Trends drive rug styles
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 20, 2003
Atlanta — When times get tough, the rug business gets creative, and vendors are more attuned to social and cultural trends as they develop new looks.
"Our color and design analysts look for new patterns and common threads in apparel and home furnishings to predict what's going to be the next hot trend," said Ron Couri, president and chief executive officer of Couristan. "They see consumers gravitating toward tone-on-tone, natural colors mixed with transitional, geometric patterns."
Joan Catello, sales manager for Kas, constantly visits stores to take the pulse of fashion. Although Kas has developed a reputation for contemporary in recent years, she said classic looks will remain important.
"Traditional will be a huge part of the business," Catello said. "But more than ever, the transitional, contemporary and unique are in demand. Flatweaves in updated colors have made a strong comeback, as well as traditional constructions in unusual designs."
