Director of Adrienne Chinn Design Company Limited Adrienne Chinn remarked that the emerging trends for home decor at present include a shift in the favoured style of floor coverings.

She remarked: "People are starting to look at wall-to-wall carpets again which has not been a trend at all for about 15 years."

In addition to this, many firms are offering tailor-made carpets designed to fit the requirements of each individual householder.

This move is taking place alongside a growing desire for more colour around the home after the more austere interiors of recent years, when the "hotel look" was in vogue.

One good reason to have more carpets may be the insulating qualities of the items.

In a feature on the subject last week, Northjersey.com noted research by the Johns Manville Technical Centre Thermal Labs, which recently revealed that carpets have 17 times the insulating power of other floor coverings.

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Organisers of the Domotex flooring expo in the emirate in May have stated that the 2007 green regulations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s "Estidama" programme – which means "sustainability" in English – will see a greater concentration on this theme, albawaba.com reported.

The news provider said the standards carpet makers will have to meet will be based on the LEED system devised by the US Green Building Council.

Commenting on the development, managing director of the Deutsche Messe Dubai Branch Angela Schaschen said: "The availability of new materials and advanced technology has greatly contributed in encouraging suppliers to expand their portfolio and offer eco-friendly, recyclable carpets and floor coverings."

In Britain last week, the Ecologist magazine said homeowners should choose a wool carpet with no added harmful chemicals to help create the most friendly environment in the home.

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The CityFlats Hotel has the floors in all but one of the rooms, which owner Charles Reid explained helps create better air quality indoors and also means they can be cleaned in a more eco-friendly way, the Holland Sentinel reports.

Other features of the hotel – which has gold LEED status – include various measures to save energy and use less water, such as vegeatble-based soap in biodegradable containers and the use of a vinegar and water mixture to clean windows and mirrors.

Mr Reid noted that he spends 70 per cent of his first meetings with clients explaining the green philosophy behind the building.

A similar hotel exists in the city of Bend in Oregon, as reported on by the Bend Bulletin last month.

In addition to cork floors and organic soap, the Oxford Hotel in the downtown area also uses recycled wood for fixtures and fittings, alongside various water and energy-saving devices.

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In a property article, the Aberdeen Press and Journal said of the ground floor flat: "The well-proportioned lounge is decorated in soft tones complemented by natural wood flooring and a bay window overlooking the front of the property."

The home, which is for sale at a price of £132,000, also includes access to communal areas that are carpeted.

Such features come alongside gas central heating and double glazing for the flat, which is in a three-storey building on Holburn Street in the south-west of the city.

The beauty of wood flooring is that it remains in fashion for a long time in a way that other materials do not, it was claimed this week.

An article in the Denbighshire Free Press stated: "Every wooden floor has its own individual character and a beauty that never dates."

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Researchers at the University of York led by James Clark have developed a new kind of starch-based adhesive that is easy to remove from carpet fibres, meaning the material can be re-used, rsc.co.uk reports.

Previously, carpets could not be re-used because of the latex adhesives that were used in them that could not be removed.

The York team overcame a previous problem with starch adhesives of being unable to withstand exposure to water when it acetylated the corn starch to make it insoluble.

Such a measure could make carpet greener in future as more of it will be able to be recycled at the end of its working life.

Last month, carpet maker Shaw Industries revealed that it had reached a total of 250 million lbs of the material recycled each year, ahead of its target, the Anderson Independent Mail reported.

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The apartment – located in the Grandholm Village development near the site of the mill where the famous Crombie Coats were once made – has maple wood flooring throughout, the Press and Journal reports.

It includes a master bedroom with en-suite facilities and two smaller rooms, a lounge, a dining kitchen and a bathroom.

The residence, which was described by the paper as being "in excellent condition with tasteful decoration", is available for £1,100 a month and has been noted to be handily placed for those wishing to be close to the city centre.

Last month, the same paper noted the cherry hardwood flooring in a hall that was up for sale in the Aberdeenshire countryside.

The material was present in the grand reception area of the building, alongside a number of oak features around the residence, such as the stairs and some doors.

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The residence, which is located in the Glen Park area of Toronto, has the material in its flooring in the living room and dining room, the National Post notes.

It also has a family room, master bedroom, three smaller bedrooms, a basement office, three bathrooms, a renovated eat-in kitchen and an extension.

Made of brick, it also comes with a new roof and a two-year-old boiler.

On the market for 14 days, it sold for CAD$660,000 (£393,000), CAD$9,000 less than its asking price.

The home is not the only Toronto residence with hardwood flooring to be successfully sold recently.

Last week, the same publication revealed that a home in the Chairlea area with the material in its living and dining rooms had been bought for CAD $425,000 – CAD$2,000 below the asking price – after just two viewings.

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Organisers of the forthcoming Domotex Middle East 2010 expo in Dubai had identified the country as still being a key area for flooring and interior design traders, with business in the sector being worth $22 billion (£14 billion) in 2009-10, Al Bawaba noted.

The news provider stated that the event, which will take place from May 10th-12th, will feature not just handmade and machine-manufactured carpets, but also a number of other flooring types, including wood and laminate.

Managing director of the Deutsche Messe Dubai Branch Angela Schaschen said that demand for carpets and other floors in the region is "increasing".

The show may feature a number of new carpet innovations, something that one German company is pushing ahead with.

Bayer MaterialScience recently awarded a manufacturing contract to make its pure Moss carpets to Kymo, a Karlsruhe-based manufacturer.

The surfaces are springy and compressed when walked on, giving the feel of natural moss.

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PR company Cork Tree Creative has set up a recycling scheme in the area around St Louis, Montana, which it believes is one of only three of its kind in the US, the Telegraph reports.

The firm’s principal Laura Reed stated that the other two are in California and Pennsylvania.

The Rewind Your Wine scheme – which has seen Cork Tree Creative collaborating with recycling company Yemm & Hart – takes corks and re-uses them for various uses, including cork flooring tiles.

President of Yemm & Hart Stephen Yemm said: "The wine cork tiles we are developing from the corks will extend the life of the already harvested corks for decades as flooring and wall covering."

Cork flooring products were among the best items seen at this month’s Surfaces 2010 show in Las Vegas, according to Builder Magazine’s review of the event.

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Adrienne Chinn of Adrienne Chinn designs suggested that there are many ways householders can brighten up their houses to bring a bit of cheer after all the recent economic gloom.

She said: "A new rug to put on the floor, a throw, little vases that you can pick up anywhere – just bring in that fresh bit of colour."

Those looking to go further may wish to add a whole new carpet in bright colours.

Ms Chinn advised that if colours are very bright they should be used in small quantities to avoid becoming "overwhelming", suggesting that instead people can use these sparingly to create a few "zippy accents".

The advice of Ms Chinn contrasts with the recent suggestion of interior designer Carolyn Trevor, who suggested that a combination of contrasting dark and light shades will be the in-vogue theme for home decor in 2010.

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