We’ve all had moments in our lives when we have experienced something that has shaken us to the core and shifted our very perception of the world. For example, becoming aware that there was an opposite sex, getting your drivers’ license or your first pair of platform shoes. Suddenly a door opened that expanded your options and gave you a brand new vocabulary you hadn’t had in the moments prior. This is how it was for me when I saw my first Skinny Plank.
As an interior designer, I’ve certainly specified carpet that came in rolls. But for all intents and purposes, the best carpet solution for commercial space came in modular squares. It was logical, practical, and even became an expressive way to design floors for any client or application. There’s something energizing about taking a piece of fabric and giving it structure like other architectural finishes. Carpet tile in squares has been my medium of choice. I’ve designed them and exclusively designed with them.
Then a friend of mine showed me carpet tile in a rectangle, the Skinny Plank.
I know you’re thinking I need to get out more, and maybe I do. But a real sea change in floor covering is hard to achieve. People walk on this stuff and it needs to look good and wear well. Gimmicks quickly become tiresome, historical footnotes (pun intended). Skinny planks are a legitimately new medium that allows designers to create a whole new geometry that quietly support architectural expression, or embody expression themselves.
The most effective buildings and interiors being designed today are elegant systems of integrated components. Same with Interface Carpet Squares + Skinny Planks. Give your platform shoes away and check out what you can do with flooring.
Good talking with you!
