Thanks to Shaw Floors for sponsoring this post! All photos, opinions, and words are mine unless otherwise noted.
I’m so excited to share today’s post with you because I know how much you all appreciate beauty and design–and today’s post is chock full of BOTH! Most of you know that I recently returned from my beloved Haven Conference in Atlanta, but unless you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you might not know that before the conference I visited Barnsley Gardens and Shaw Floors headquarters. Oh.my.WORD! Talk about an inspirational experience. The beauty of Barnsley Gardens combined with the design inspiration of Shaw Floors was almost too much for my style-loving heart to take! 😍😍😍Let me start at the beginning. A few months ago, I was asked if I’d like to partner with Shaw Floors, the world’s leading floorcovering provider. They asked if I’d be interested in joining their Style Board which is comprised of a group of bloggers who believe that you don’t have to sacrifice style or durability in your design choices. You guys know that I am a firm believer in finding affordable beauty that fits your lifestyle and budget, so this was a no brainer! Of course I’d love to be part of Shaw Floors’ Style Board! Shaw invited all the bloggers on the Style Board to Barnsley Gardens and schooled us on style trends and flooring product design.
It was fascinating to meet with Shaw’s Color, Style and Design Team to learn about the style and design trends Shaw Floors is tracking. Some of these trends are top-secret, so I can’t share them all but here is a peek at the trend called “Quest for Silence”. This one was my favorite!
Barnsley Gardens
The resort we stayed at is a beautiful, small luxury resort filled with craftsman style cottages and traditional decor. I was able to catch a 6am flight and arrived early to the resort–giving me plenty of time to explore! Barnsley Gardens is a hotspot for weddings and the cute building below is frequently used as a wedding chapel and reception hall.
The barnwood interior and exposed beams were completely swoonworthy!
The entire resort is filled with storybook charm! Each cottage was cuter than the next.
In the evenings you can stop by the lobby to pick up a s’mores kit and roast marshmallows around these firepits.
I even had time to take a dip in the pool and enjoy the gorgeous weather before our meeting!
My cottage at Barnsley was adorable. I gave a tour of it on Instagram Stories but only snapped a few pictures of the bathroom to show you on the blog. I loved the clawfoot tub and thought you might appreciate it as well. Matt & I had a clawfoot tub in our first home, and I miss it so much!
Shaw Style Board Dinner at The Ruins
On our first evening together, Shaw treated the Style Board to a gorgeous dinner at The Ruins at Barnsley Gardens. The Ruins are the remains of the original owner’s manor and are hauntingly beautiful. As someone who adores attention to detail, I loved that Shaw had several of their customizable Cut a Rug area rugs on display and served hors d’oeuvres on planks of flooring! I took some beautiful pictures, so I’ll stop jabbering for a bit and allow you to take in the beauty with me.
As a stylist and decorator, I’m often asked where I glean my inspiration from. “Everywhere” seems like such a cop out answer, but it’s the truth. The color palette on this brick wall is the perfect example of finding inspiration in nature. I would love to design a room using this pic I snapped as inspiration!
As you can see, designers think alike! I wasn’t the only one admiring that mossy brick wall. 😉
I’m not sure who the florist was for this event, but they did an AMAZING job! The color palette and flower choice was perfection.
Here are some of the bloggers on Shaw’s Style Board. Not pictured is Roeshel from DIY Show Off, Amy from The Blissful Bee, and Rhoda from Southern Hospitality.
After cocktails it was time for dinner, and I about passed out from the beauty–not the cocktails. 😉 It was like walking into a staged Pinterest picture! The sun was setting and it just could not have been more beautiful.
Our placemats, menu cards, and place cards were all created on samples of Shaw flooring. The table runner was made from Shaw carpet. Creativity is always in the details and I appreciated each and every one of them!
After dinner, we listened to a Barnsley Gardens historian explain the history of Barnsley. It’s a fascinating place, and I’d love the opportunity to visit again with my family.
What an enchanted evening! It was such a relaxing way to get to know the people behind Shaw Floors.
Shaw Floors Design Center Tour
The next day we rose bright and early to tour Shaw Floors Design Center and learn about the new products and styles that Shaw is bringing to market. We got to see firsthand how Shaw moves from inspiration, to development, to manufacturing. There were plaques everywhere stating that cameras were forbidden, so I didn’t snap many of my own pics on this day. In the picture below, we are learning how laminate and vinyl flooring is made to look like real wood.
Seeing firsthand how hard Shaw Floors works to create beautiful, innovative, and durable flooring was inspiring. I came away with a whole new appreciation for flooring and especially carpet! I’m admittedly not a carpet lover and am more of an all-hardwood girl, but this trip may have swayed me to the carpet side!
Shaw Floors Waterproof Flooring
Shaw offers several waterproof flooring options and we got to test them out for ourselves!
Shaw Floors Life Happens carpet line is treated with R2X Stain & Soil Resistance that keeps spills from setting in. It also has a waterproof backing called LifeGuard. It was truly amazing! We felt like we were witnessing a magic trick.
We also witnessed what happens when spills happen on untreated carpet and how it’s pretty much impossible to get stains, spills, and soils out of your carpet padding and subfloor. If you’re a dog owner with carpet, or a mom with milk sippy cup spills, then you know exactly what I’m talking about! A humid or damp day will release embarrassing odors from your floors that you know you cleaned. The Life Happens line prevents this!
Testing Shaw Floors waterproof carpet for ourselves was fun!
If carpet isn’t your thing, then check out Floorte’–a waterproof luxury vinyl flooring that seems easy enough for any DIY’er to install. It snaps together creating a leak-tight bond. This flooring is ideal for a basement, mudroom, bathroom, or kids playroom!
Shaw Floors at Haven Conference
After the tour, it was time for me to head to the Haven Conference! It was fun to see Shaw’s booth at Haven and see some of the flooring options that they offer at Home Depot. Shaw took a chance on sponsoring Haven during our inaugural year when we really didn’t know what we were doing, and they’ve been a faithful Haven sponsor every year since.
The flooring closest to the fluffy rug are engineered hardwood flooring options available at Home Depot. The other two rows of flooring are waterproof vinyl plank flooring. Prices listed on vinyl flooring are per case. Prices will vary store to store.
A few years ago, my kids burnt a large hole in their carpet by placing a lizard’s heat lamp on the carpet. It will need to be replaced and I’ll be working with Shaw Floors to explore replacement options! I’ll of course be taking you along on my flooring journey so stay tuned for that!
Big thanks to Shaw Floors for inviting me to be a part of their Style Board and allowing me to report back to you on what’s new in flooring in 2016! You can see more videos from our event and learn more about flooring options by following Shaw on Facebook, Instagram, Houzz, Pinterest, and YouTube.
Kim @ Sand & Sisal says
Oh…. my…. gorgeousness! What a dreamy place! I’m so impressed with Shaw’s tablescape creativity! Very apropos! I’m so happy you had such a magical event. The Shaw flooring was very impressive at Haven! I need that fluffy rug!