by Beth Herman

Though most of us don’t have a significant other who (ahem) bids us to sleep on a bed of roses, or lays a carpet of the world’s most romantic flora at our feet (personally, I like the Sterling kind but yellow roses will do), 2013′s carpet colors and patterns clearly replicate horticulture’s – and nature’s – heartened hues.

With its proliferation of blue/greens, woodside neutrals, vibrant reds, robust rusts, and lots more, this year’s color trends pique the palette, so to speak, running the gamut from a Grand Canyonesque sunset to environmental hues like stone, rose quartz and moss green.

According to Atlas Carpet Mills rep Claire Coolidge, who focuses on D.C., NOVA and Maryland, because the company is West Coast-based and fashion-forward in its program, rich colors and patterns are key.

“On the corporate side, the trend had been very neutral with people typically wanting to use greys, blacks and linear, monotone patterns,” she said, maintaining Atlas also abundantly supports its users in that respect. “But now I’m starting to see corporate customers use a pop of color here and there.” Where hospitality and retail industries and multifamily housing are concerned, Coolidge said people are not afraid to use color more liberally to begin with.

On the other side, while residential GPS’s lead more toward flooring and particularly hardwood floors, Coolidge said carpeting creates a much warmer, more inviting feel than a solid surface. “You also have the opportunity to add your personality to your project with carpet (and color),” she affirmed, with carpeting used as an accent or focal point.

For durability, the trend in carpet tiles facilitates changing out one or two casualties, if necessary, and of course carpeting in general diffuses sound, Coolidge reminds us.

In fiber manufacturing leader Antron’s 2013 global carpet forecast, with hybrid colors such as Echo Blur – a “healing palette with golden yellows and chalkier greens,” and Urban Valley, which “brings the simple happiness of childhood into an urban context with a natural palette (blue; orange; earth tones),” beholders have the opportunity to “travel” beyond the confines of the office or living room of the carpet’s genesis.

According to experts, an economic trend in staying put, staying in and making the most of the homes we own has resulted in a cocooning of sorts. Bedrooms and family spaces become softer, more comfortable, durable spaces featuring highly textured twist or mixed cut-and-loop piles. These produce spaces that are as tactile as they are aesthetically stimulating – along with objectives like flecks of color in a neutral carpet (works to conceal soil if you don’t vacuum as often as you brush your teeth!), or organic patterns such as flowers, leaves and trees which also serve to camouflage dirt, wear and even vacuum tracks.

In 2013, color is emerging in inventive ways. These include mega-cut piles that reveal a contrasting tone in the center and stripling, where various colors and textures are woven together in a single yarn. With carpeting as colorful canvas, art is no longer relegated to walls or furnishings.