TSAR Carpets Design Office and Residence Spaces for Lyons Architects

In the 30 years since it was founded, TSAR Carpets create holistic compositions that empower its wide range of clientele — from commercial, hospitality, and residential customers — to achieve a cohesive architectural expression from the ground up. Born from a passion for textiles and enchanted by the hand-tufted technique, TSAR Carpets is continuously inspired by the German concept of the “gesamtkunstwerk,” meaning “a total work of art” — with TSAR Carpets founder David Sharpley describing the handtufting process as “painting with fibres.”

Known for their design work in both the public and private sector, the award-winning Melbourne-based architecture firm Lyons enlisted TSAR Carpets to install approximately 104.34 m2 of its signature freeform hand-tufted carpet in its office space, providing a colour-forward palette full of flair and panache.

Firm founder Carey Lyon chose to work with TSAR again to outfit the office after his immense satisfaction with the custom hand-tufted carpet he sourced for his private residence, proving that TSAR Carpets’ unparalleled flooring proficiency can be applied to a variety of applications, functions and environments.

Private residence design

The home of Carey Lyon required exceptional hand-tufted flooring for four various spaces in his home, including a hallway, sitting area, lounge and study. Carey turned to the TSAR Carpets team for its expertise and honest advice. As a brand that is not afraid to take risks, TSAR’s company-owned value chain allows the team to continually experiment and perfect a multitude of construction techniques.

Working closely with TSAR’s team, Carey designed the carpet’s pattern, which is based on standard cartographic symbols for a swamp. (Used on maps, cartographic symbols are coloured lines that serve as legends to denote areas of vegetation, water, and contours, etc.) The aim of the design was to summon the history of the old wetland landscapes of the Yaluk-ut Weelam people of Port Phillip Bay who were lost under the ‘reclaimed’ swamplands of Elwood. To bring the swamp landscape to life, colour was another thoughtful consideration and Carey and the team reviewed several different custom poms before settling on brown and blue shades that best matched the carpet’s marshy theme.

The challenge of flooring the irregular shape of each of the four unique areas within Carey’s home presented the team with an opportunity to achieve custom solutions — the exact placement of each blue swamp-like “pond” was a highly meticulous and diligent feat, which the team was able to execute in a timely and thorough manner.

“Optimal performance and product longevity is the impetus for all of our designs and projects. We understand the custom process thoroughly and treat every project with care,” says Sharpley.

Office design

With the office, Carey and the Lyons team returned to TSAR as they were seeking a flooring partner who could provide a cohesive, durable and innovative design for its highly-trafficked lobby, library and four meeting rooms. Like Carey’s home, the team gravitated towards a hand-tufted solution due to its high-quality utility and material ability to produce stunning patterns.

“TSAR Carpets treats every custom project with care and detail. We were excited to once again partner with the team thanks to the company's incredible technical proficiency and emphasis on performance,” says Carey Lyon.

Originally the design brief called for a continuous rainbow appearance featuring more than 58 colours, but due to budget constraints TSAR and Lyons teams joined forces to find a happy solution that balanced aesthetics, budget and performance, ensuring Lyons received the most desirable product. In the end, the client was overjoyed with the final result: An original selection of energetic and colorful flooring compositions featuring a one-of-a-kind point of view.

“Comfort and connection don’t just belong in the home. I was thrilled to incorporate TSAR’s exquisite flooring into our office environment to provide our employees and visitors with a sense of optimism and day-to-day joy,” says Carey Lyon.

“Clients continue to work with us because we value performance and value, just as much as we appreciate the incorporation of bold colors, patterns, and forms,” says Sharpley.

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Introducing the Passage collection, celebrating the joy of seasons and the passing of time. Passage is a series of hand-tufted rug designs made in collaboration with architect and interior designer Brooke Aitken, Founder of Brooke Aitken Design. Inspired by a vivid dream about the passage of time, Brooke worked closely with TSAR Carpets to translate her vision and evocative sketches into six rug patterns - Day, Night, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.

The ebb and flow of time and the continual changing and passing of the seasons is reflected in the collections’ patterns and graphic lines, which inform a sense of movement and placemaking. The collection’s contemplative designs are enhanced by using rich colours, such as midnight blue and russet dawn red, further reflecting how natural light changes from day to night, season to season. Each pattern is available in two different colour options.

The collection will be sold exclusively at TSAR’s studios in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, and Shanghai.

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In the 30 years since it was founded, TSAR Carpets create holistic compositions that empower its wide range of clientele — from commercial, hospitality, and residential customers — to achieve a cohesive architectural expression from the ground up. For this reason TSAR was pleased to partner with Melbourne-based interior designers, Suede Interior Design, and Crystalbrook, one of Australia’s leading sustainable and innovative independent hospitality companies.

Located in Newcastle’s iconic Council Administration Centre, Crystalbrook Kingsley Hotel is a sophisticated 130-room five star hotel that features an energetic and considered aesthetic designed by the Suede team.

Suede Interior Design included hints and glimpses of birds, footprints, and feather motifs in the Crystalbrook Kingsley brand colours of yellow and charcoal to tell the story of Newcastle’s mining past – the canary free from its cage – immortalising the little bird in the timeless style of the hotel.

“Our aim was to create a design that not only reflected Newcastle, but something that would be culturally connected and relevant to its location. The use of curves and rhythm within the guest rooms and public interiors mimic and pay homage to the lines of the architecture of the building,” explained Clifford Rip. “The interiors, therefore, are both nostalgic and effervescent, the kind of design personality that is considered yet effortless in its sophistication.”

The design team tapped TSAR Carpets to provide luxurious, vibrant and eye-catching carpet that both matched the hotel’s yellow hue, as well as the contemporary and elegant mood within the hotel’s guest rooms, penthouse, corridors, lobby, meeting room, restaurant and lounge areas. TSAR employed the design Thirlmere with custom carving for the bedrooms; Habitat for the corridors; a custom design made in collaboration with Suede Interior Design in the Meeting Rooms; and Pinnacle for the Restaurant and Lounge areas.

“TSAR Carpets knows how to blend the story of both traditional and contemporary aesthetics, and we are impressed by their cutting-edge ability to translate a design into a high-quality textile that will stand the test of time,” says Clifford Rip, Founder and Principal at Suede Interior Design.

In total, TSAR customised more than 3,500 square metres of in-house designs applicable to individual room placement and based on each area’s needs, including performance and durability.

Given the building’s curved rooms and corridors (the building is known locally as the “Roundhouse”), aligning carpet and mirroring the Thirlmere pattern 8 different times to fit each of the 8 floors was a major objective.

Employing a carving technique to the custom, large-scale Axminster carpet for an added luxurious accent — as well as true textured feel and semblance — was also achieved, allowing a more budget-conscious, quantity-based product.

This process involves hand-shearing areas of the carpet's pile in order to create textures around design elements. This particular technique highlights and enhances areas of designs in Axminster — transforming one-dimensional perspectives to patterns that draw the eye across the carpet with ridges and valleys.

“TSAR is driven by the belief that good design goes far beyond aesthetics, which is why we have a reputation for the highest quality and outstanding performance,” says David Sharpely, TSAR Carpets CEO.

“We were pleased to partner with Clifford and his team, who we have worked with over the years. The client trusted us to know the right product to specify, ensuring quality and durability — and at a price point that was within budget. Our knowledge and understanding of carpet design and manufacturing led to a beautiful end product that we are quite proud of.”

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This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a textured and colourful carpet designs by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, TSAR Carpets.

The Sierra Collection is a series of broadloom wool-rich Axminster carpet designs inspired by mountainous terrains and desert landscapes. An exploration in woven process and natural textures, the collection’s patterns were derived from an array of experimental and labor-intensive hand, seersucker and jacquard weaving techniques, which were then digitally translated into broadloom Axminster carpet designs.

While keeping in line with TSAR’s signature use of bold and signature designs, the collection transforms the company’s vision for the future of hospitality, commercial and residential projects into paired-back contemporary statements teeming with topographical dimension.  Available since February 2021, the collection is sold exclusively at TSAR’s studios in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, and Shanghai.

A global industry leader in luxury custom-made carpets and rugs, Melbourne-based TSAR Carpets is pleased to introduce the new Forma Collection, an expansive series of high concept, hand-tufted floor coverings that set a new high-watermark in rug design and manufacturing techniques. Available from August 2021, the collection will be sold exclusively at TSAR’s studios in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, and Shanghai.

Featuring original, never-before-seen textures, colour combinations and inspired patterns, the collection explores the themes of energy and optimism — blurring the lines of applied design and fine art. The investigation of organic motifs; meticulous textures and fibre combinations; new layering techniques; and seamless gradient transitions by TSAR Carpets’ in-house team of talented designers has resulted in a mesmerising collection teeming with playful expression.

The collection was designed over the last twelve months during COVID-19 lockdown — a time in which each member of the design team found themselves going on solitary daily walks around their respective neighbourhoods. These moments of meditative excursion inspired the collection’s incorporation of natural textures and patterns, including cracked earth formations and moss growing on rocks. The design process provided a source of escapism during a dark and challenging time, which is evident in the collection’s use of dazzling and vibrant colours and exaggerated forms.

In addition to being the largest TSAR Carpets collection to date, Forma also represents the first time the company has employed refined fading techniques to achieve new gradients, as well as the first time TSAR has utilised ribbon yarn as a material to create sculptural rug dimensions. TSAR owns and controls the entire manufacturing process, which provides unparalleled control over quality and ensures each piece meets the most stringent of standards.

“Due to the success and popularity of our previous textural collections, including Saltwater and Lagoon, the team experimented with new construction and fade techniques to produce never before seen textures, patterns and fibre combinations that push the limits of virtuosic hand-tufted rug manufacturing,” says Ceberek.

TSAR Carpets partnered with Melbourne-based stylist and art director Nat Turnbull to bring the collection to life. Nat was able to visually capture the new and experimental textures that TSAR Carpets developed through captivating, energetic and highly stylised vignettes— reflective of the brand’s affinity for quality design.

Each incredibly durable rug found in the Collection is hand-tufted from the finest grade of 100% New Zealand wool, undyed wool, Tencel, ribbon yarn, and Lurex, which is a type of shiny, light-reflecting yarn that features metallic properties. Each design has gone through many rounds of sampling to achieve the intended outcome.

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Custom carpet and rug manufacturers TSAR Carpets worked in collaboration with Melbourne-based design firm GOLDEN on a residential luxury penthouse. This project consisted of installing approximately 30m2 of TSAR's award-winning Saltwater carpet in the living room of the Lake View Penthouse, a luxurious and sprawling lakeside penthouse built for a modern family.

Featuring a playful and layered scene of sand, sky and deep-sea creatures and corals, TSAR’s Saltwater carpet is meticulously hand-tufted using different pile heights, beveling, carving and various material methods. The curious mindset of TSAR’s in-house senior designer, Teresa Cerebek, allowed the brand to explore a variety of construction techniques, producing amusing details.

GOLDEN’s designers first discovered Saltwater during TSAR’s Melbourne Design Week X-MATERIALITY installation and instantly fell in love with the carpet’s high concept design and unique textural variation.

“Lake View Penthouse was designed to reflect the client’s urban lifestyle by bringing in rich tones, texture and personality,” says Alicia McKimm, GOLDEN Director. “In collaboration with TSAR, we designed a rug for the large living room that tactfully exemplifies the essence of the home. TSAR was able to work with GOLDEN to ensure every last yarn could be customised to tie all aspects of its surroundings together.”

By balancing aesthetics, budget and performance, all TSAR designs can be adapted for large hospitality, commercial and small residential projects. TSAR maintains total control over every step of manufacturing within its own production campus—including the dyeing of yarns from 100% New Zealand wool — thus ensuring complete consistency throughout the entire production cycle.

“We are so pleased that both GOLDEN and their clients are extremely satisfied with the Saltwater carpet installation as a standout design factor in the Lakeview Penthouse,” says David Sharpely, TSAR Carpets CEO. “The lively beauty and playful motifs found within Saltwater — combined with the carpet’s material strength and durability — make it the ideal choice for a residence of this calibre.”

In the 30 years since it was founded, TSAR Carpets create holistic compositions that empowers its wide range of clientele — from commercial, hospitality, and residential customers — to achieve a cohesive architectural expression from the ground up.

For the New York City headquarters of Equinox, the American luxury fitness company which operates several lifestyle brands, TSAR installed approximately 115m2 of custom-made hand-tufted carpet across highly-trafficked spaces, creating a modern and energetic atmosphere.

Architect: Kohn Pederson Fox
Interior Designer: Architecture + Information
Photography: Magda Biernat
Completion: 2019

TSAR’s work resonated with the client thanks to the company’s diverse product suite and unparalleled ability to create high-end custom designs that suit the needs of various customer specifications.

The goal of the project was to supply the client with TSAR’s high-quality and durable product offering, which is suitable across a range of spaces that serve a variety of functions including the headquarters' commercial and public spaces (café, lounge and receptions), as well as private-facing office areas (c- suites and the Executive Lounge) that required high-density carpet to withstand traffic and caster chairs.

Another client requirement was supplying a bespoke product that matched and complemented the furniture, fixtures, and equipment in each designated environment, particularly custom colour-matching. In presenting material boards featuring custom samples and design plates that were visually in line with each distinct space, TSAR was able to work directly with the client to maintain aesthetic consistency from room-to-room, meeting the design needs of the client.

While the world spent the past six months figuring out how to cope with COVID-19’s “new reality,” TSAR Carpets’ Melbourne-based Head Designer, Ross Cleland, channelled his creative exploration into a series of soothing and biophilic floor covering designs. For its new Fall 2020 product launch, TSAR is pleased to release The Retreat Collection - available exclusively at the company’s studios in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, and Shanghai.

“The word ‘retreat’ connotes withdrawal and seclusion from it all,” said Cleland. “I found my retreat in the countryside with my family to be quite the opposite. The river next to our house was the source of my renewed artistic vigour despite everything that’s going on in the world - and challenged me to try out new colours, patterns, and techniques. The end results are carpet designs flowing with positive, wholesome energy. I am so proud to introduce The Retreat Collection of Axminster carpet designs to the world, especially during these precarious collective circumstances in which we find ourselves.”

The Retreat Collection started out as an investigation of fluid mechanics in the art studio—a sort of trial-and-error experiment with inks on paper and air propulsion from a hand dryer. Cleland played with particular blues and greys, and then added more vibrant colours such as reds, yellows, purples, and greens. He ended up with a series of free-flowing textures that give the collection a freeform, unstructured quality. Using natural bodies of water as an inspiration and art as the means, Cleland transcended two-dimensional surfaces into modern architectural complements. While the Retreat Collection’s design vocabulary was initially developed in a series of hand-crafted moments within the artist’s studio, TSAR’s Retreat Collection distils moments of serendipitous ephemerality into a range of carpet designs that are balanced with a marked timelessness and a purposeful approach.

Melbourne-based and SBID Accredited design brand TSAR Carpets, a leading global manufacturer of luxury custom floor coverings for residential, hospitality, and commercial environments, announced the opening of its new London studio on 28 September 2020. Situated in the Parsons Green district of Fulham, South West London, the studio will serve as TSAR’s UK, European and Middle Eastern base of operations that not only exhibits a comprehensive selection of TSAR carpet and rug product lines, but also serves as a destination for innovative ideas and creative project collaborations with designers and architects.

“We are thrilled to expand our global presence with a new London showroom,” said David Sharpley, CEO and Co-Founder of TSAR Carpets. “TSAR’s product and service commitments will be brought to our residential and commercial trade clients in the UK, Continental Europe, and Middle East territories.”

Joining the TSAR Carpets UK business development team are veterans in the architecture and design industry, Mike Constable and Carly-Anne Fitzgerald. Mike Constable is the Director for TSAR Carpets UK and has worked within the London and UK interior design market for over 20 years and will be a familiar face to many. Following his time with Silent Gliss and Robert Allen, Constable spent 12 years with JAB Anstoetz as UK MD. Carly-Anne Fitzgerald, who is the Business Development Manager and Design Associate for TSAR Carpets UK, has experience in both lighting and furniture design as well as prior experience with carpet, having worked with UK and international manufacturers.

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