RugNews.com tours summer 2021 AmericasMart showrooms to discover top area rugs and meet rug buyers shopping the latest looks.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Market’s July show witnessed record attendance and area rug showrooms offered plenty of trending styles — from highly textured looks to vintage rugs to vibrant outdoor designs — for market shoppers to snap up.

Many area rug showrooms featured popular products rolled out last month at the postponed spring High Point Market, and those debuts were seen in-person for the first time by most Atlanta attendees. RugNews.com tours rug showrooms at the summer 2021 Atlanta Market and showcases the designs, styles and constructions that were top hits with Atlanta buyers.

BALTA HOME


Balta’s Bohemian collection inspired by the popular Netflix hit Tiger King appealed to shoppers seeking wilderness looks.

Balta Home, which opened its Atlanta showroom in 2020, reports that its ReFold collection continues to be a popular choice with buyers. This rug features a recycled cotton warp and weft, with polypropylene yarn woven over it, mimicking a hand-knotted look. This rug has zero pile, giving it a timeworn appearance. It comes in traditional patterns, youthful kilims, and other motifs, with colorways ranging from dusty, soft hues to neutrals to brighter colors like true reds. The company also had prominently displayed a play on a tiger skin rug from its Bohemian collection, inspired by the cult popularity of the Tiger King television series. And in outdoor rugs, Prisma represents the company’s highest quality level. It features a traditional design worked in striated yarn that give an incredible depth of color to the pattern.


Balta Home’s Atlanta showroom opened in January 2020 and serves as a year-round company showroom and office.

CLASSIC HOME


Classic Home’s showroom vignettes featured trending layered looks that performed well with market-goers.

Rug and furniture vendor Classic Home had some highlights that coordinated with its furniture and decorative accessories offerings. Bradbury, a rug with a boucle-like texture and a curly fringe, was available in neutral colors of black, ivory, and gray and simple geometric patterns. Lagos, meanwhile, has tribal-inspired, tone on tone patterns and is designed to coordinate with a collection of throw pillows. And the company showcased trending layered rugs in vignettes, for example pairing a jute base and a woven rug with a subtle pattern on top, a popular look at the moment with buyers.


Classic Home’s new tribal-like Lagos, features tone on tone patterns and is designed to coordinate with a collection of throw pillows.

ELIKO


Ariel Basalely of Eliko shows Lucy Earl with Jones-Keena & Co. in Birmingham, Michigan, the company’s latest designs.

Specializing in one of a kind, vintage rugs, Eliko was showcasing its specialty: Oushaks and Persian rugs that have been refurbished and recolored. “Our rugs feature low tonality with pops of color,” says David Basalely, owner/partner. “They are not too formal, not too saturated.” Among the highlights was a Persian Heriz from the 1930s that’s been chemically washed for an effect of subtle, toned-down colorations. Another standout: a Persian Mahal, circa 1920s, that’s authentically distressed.


Eliko’s one of a kind, vintage rugs, such as this Persian Heriz from the 1930s, are washed for toned-down colorations, a look trending with designers shopping market.

FRENCH ACCENTS


French Accents’ Worn Classics collection reworks 17th century designs in modern colorations and was a hit with show shoppers.

A standout in French Accents’ showroom was the Worn Classics collection. It features a 17th century design, recolored for today’s tastes. “The weave is very finely woven and sheared very low, rather than worn with chemicals,” notes Danny Shafanian, CFO. On view was a 9x12 version of the rug for a striking statement.

JAUNTY


Jacqueline McNalley, owner of Decors by Jacqueline in Vero Beach, Florida, checks out the latest area rugs with Jaunty’s Kami Navid.

Jaunty introduced eight or nine different patterns in the Nova collection. This hand-woven assortment is crafted of nubby yarn, 100 percent wool in a variegated thickness. The patterns range from geometric motifs to a southwestern look. For instance, Ocean features a colorway of blues interspersed with a sophisticated neutral pattern of beige and brown.


Popular with rug buyers, Jaunty’s hand-woven Nova collection is crafted of nubby yarn and features geometric and Southwest-inspired designs.

LOLOI


Irene Garcia of Loloi walks the line with Jason Shelton, Matahari Enterprises, Jamaica.

Loloi, which relocated to a prominent first floor location, showcased its Axel collection in its new Atlanta home, which will also serve as a permanent year-round space. This power-loomed rug range features polyester pile and a winning color combination. “The palette of blue, silver, gray, and touches of terracotta — it really hits the mark,” noted John Thompson, vice president of sales, Southeast region.


Loloi’s power-loomed Axel collection resonated with buyers for its trending palette of blue, silver, gray and terracotta accents.
 
L.R. RESOURCES


L.R. Resources continues to expand its Naturals collection adding Smoked Green design.

Although the showroom of L.R. Resources focused more on its offerings of furniture, pillows, poufs and other decorative accessories, Mike Thompson, senior vice president, said there were a few area rugs garnering attention. In the company’s ever-popular and ever-expanding Naturals collection of jute and cotton, a Smoked Green area rug on display was attracting notice. The rug features natural jute interspersed with strands of green and a light grey-blue that, combined, give the green a smoky appearance. The company also was highlighting its Nimroz collection of area rugs, shown in sample sizes. These rugs feature a traditional kilm construction in more updated colors, with a cotton secondary backing. Shown in a 2x3 size, the rugs also come in 4x6, a true 6x9 size, and 7’9” x 9’9” size.


A market highlight at the L.R. Resources showroom was its  kilim-styled Nimroz collection, shown in sample sizes above.

TAMARIAN


Tamarian’s Salem hand-knotted area rug features Tamarian’s top-selling  palette, called Discus, which pairs greens and light salmon colorations.

In its showroom, Tamarian was showing off the Salem pattern, a transitional design with concentric borders from its Phoenix collection, particularly in the Discus colorway. “Discus is still our most popular colorway,” says Chris Saliga, vice president of sales. “It has a great play on greens and light salmon. We put it in so many designs and it works every time.”

TRANS-OCEAN BY LIORA MANNE


Trans-Ocean’s new Canyon indoor-outdoor rug features a new construction and is expected to be a hit at Las Vegas Market in August.

Trans-Ocean by New York designer Liora Manne relocated its booth from the market’s outdoor section to its more general gift and home category on the third floor, and the move paid off. The company was able to display its ever-popular collection of mats, pillows and area rugs to a wider range of buyers and among the trending area rugs on show were a new pattern in the popular Marina line of indoor/outdoor, Wilton-weave rugs. Jungle Leaves features bright, oversized tropical leaves arrayed on a black background. Another highlight in the company’s indoor/outdoor rugs was Canyon, a new construction involving a flat weave with a pattern tufted over it.


Atlanta remains an important market for Trans-Oceans and the company relocated its booth to a general gift and home section on the third floor.