Stepping Out JULY/AUGUST 2011

APPALACHIAN TRAIL
HomerWood hardwood flooring is manufactured in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania out of whole trees, with an effort to retain the inherent characteristics of each specimen’s grain, markings and knots. Pictured here, the Carbonera Hickory Smoked Red Saddle floor, made from smoked and scraped hickory lumber. homerwood.com

MAGIC CARPET
Fabric designer Kevin O’Brien is collaborating with Capel Rugs on three new carpet lines: Droplets, Daisy Climber and Zanzibar. Pictured here, Daisy Climber is hand-tufted in India from pure wool and is available in two lines and one colorway, Blue Multi, in a five-by-eight-foot rectangle. capelrugs.com

VINYL TRANSFORMED
Armstrong Alterna 16-by-16-inch vinyl tiles offer defined textures and colors approximating travertine, quartz and slate. Alterna features Armstrong’s aluminum oxide coating, which provides scratch, stain and wear resistance. Available at Flooring America Design Build in Fairfax, Virginia. fadesignbuild.com; armstrong.com

TRUFFLES, ANYONE?
Echoing the look of mushrooms, the Champiñones collection for Gan Rugs (a subsidiary of Spanish manufacturer Gandia Blasco) features whimsical carpets made with virgin wool and cotton backing. Available in circular or rectangular shapes. ganrugs.com 

WONDERFULLY WOVEN
Chilewich’s brightly hued floor mats are made of the company’s distinctive woven vinyl, a durable, washable product that has an intrinsic sheen. The floor mats—including those in the Basketweave collection pictured here—come in a range of colors, sizes, shapes and textures. chilewich.com

EXOTIC ADDITION
Mirage offers prefinished hardwood floors in easily renewable woods. The African mahogany line is the latest addition to its Exotic Woods series. Also known as Sapele wood, African mahogany is available in three finishes—Terracotta, Bronze and Brass—and offers unique color variations and grains; the flooring comes in engineered five-inch boards with a semi-gloss finish. miragefloors.com

MARBLE MADNESS
Onice is a rectified, high-gloss tile that looks like natural marble—soft in color with deeper tones of veining throughout—yet offers the easy maintenance of a porcelain tile. Onice is available from Porcelanosa in Arena, Blanco, Marfil (pictured) and Siena, in a range of sizes. porcelanosa-usa.com

HIGH TECH
Slaty by Edimax reflects the latest technological advances in tile manufacturing. To create the slate-like tiles pictured here, high-resolution images are transferred to a durable porcelain tile surface via “inkjet” technology, resulting in the unique appearance of natural stone. Available through Mosaic Tile Company; mosaictileco.com 

**Out of the array of interior design magazines, Home and Design magazine stands out as a primary idea source for luxury home design and building/remodeling features.  Wonderful visuals of custom homes and eco-friendly resources are combined with expert advice to provide a fundamental reference point for bringing amazing home interior design and remodeling projects to life.