Lorna Williams, Design Manager for the in-house design team at Amtico International explains the importance of innovative flooring designs.

Capturing the essence of the constantly changing design trends and translating them into stylish and inspirational flooring designs is a challenge we thrive on and one that we believe keeps Amtico International at the forefront of design.     

Amtico International has been the driving force behind some of the world’s most inspirational flooring designs for over 40 years.  Established in 1964, the company has grown to dominate the premium vinyl market, both in terms of sales volume and brand awareness.    

Our design team is made up of a small group of designers all with a wealth of experience in textiles and multi-media design and our passion for observing the changes in style, texture, colours and trends around us never ends.  

We take our digital cameras everywhere we go, even on the weekend as the search for new ideas never stops. We are constantly looking at pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in terms of flooring design and believe if you want to stand out in floor design you have to look higher than flooring for inspiration.   

We find our inspiration comes from a myriad of sources and sometimes from the most unlikely of places as often our best discoveries come when we go exploring in cities.  

Our job requires us to work closely with customers from all corners of the globe and we are regular visitors to the world’s top interior design, furniture and textile shows to observe the changing trends as they emerge.  

The process of designing a new range begins with the initial concept. From there the team evolve their ideas into workable designs, experimenting with pigments and materials and developing artwork. We work hand in hand with the technical and manufacturing teams to translate our prototypes into the finished product, which can take over four years for some ranges.  

The last thing we want to do is copy a competitor, instead we want to stand out with fresh styles.  

Some of what we do is in response to a specific client brief – for example recreating the look of concrete, a material which can be expensive and difficult to install; or perhaps we want to come up with a completely new colour, texture or mood in a flooring design such as recreating the real life look of grass.  

The fact that our product is synthetic means that we have complete control and this allows us to take advantage by exploring a multitude of materials as part of the design process.    

Take for example our product Fiber, a tile that encapsulates real woven fabric. The traditional basket weave effect began as an actual crochet by one of the design team and addressed the trend towards soft textiles with woven fabrics.   

This seasons new collection, Metals, emerged from the growing use of metallic’s in fabrics and furniture. Neutral spaces were lifted by subtle hints of metal so the warm pigments and rippled beaten texture of the Metals collection can complement any space. We created Metals as a little designer scarf that lifts an everyday outfit.  

We have the woods, stones and abstract collection, which provides over 100 different designs across the Amtico and Spacia range.  Each can be fitted in a range of different formats to distinguish separate zones and alter customer perception or simply used as features such as rugs or motifs. The flooring structure means it’s easy to maintain, quiet underfoot and has up to 15 year product warranty making it an ideal flooring solution.  

Our passion for vinyl floor designs is unremitting as we continue to look at the world in a captivating way hunting out our next innovative design.  

To find out more about Amtico International visit www.amtico.com  or call 0121 745 0800.

To view the 'Design Trends' pdf please click here.

To view the 'Designed for every space' pdf please click here.