’s what’s nice about it: it’s right in the city centre, yet it’s so quiet,” says Dean who founded The Gorgeous Generation – an events management company whose offices are a handy five minute walk from the apartment. Dean jokes he can roll out of bed at 8.45am and be at his desk for 9am, ready to face another busy day.

The apartment is a stunning one-bedroom retreat set in a refurbished former cotton mill. When Dean bought the apartment there was a kitchen, lounge and hallway, the walls of which he knocked down to create the large, welcoming and bright open-plan living area that now greets you upon entering the apartment. There was also a dated green bathroom suite that was the first thing to go. “It was horrible,” says Dean who, since completing the interior redesign a year ago, has enjoyed some great parties in the apartment. “The windowsills get used as podiums,” he jokes.

The rest of this article can be found in Concept For Living issue 136.

Photography by Eleri Griffiths – Words by Caroline Jones and Katie Cotgrave