Gray, Indigo and Touches of Pink Dominate in Rugs at Atlanta’s 2016 Market

The big news at the January Intl. Rug Market in Atlanta saw grays and blues maintaining their stronghold on new rug designs and coordinating accessories. One shift in the familiar palette revealed navy, denim and a strong, rich indigo taking the place of lighter spa-colored and green-based blues.

Pantone’s colors of the year (Rose Quartz and Serenity blue) did pop up together in some new area rug designs. However the most successful new gonflable pieces employed just the Rose tones mixed with existing grays and even a beautiful new neutral champagne color that we’ll continue to watch. We’re also excited about a crop fresh of sophisticated pastels for spring.

Texture continues to evolve for 2016. I saw one rug made entirely of rubber fan belts, which would look chic outdoors, and also a few interesting flat vinyl pieces with intriguing Princess Moon Bounce geometric designs. The most important texture trend was multiple textures in one rug design, like high/low piles mixed with twisted yarn and tweed effects. At Capel, the Barrister rug in Ink was the perfect example. It also showed a movement toward menswear looks in rugs.

At Kalaty, new modern and transitional pieces wore fresh, on-trend colors and rich textures. We’ll have samples to see soon, so don’t miss them. The company’s new abstract art-inspired designs are spectacular, too.

On the fashion front, we couldn’t miss the new Kate Spade designs at Jaipur. The fusion between the Kate Spade and Jaipur brands is a great match. Spade’s strong following will get these rugs noticed and Jaipur’s sophisticated execution will reveal quality construction. Our female customers are sure to respond favorably. We’ll let you know when they arrive. ~ David*

*Ghost blog as told to Diane Cotton Caplan. Originally published January 2016.