NEW YORK–Milliken has opened the doors to its new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified showroom here, another step in the environmentally friendly business plan that has long been the company’s mantra. The space covers the company’s full carpet assortment, incorporating product, in dedicated spaces, from its residential, contract and hospitality businesses.
The new showroom was designed by Q Studio and has already been registered for LEED 2.0 certification. But that’s not enough, according to Kaye Gosline, creative director for Milliken, who said the company is “going for gold status, which we have in Chicago.”
Gosline said being “green” is not just something Milliken has picked up on since it became a mainstream aspiration. “We would have done what we did regardless of LEED,” she said. “We’ve been quietly doing the right thing for years.”
In addition to new elements that meet LEED’s stringent eco-friendly standards, Milliken has reclaimed pieces of its own past and incorporated them throughout the new space. For example, the paneling surrounding the elevator bank helms from its previous office space in New York, as do a credenza, chairs for a meeting table that have been reupholstered and a wall clock in the cafe area. The idea, Gosline said, was to show the synergy between products old and new and prove that updating doesn’t have to mean buying everything new.
Despite such reclaimed items, many of which come from the 1950s and 1960s, the showroom’s feel is, in fact, very modern. Clean lines and open, yet independent spaces work to create both flow and a sense of individual spaces for each product category.
“We wanted a space that was very clean and didn’t have that carpetbagger feel that some showrooms do,” Gosline told HFN.
One new feature found in each of the three main areas are tables designed for the showroom that incorporate the company’s modular carpet tiles and/or broadloom samples. Gosline said the even greater appeal of the tables is the fact the tiles can be changed out, allowing Milliken to customize its space for each individual client meeting. — Jennifer Quail
