The theatrics of wall-to-wall carpet
And the conviction of carpeting your walls too.
Disclaimer: If you’re here for a tale about carpet at the cinema, you’ve come to the wrong place. Although now I kind of want to know the origin story of this iconic print, so stand by…
The truth is, I have an impractical confession… thoughts of wall-to-wall carpet have been consuming me. While I don’t feel compelled to implement this design choice into my own space, it hasn’t stopped me from pinning, screenshotting, and documenting carpeted spaces.
Living in Miami, I rarely found myself in carpeted rooms. Well, there was that one apartment I lived in that was entirely carpeted– my mom told me to “pretend it’s not there” by covering “the carpet with rugs,” it sort of helped retrain the eye. When my rent went up 60% at the end of the lease, I pretended to be gutted, but really I just couldn’t wait to be free from the bounds of 850 square feet of carpet– I then fled to Barcelona for two months, but I digress.
When I moved to NY last month, I found myself walking into more carpeted rooms than ever before, but not ones that scared me.
There’s a reason WSA is getting a lot of attention these days – I’m positive it’s the dramatic carpeting (but sure “complimentary tea and fruit in the mornings and oysters and truffles in the late afternoon,” as reported by The Wall Street Journal, probably helps).
At Collectible Fair, hosted by the aforementioned cool kid venue in September, I found myself mesmerized by an elevated purple surface displaying funky stools and coffee tables. As a chair lover (see sitting.athome, my chair instagram), I chalked it up to being my element, but I found myself thinking about that purple carpet for days to come, and the plush red carpet that filled the entryway, and the yellow carpet that went up the wall (more on this below) in another space.
Last weekend, I went to 52 Walker, a David Zwirner gallery, directed Ebony L. Haynes. Sara Cwynar’s Baby Blue Benzo is currently on exhibition. The show is lovely, and the plush blue carpeting adds a transformative element. Honestly, zero notes, except that I really want this Apple in my home.
At The Ulysses Bloom Bar in Baltimore, there’s carpeting that looks like waves, except that it’s purple and red. I had the privilege of staying here in March after I made a TikTok about Ash, the group behind the hotel. One thing I really appreciate is when a space goes all in on the theatrics, it’s what initially drew me to Ash in the first place. They do this particularly well and they never skimp on the carpeting.
In my first newsletter, I wrote about the French Communist Party’s Paris HQ designed by Oscar Neimeyer.
I must have been blissfully unaware back then (..7 months ago) that I would soon be overtaken by a love for carpeting. But take a look for yourself, he makes carpeting the floors look like a novice move when you could, also, carpet the walls.
When I landed back in New York after ten days in Southeast Asia a couple of weeks ago, I found myself questioning why the counters at airports are carpeted. Have you ever thought about this? I certainly hadn’t, not until I deplaned a 19-hour flight from Singapore.
I’ve been trying to distill down why I’m so amused by carpeting these days. It feels strange to be so into a design element, and simultaneously want nothing to do with it within your own four walls. I floated the concept for this newsletter by a group of people I had just met at a party a couple of weeks ago, asking, “So how do you guys feel about carpeting?” Naturally, we fell into a long discussion about vacuums and how Dyson has revolutionized our worlds (I made a TikTok about James Dyson and his 5,000 prototypes once if you care to indulge).
After we spoke of how dirty and impractical carpeting is, we spoke of the nostalgia and moodiness of walking into a carpeted room. I invited the group to also think about the theatrics and the conviction of carpeting a space.
I believe wholeheartedly that if you’re going to do anything, you should do it with conviction or not at all. A lot of people just half do things because they’re scared – or lazy. Carpeting relates to this sentiment because let’s be real, it’s a bold commitment that says, “I’m confident and I know who I am and what I stand for.” Conviction is in, as is carpet.
What’s new, you ask?
I went to Singapore to cover their design week for SURFACE.
I also went to Bali to stay at and cover Potato Head Hotel, but I’m still working on that story.
I spoke about how my ‘30 day TikTok challenge’ led me to leave my job and start my consultancy.
I was on Emerging Brands Podcast — Kelly and I talked about, you guessed it, collabs, content, and community.
I partnered with J.Crew to celebrate the relaunch of their catalog last month.
I’ve gone all in on Reels, follow me on Instagram if you don’t already ;). I’m obviously still on TikTok too.
I’ve named this playground in Williamsburg, ‘The gr8 collab HQ’. Feels like I should throw a party there or something? LMK what you think.
i love this! so interesting and lots of food for thoughts
super neat! really enjoyed reading. i'm thinking, because i've also found myself appreciating carpeted rooms now, it must be reminiscent of childhood or our parents' childhoods. it feels welcoming