Habidecor enters the kitchen

By Cecile B. Corral -- Home Textiles Today, 4/19/2004 12:00:00 AM

WINDSOR, N.J. —

High-end bath rug supplier Habidecor this past New York Home Textiles Market made its first entry into the kitchen, introducing a small collection of 100 percent acrylic rugs, featuring kitchen and cooking motifs.

"We saw this as a new opportunity and a new market to capture," said Steven Drew, director of design, marketing and retail development. "We had some requests over the last couple of years to do kitchen rugs, so we started out with this small collection and, fortunately, we've had a wonderful immediate response."

Because it comprises rugs made of acrylic, Habidecor's kitchen collection hits a slightly lower price point than the company's luxury bath and accent rugs — which are made of linen, silk and other natural fibers, and retail for about $80 and higher. The kitchen rugs — which are made in Portugal, are machine-washable and measure 23-by-35 inches — are set to retail for $70.

"We made our first test in cotton and acrylic and found the acrylic to be better because it has a much nicer registration of the designs," Drew said. "All the designs are woven into the rugs."

For the launch, Habidecor created seven kitchen rug designs.

Eats, an image of a fork and spoon, comes in anthracite gray, light gray and white. Plat comes in anthracite gray and white and boasts pots and pans. Within a group of Provence-inspired rugs is Garden, which is available in two variations — yellow with dark green and light green trellis or yellow with blue and yellow ocher trellis. Golden is a bold fruit still life in yellow, white and two shades of green. Olive is made up of a light and dark green olive border on a yellow mat. Rooster is a bright multi-colored rug in yellow, light green, yellow ocher and blue. And Tea is a rug consisting of a teapot in white, light and dark blue.