Whilst designed as wall tiles these alligator print tiles can be used on floors in limited areas. Designed by Ann Sacks these certainly are not for the faint hearted.

Using the same looks that have been used for years in the best couture houses like Prada and Hermes in the design of their shoes and handbags; these tiles are equally impressive.

So now you can take the best looks of Italian embossed leather and put them on your floors and walls.

Available in earthy browns and creams to modern white to bold magenta and red – you are bound to find the perfect color for you next renovation project.

Graboplast, a Hungarian flooring manufacturer has just this month launched a brand new product. By using the latest advances in nanotechnology they have developed a scratch and scuff resistant, hard wearing PVC flooring suitable for sports stadiums and other public spaces.

Having invested heavily in the new technology the company was eager to prove it’s worth. At a recent press conference they demonstrated how it withstood heavy traffic and cigarette butts without any apparent burn marks.

They are so confident in the new flooring that by 2012, they expect that this PVC flooring will account for 75% of its total output.

I expect we will hear a lot more about nanotechnology in the future for flooring and all types of home applications.

I recently spotted this image at Apartment Therapy and just had to share it with you.

I must say I ‘love it’ but in saying that I’m not sure I’d have it in my home.

The green shades certainly look bright and refreshing and you can’t argue that it’s not unique.

What do you think?

Italian design company http://www.vetrocolor.it have come up with an innovative new glass tile collection.

With an array of colors and embossed patterns with metallic finishes as well these tiles will make any bathroom a masterpiece.

Everyone wants to add a bit of beauty to their home and an apparently small task such as finding a good rug can mean the difference between rooms looking fabulously furnished or just plain unfinished. With a plethora of rugs available to purchase, in all kinds of shapes, styles and colors, knowing which one will serve you the best can be a difficult task to undertake. The other factor that will of course dominate proceedings is how much a rug costs and how it will fit into your budget.

Deciding on what type of usage the rug is going to get is a good place to start. If you are simply going to throw an accent rug in front of a door to take the brunt of heavy traffic, then it would probably be fine to go out and get a cheap rug which will be replaceable. That rug will serve a purpose in contrast to sourcing an expensive, high quality rug which will be better served as a decorative piece.

Cheap rugs are obviously predominately more available than what would be considered more expensive ones. The ability for manufacturers to turn out generic rugs, will allow them to sell them at a cheaper price to the masses. But if you are looking for quality, then you should consider antique rugs.

Antique rugs are available in many styles. They can be made from several different materials ranging from wool to silk and feature varying types of dyes, vivid colors and symbolic patterns. The choice, just as in looking for a modern rug, will be down to your personal taste.

Hand woven rugs and braided rugs are considered top of the order when it comes to rugs. Persian and Moroccan rugs are particularly popular, due to their uniqueness and unsurpassable quality when it comes to hand made techniques. Importing one of these may sound like an expensive prospect, but rest assured that you would be getting the very best quality, and you may be surprised as to how much you really have to pay for one.

The internet has made the world a smaller place, and if you are looking for an antique rug, then it could be a great place to start. The popularity of online auction sites has made these antique and high quality rugs more accessible than ever. Getting your hands on a rug which has been well taken care of and was hand crafted many years ago can be done easily with the help of the internet.

So what is the difference between new rugs and those which may be considered antiques? Antique rugs are often treated as family heirlooms, for they will have seen a lot of history having been passed down from one generation to the next. These are generally well looked after items, out of respect for those family members who had the rug before the current owner.

Modern rugs are often cheaper and in some cases just as durable, but they are likely to be very generic and not have the same unwritten connection with history, as something which has come from the past. There are also rugs which fall in between both categories, those which are not new enough to be considered modern, but not old enough to be considered antiques. This field of area rugs can be a great way to find something unique for your home, as well as having it possess a bit of history.

Older rugs are usually noticeable for their styles and colors, and immediately imbue the onlooker with a sense of warmth, beauty and familiarity. The rug should make a house feel like a home, and that is what older, if not antique rugs, can easily do.

Either way, whichever route you wish to take, whether you opt for old world charm and elegance over modern style, there will be retailers online to suit your preference.

My nephew would just love this mosaic lizard floor – him and his sister could play for hours around it pretending it was chasing them or trying to bite their toes

He is certainly a sticking feature to the floor and looks ‘aboriginal’ in design to me. Being a fan of mosaics – having attempted a couple myself I can appreciate the work that has gone into this.

If you want to give it a try – there are heaps of websites dedicated to how to do mosaics. Personally, I did a quick course at a community are centre and then went from there.

I’ll bring you more floor mosaics as I find them!

Your at the Winter Olympics and all around you is billboards and advertizing – about 200,000-square-feet of the vinyl graphics to be exact. Imagine all that in landfill.

Now image that being made into flooring instead of being waste.

That is what Mannington Commercial thought of – the flooring manufacturer in Calhoun, Georgia is joining with 3M Canada to their vinyl graphics featured at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics into flooring.

Amazingly it will all be incorporated into Mannington’s Premium line of tiles where applications range through education, commercial healthcare and retail.

What a great way to recycle!

For many homeowners, the story is all too familiar: you get a plush carpet or rug for your living room, and it all looks perfect until the dog starts shedding on it the following week. Before you know it, you’re vacuuming every day and starting to regret your decision. Unfortunately, it’s a mistake many homeowners make: they fail to take kids and pets into account when they buy rugs online. Well, that shouldn’t have to be the case anymore. With all the options available today, finding a pet-friendly rug should be a breeze.

So what makes a pet-friendly rug? It really depends on the kind of pet you have, how many there are, and how much abuse they put on your flooring. If it’s a non-shedding breed, all you’ll have to worry about are scratch marks on the rug. If it sheds regularly, you may need a more low-maintenance rug material. One thing you won’t have to worry about is aesthetics—with today’s manufacturing technology, it’s easy to find rugs that offer both style and quality. Here are some buying tips to help you get started.

Know your rug materials.

There are more rug materials today than one can imagine, but not all of them offer the same quality. For your pet, you’ll need something sturdy and easy to maintain. The easiest choice would be polypropylene rugs—these are made of plastic-based fibers made to look and feel like traditional wool. Because they’re synthetic, they don’t fray or wear out as easily as other fibers. This works best for pets that like to play around and leave scratch or mud marks.

Another great thing about polypropylene is that it comes in all sorts of designs—in fact, there’s more designs for it than any other rug material. So you can easily find one that suits your décor, or use it to set the theme if you don’t have one. If your pet likes to go in and out of the house all day, you may want to get one with a busy pattern to better camouflage stains. Or if it doesn’t fit with your décor, a dark-colored rug also works well.

Anticipate some maintenance.

All rugs will require some work from time to time, whether it’s vacuuming, cleaning, dusting, or washing. But some rugs naturally need more work than others, and your choice should depend on how much time you’re willing to put into it. Sisal rugs are a great alternative to traditional fibers, which tend to need frequent washing. Made from a spiky cactus plant, sisal is extremely hard-wearing and comes highly recommended by designers around the world.

Wool rugs are also a popular choice in terms of maintenance. Genuine wool has a soft, luxurious feel and a natural self-cleaning property that keeps it free of dust, even without regular cleaning. It’s also hypo-allergenic, so it’s great for households with allergy-prone kids. You can let your pet sit or sleep on the rug and not worry about picking up stray hairs afterwards. Often, all you need is some vacuuming once or twice a week.

Look for busy patterns.

As mentioned above, patterned rugs help camouflage the stains and dirt left behind by playful pets. That’s not to say it’s an excuse to leave the rug as is—it just means you don’t have to clean it as often as a solid-colored rug. A good example is the Rhody Rugs Pilgrim Camel outdoor braided area rug, which features a brown base accented with blue, yellow, white, gold and black. The mix of earth and jewel colors makes it a great home accent, as well as a nice camouflage design for the occasional mud stain.

Of course, you’ll also need to consider how the pattern will fit into your home. if you already have a lot of patterned pieces, a printed rug may make the room too noisy. Try toning down other aspects of your home to make way for the rug, or choose a rug with a simpler pattern. With the right print, your rug can become a central point for your home, not to mention the perfect play area for your pet.

Get tips from other pet owners.

At the end of the day, the best way to cope with a pet is to get advice from those with firsthand experience. Look online for forums on pet-friendly carpets and area rugs, or a rug blog that talks about caring for rugs when you have pets in the house. You can get tips on cleaning, choosing cleaning products, local rug cleaning services, or reviews of current rug models. Since these are made by professionals and pet owners alike, you get valuable advice you can’t get from brochures or magazines. And nothing’s stopping you from sharing your own tips—there just might be a new rug owner who will find it useful!

Area rugs have come a long way from their early days of protecting brittle wooden floors. Today, as most floors hold up quite well on their own, rugs have taken on a new role as decorative pieces—and as a result, they’ve also become more diverse in design. And with the advent of contemporary décor, bold colors and patterns have gained a larger presence in the market.

One theme that has grown especially popular is the use of pink area rugs. A splash of pink can convey a soft, relaxing mood, a bold attitude, or a funky personality. Although once thought of as a specialized shade, pink is now known as an all-around color and has become a staple in many designers’ books.

Area rugs make it particularly easy to work pink into the home and make it work with any design theme. Thanks to modern manufacturing techniques, rug companies now offer pink rugs in just about any shade, pattern and size. No matter what your style is, you’re sure to find a pink rug that perfectly suits your space. If you’re not sure how to make it work, read on for some decorating ideas.

Soft modern

Pink has a subtle appeal that works uniquely well with contemporary themes. Since modern homes tend to favor bold colors and patterns, a pink rug can give it a sense of warmth and softness that puts everything in balance. Look for contemporary area rugs in a shade that complements or contrasts with your current color scheme. A raspberry pink rug can liven up plain white walls, while a pastel rug looks great against dark upholstery.

If there’s a lot of pink around the room to start with, you can still use a pink rug—as long as it doesn’t just blend in with the rest. Choose a shade that will make it stand out without clashing against the existing colors. If you want the rug to be the room’s focal point, go for a shade that’s a bit brighter or darker than the rest. You can also look for one with a border in a different color, which can frame it better and draw more attention.

Plains and prints

Some rooms already have loads of personality and don’t need fancy rugs to make them stand out. Others, however, are fairly plain and could definitely use a creative touch. When you buy rugs online, you’ll have to choose between a plain or patterned piece. Pink rugs offer a wide variety in both areas, and your choice should depend on what’s already in your room.

If you go for a patterned rug, make sure the print conveys the right mood. If you’re going for a country look, then a geometric rug would look all wrong in your living room. Likewise, if you want something modern and avant-garde, you wouldn’t pick a vintage rug with old rose patterns. Also take note of the size of the print—large patterns would be more visible, but they can make your room look smaller. Small prints may look like solid patterns from a distance, but the intricate detail can give the room more character.

Unusual shapes

This is probably one of the most overlooked aspects in area rug design. Most people think of area rugs as rectangular or square pieces, but these days you can find round, oval, octagonal and even irregularly-shaped rugs. You can use them under furniture, by the door or in the middle of the room. Often, the shape itself determines where it would best fit. In a typical four-walled room, for example, a soft curved rug adds a unique angle and contrasts nicely with the sharp wall corners.

For a girl’s room, try something like the Dynamic Rugs Fantasia 1706 light pink area rug. With a unique flower shape and bright geometric pattern, it’s both very relaxing and refreshingly modern. Use it as a floor centerpiece for a large room, or at the foot of the bed if there’s limited floor space. You can also look for other unusual shapes such as hearts, stars or animals.

Bold combinations

You don’t have to limit yourself to just pink, of course. Pink rugs can look great with any other color; it’s just a matter of how you present it. The safe choice is to combine pink with one of your existing room colors, so that there’s a common point of reference. Note that different combinations convey different moods: pink with black or gray creates a modern industrial look, while brown and purple make it look soft and feminine.

If you’re out of ideas, try consulting a rug blog to see which colors are in. Interior design blogs help you stay updated on current trends, so you know your rugs are always in style. Get ideas for new rug combinations, maintenance, or other accessories you can use to complement your pink rug.