The Louvre Museum is a Paris landmark and must-see for any visitor. The miles-long museum is renowned for its impressive collection of artwork including pieces like the Mona Lisa & Venus De Milo. But while enjoying the 35,000 pieces of artwork, sometimes visitors miss the most prominent piece of art: the building itself.

The Louvre Palace was first built in the 12th century. When Louis XIV choose the Palace of Versailles as his place of residence instead of the Louvre Palace, it left the Louvre as a home for the royal artwork collection.

The wood floors underfoot in the Louvre are as inspiring as the artwork on the walls. Simple oak planks are cut to size and put together to create unique patterns.

This two-tone herringbone is striking even with all the character marks.

This room featured an intricate hardwood pattern with star inlays.

A close-up on a stunning diamond pattern.

In the Napoleon III apartments exhibit, visitors can see what these patterned wood floors would look like at home – if you home also happens to be decorated in an opulent Second Empire style.

Tile floors are used throughout the Louvre as well – we love this pattern.

With 9.7 million visitors traipsing through the halls in a year, these floors are put to the test. On the stone steps, you can see how the middle of the step, where most people walk, has been worn down.

Get the look at home

To get the classic look of the Louvre at home, try Herringbone floors like these options from Kentwood, available in both natural oak and walnut.

Kentwood Couture Collection Chevron Herringbone Walnut and Oak Natural

To mimic the elegance of the natural stone and patterned tile used in the Louvre, try this combination of Carrara marble style tiles and basket-weave mosaic from C&S tile.
C&S Tile I Marmi series colour Carrara

Last week we visited the Shaw Floors Market Show here in Vancouver. As one of the world’s largest flooring manufacturers, Shaw Floors stays on top of the latest flooring trends. The market is an opportunity for us to peruse new samples and discover the next big things in flooring for 2015.

Waterproof Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) Floorté

This innovative new product from Shaw has the potential to change the luxury vinyl plank marketplace. Why is the vinyl plank so revolutionary?

• It’s completely waterproof. Floorté is made from an EVP polymer plastic that can withstand being submerged in water. Most vinyl plank flooring on the market is just water-resistant.
• A new locking system similar to a Tupperware lid. Thanks to the locking system, it’s easy to install and keeps water out of the joints for up to 48 hours.
• Unmatched realism. Since Floorté is more rigid than glue-down LVP, it feels more like hardwood underfoot. The bevelled edges add to the realism.
• No underpad is needed for Floorté.
• Wear layer features durable Armourbead nano-ceramic particle finish.

Shaw Floors Floorté Classico LVP colour Colori

Grey tones taking over

Grey is the trendy neutral colour in interior design right now. Flooring colour palettes are changing to keep up with the trends. Colours with names like sand, honey and coffee are being replaced with new colours names like fog, silver and concrete. Expect to see even more grey options available in carpet, laminate and hardwood. Here’s a few of our favourite grey options from the show:

Castlewood Oak Hardwood
The Castlewood Oak collection exudes old world charm. The natural beauty of the wood shines through with knots, mineral streaks and natural splits. Four rich grey-toned options give the grey-lover plenty of options to choose from.

Shaw Castlewood Oak Hardwood colour Armory

Shaw Floors Castlewood Oak colour Hearth

Shaw Floors Castlewood Oak colour Drawbridge

Shaw Floors Castlewood Oak colour Tower

Truly Relaxed Carpet
This luxurious nylon loop carpet is the redesigned sibling to one of our best-selling carpets. With many grey options to choose from, you can find the perfect shade to compliment your decor.

Shaw Truly Relaxed loop carpet

To inspire your decor related new years resolutions, we have rounded up 2015 colour trends from our favourite colour experts. This is the final post in a three part series featuring trends from Pantone, Shaw Floors and Benjamin Moore.

Guilford Green

Since paint companies are always on the pulse of the latest colour trends, we turned to Benjamin Moore to see their recommendations for 2015. The Benjamin Moore team picked a beautiful palette of twenty three blue, green, blush and berry shades for 2015. From that palette they narrowed it down to their colour of the year, Guilford Green. Benjamin Moore Creative Director Ellen O’Neill describes it as “a neutral that’s natural. A silvery green that works with, well, everything.” Guilford Green is part of the Benjamin Moore Historic Collection. The collection is a timeless and elegant set of hues inspired by the documented colours found in 18th and 19th century architecture.

Benjamin Moore

Guilford Green creates a sense of tranquillity in this bathroom when paired with white tiles and elements of nature.

Houzz: Chuck Mills Residential Design & Development

Guilford Green was the perfect choices to pull together the many wood tones in this dining room. The greyish brown undertones complement all wood tones well.

Houzz: Edwina Drummond Interiors

Jazz up this neutral green by pairing it with a bold accent colour like turquoise.

This colour is suited to more than just walls. Painting the cabinets Guilford Green keeps the laundry room from looking dull. Other furniture like a dresser or a bar cart would also look great painted this colour.

View other posts in the 2015 Colour Trends Series

Part one: Pantone’s 2015 Colour of the Year Marsala
Part two: Shaw Floors River Thames Taupe

We are welcoming the upcoming new year by sharing 2015 colour trends forecasts from our favourite colour experts. This is part two of a three part series featuring colour trends from Pantone, Shaw Floors and Benjamin Moore.

River Thames Taupe

For this colour trend, we look to the Shaw Floors 2015 Colour Forecast. As the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, Shaw Floors is at the forefront of of all home decor and colour trends. River Thames Taupe is our favourite of the four colours Shaw predicts will be big for 2015. We love the versatility of this neutral that blends the once trendy beige tones with today’s popular grey shades. We gathered pictures of a few interiors that show off the endless possibilities of River Thames Taupe.

Style Me Pretty: Laura Hollingsworth Home Tour by Cheryl M

Greige and taupe shades are a refreshing change from the ubiquitous plain white cabinets. These neutral hues make the kitchen feel warmer and more elegant.

Houzz: Cardea Building Co

Using taupe on the walls in this master bedroom channels the vibe of a peaceful retreat.

Shaw Floors Luxury Vinyl Tile Newport Beach colour Pier

Neutrals like taupe are popular colour choices for flooring and there are an abundance of taupe options available. This click together 12×24 luxury vinyl tile option would look great in any room in your house.

Shaw Carpet Bling / Shaw Carpet Timeless Charm Loop

Taupe is a classic colour option for any style of carpet. Try a textured multi-tonal frieze as an area rug in the living room or a cushy loop carpet for a neutral wall-to-wall carpet in bedrooms.

Shaw Floors has even more taupe hued inspiration for you on their River Thames Taupe Pinboard.

Follow Shaw Floors’s board “River Thames Taupe” – Shaw Color Forecast 2015 on Pinterest.

View other posts in the 2015 Colour Trends Series

Part one: Pantone’s 2015 Colour of the Year Marsala
Part three: Benjamin Moore’s Colour of 2015 Guilford Green

To say goodbye to 2014 and welcome in the new year, we are sharing a few 2015 colour trends forecasts from our favourite colour experts. Whether you’re planning a whole home renovation or just looking for a few new accent throw pillows, these colour choices can help inspire your design choices this year. This is part one of a three part series with 2015 colour trends forecasts from Pantone, Benjamin Moore and Shaw Floors.

Pantone colour of the year: Marsala

The Pantone Colour Institute chooses their colour of the year based on a thorough examination of fashion trends, art, film, cars and general culture around the world. The selections over the past few years tended to be bold and best suited for accent colours in interiors (see 2014’s Radiant Orchid and 2013’s Emerald). While we may see Marsala popping up as a trendy colour for clothing and nail polish in 2015, we are less likely to see entire walls painted in this colour or an increased popularity in this hue of broadloom carpet.

Pantone describes the 2015 colour of the year Marsala as a “naturally robust and earthy wine red.”  This reddish-brown hue has an elegant and satisfying warmth that could work well in the colour palette of many interiors. We gathered a few examples of trendsetting homes where Marsala-like hues are already full-force.

Houzz: Ike Kilgerman Barkley Architecture

The Marsala paint colour used on the walls of this book-lined living room adds a touch of warmth. The contrasting white woodwork creates a clean look and keeps Marsala from looking too earthy.

 
Domaine Home

Marsala hues in this artwork create a dramatic and colourful focal point in this dining room.

Apartment Therapy: LA House Tour

Marsala looks best when used with textures like this shaggy rug. Try using the colour of the year for other textures like linens or leather.

For another dose Marsala inspiration, visit our Marsala Colour Trend pinboard.

View other posts in the 2015 Colour Trends Series

Part two: Shaw Floors River Thames Taupe
Part three: Benjamin Moore Guilford Green