Promoting independence and wellbeing in later life, the UK’s market leader in vinyl flooring, Karndean Designflooring, has partnered with retirement living specialist, Inspired Villages, to provide a high quality experience and the ideal solution for a healthy retirement.
Elderswell in Bedfordshire, the latest development in Inspired Villages’ portfolio which opened in November 2022 and will include 156 homes, demonstrates how an inclusive approach and a comfortable environment with a premium finish can transform the retirement experience.
Designed for independent living and following design principles for hospitality venues rather than more clinical settings, Elderswell’s new Village Centre delivers on the philosophy that quality of life should flourish as we get older with a focus on community and an active lifestyle.
Specifying Karndean flooring throughout the Village Centre as well as in the kitchens of each residential unit not only provides an authentic natural look and homely atmosphere but also meets all the technical specifications of a demanding commercial setting.
Fleur Carson, commercial sales director at Karndean Designflooring, said: “A concept that is still in its infancy here in the UK, retirement villages offer a home from home experience that focuses on lifestyle rather than care, where older people can enjoy the best years of their lives.
Materials that are attractive yet easy to maintain are key to providing desirable living spaces that are suitable for the needs of older residents. Each of our flooring designs has been inspired by samples of natural wood and stone from around the world. An authentic representation of each material is then combined with the latest technology to develop a high-quality luxury vinyl flooring with the versatility to create imaginative interiors."
Sonia Parol, design director at Inspired Villages, said: “Our objective is to build vibrant communities with the facilities that actively retired people want, such as restaurants, bars, wellbeing facilities such as gym, studio and swimming pool and hairdressers. These facilities are also open to the general public and this creates strong inclusive links to the local community. We understand the mental health benefits our residents gain from being involved and engaged in their community. This is why we design and deliver villages that offer our residents many opportunities for engagement in cultural and physical activities, ensuring the pursuit of their hobbies and passions."
Set in the scenic Bedfordshire countryside, Elderswell is a rural retreat with convenient access to the local towns. When it came to the interior, Manchester based design consultant SpaceInvader was inspired by the development’s natural locality to create a timelessly elegant space with an organic style and earthy colour palette.
True to its ethos of quality and practicality, Inspired Villages stipulates a consistent approach to interior design whereby 80% of its specifications are standardized and 20% contextual with furniture, art and other elements that reflect each unique locality.
Fleur Carson said: “In commercial projects such as these it is important that materials can meet requirements for standardization to support easy installation and help meet deadlines but also offer the versatility designers need to create spaces that are welcoming and inspiring. Our flooring ranges provide just this: a reliable quality and specification as well as a wide choice of authentic wood and stone designs that can be used to create bespoke interiors.”
In the Village Centre restaurant, a honey oak design flooring has been used to introduce natural textures and warm tones to the soft colour palette of grey, beige and green. Choosing Golden Brushed Oak herringbone from the Van Gogh dual format range, an attractive European oak design with a delicate balance of long straight grain and beautiful ‘flowery’ grain, has resulted in a floor that oozes authentic charm and adds interest with a sense of movement.
In the wellbeing facilities, Bleached Tasmanian Oak from the Karndean LooseLay Longboard range brings a clean contemporary feel appropriate to its active setting. The design’s loose lay format, which features an enhanced acoustic layer, comes with all the practical benefits of Karndean flooring but also serves to reduce noise transfer by 13dB. Held in place with a combination of weight and Karndean’s K-Wave grip backing, ongoing maintenance and repairs are straight forward as damaged planks can be simply lifted and replaced.
Sonia Parol said: “We use Karndean flooring across all our new villages. While each village has its own unique character and features different flooring designs, we know that Karndean will give us the variety of style and finish we are looking for alongside standardized technical specifications, durability and low maintenance.”
About Karndean Designflooring
Karndean Designflooring is a global supplier of commercial and residential luxury vinyl tile flooring. We’re an industry leader in flooring design, offering a wide range of colours, textures and finishes, helping you to create unique looks guaranteed to last.
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The UK’s market leader in luxury vinyl flooring, Karndean Designflooring, is introducing its biggest collection update yet with new designs inspired by moments of nature sourced throughout the world.
The updated Van Gogh collection features new designs in additional format and tile size choices, including on-trend herringbone and chevron. Having taken its Van Gogh range into dual format (gluedown and rigid core) territory in 2020, Karndean flooring is expanding the collection with 24 brand new designs, including its first stone designs, as well as bringing further format and size choices to a number of existing designs.
Inspired by the beauty of the natural world and materials sourced from around the world, Karndean’s refreshed range offers unrivalled versatility to create bespoke interiors that ooze elegance whilst also supporting health and wellbeing and contributing to a sustainable built environment.
Presenting a wide selection of contemporary wood and stone styles and colourways, from cool greys and calm neutrals to warm tones, the collection is expected to find favour in a variety of settings, from residential and community living to commercial spaces such as workplaces, higher education, retail and hospitality.
Fleur Carson, commercial sales director at Karndean Designflooring, said: "Van Gogh has long been our most popular range in co-living developments, and it has continued to see significant growth in commercial applications. We see design as an endless journey so we are always striving to improve our offering to meet the latest requirements of the interior design world and the evolving sustainability demands of our built environment."
“Now celebrating our 50th year in the industry, Karndean is trusted as a manufacturer of authentic flooring designs that meet both aesthetic and technical specifications of any project. Known for never resting on our laurels, this launch expands our Van Gogh range to a total of 70 wood and stone designs in a convenient choice of sizes and formats. This unsurpassed versatility offers specifiers a whole different level of creative freedom, from the ability to take the same design over different subfloor conditions to incorporating imaginative patterns and colour combinations.”
The Van Gogh range is introducing nine brand new wood designs, including four characterful Highland Oaks, two rustic Farmhouse Oaks and two warm American Cedars. Designers looking to conceive distinctive and playful interiors will also welcome the introduction of a chevron plank to three Brushed Oak colourways. The 28” x 7”chevron plank broadens the opportunities to incorporate different laying patterns for visual interest and a sense of movement.
Incorporating stone designs into the Van Gogh range for the first time has elevated its design potential, generating endless scope for bespoke flooring using a combination of wood and stone designs. Inspired by stones sourced from across Europe, 15 striking new designs feature the beauty and elegance of marble, slate and terracotta. The large tile size of these designs, including a new 18” x 36” tile, serves to accentuate and enhance the natural textures and variation found in the original samples.
Whether opting for a rigid core format over uneven or drying subfloors, or creating one-off designs with gluedown, specifiers will appreciate how this comprehensive Van Gogh range inspires and enables unique yet cohesive interiors with the durability to stand the test of time.
Offering enhanced acoustic benefits and easy to install with a click-locking mechanism, Karndean’s rigid core designs come with a colour matched scotia for a seamless finish. The Van Gogh range comes with an Environmental Product Declaration and the reassurance of a 15 year guarantee for commercial settings and a lifetime guarantee for residential settings.
Our design process begins with a meeting…with nature. We see flooring differently. Pushing the boundaries has to be an adventure of discovery. It’s why we travel the world for inspiration. From the ancient European woodlands to the Australian outback, we pack our bags and go there. Every time, we connect with something extraordinary that shapes our every step. It’s how we bring the unimaginable, inspired from the outdoors, indoors.
Only a few days before London Design Festival returns on Saturday 17 September! For a whole week, LDF will celebrate and promote the city as a design capital on the global stage, offering an expansive programme of over 13 design disciplines, ranging from digital design and art, to landscape, interiors and materials.
Are you ready to dive into the world of design? Read the SBID's helpful guide to the festival to plan your diary, get inspired and engage with the design industry. Ensure you don't miss any important events and CPD sessions from SBID members!
London Design Festival 2022
Where: Multiple venues across London
When: 17 - 25 September
Arper joins LDF in celebrating the city’s creativity in newly restyled London showroom to present its latest 2022 collections with a range of engaging events and creative activities across Clerkenwell Design Trail.
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An immersive installation of pioneering designs showcases objects developed by Zaha Hadid Design over the past 15 years. The exhibition fills the sculptural spaces of the striking gallery designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2011.
Kohler invites you to explore their recently refurbished London showroom in Clerkenwell, attend an exclusive Breakfast Meeting with networking, talk and tour, and discover the latest product innovations in the KBB sector.
Parkside are hosting a Breakfast Club with live CPD event alongside fresh pastries and coffee as part of the Clerkenwell Design Trail! Unlock knowledge on tiling patterns, innovations in sustainable materials and how to specify bespoke surfaces.
House of Rohl's networking brunch in partnership with SBID will bring together a collection of luxury kitchen and bathroom brands and provide an opportunity to meet peers and exchange ideas.
VitrA London showroom will run a series of free virtual reality CPD experience sessions, where they will turn bathroom designs into 4-D, enabling people to explore a fully immersive virtual bathroom space.
RAK Ceramics Design Hub is an interactive and immersive environment to inspire - explore the latest in bathroom designs, materials, finishes and colours with exclusive showroom tour, showcasing RAK Ceramics ranges, kitchen taps, and brassware.
Drop by Karndean's Commercial Showroom to grab a mocktail or a bite to eat, meet the team and view an exclusive collection preview - take a first look at their new abstract flooring designs launching this autumn!
EDGE presents a variety of products, installations, CPDs, workshops, talks and events surrounding sustainable design, highlighting the industry's best in circular products and materials for living and working spaces.
VitrA is hosting an immersive colour experience using artwork by Carnovsky, which experiments with the interaction between colour in print and light form.
Bolon is showcasing their latest products, celebrating the launch of new colour palettes for their bestselling collections, and holding a variety of talks on sustainability during the London Design Festival week.
The art of high-tech returns as Cosentino celebrates breathtaking new collections at the Cosentino City Showroom. Presenting award-winning carbon neutral materials with 'DJ Nadia Noudle' and tapas.
Bolon is hosting a CPD session led by Bolon’s visionary Head of Sustainability Håkan Nordin to learn about how Bolon’s experience in sustainable design has informed their approach and understanding of the circular economy today.
EDGE (Eco Design Green Environment) is celebrating their first anniversary with a short talks programme focusing on sustainability and regenerative thinking.
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