As we enter a new decade 2020, it's a fresh start, like the dawn of a new day.

Inspired by the colours of day break, Dulux has announced Tranquil Dawn as its Colour of the Year for 2020.

Chosen by a panel of experts the colour exudes calmness and beautifully adapts itself depending on its surroundings and the scheme it's paired with due to its grey, green and blue hues.

Brinton’s grey carpets complement it perfectly to create a serene space where you can leave the hustle and bustle of the outside world at the front door. Sit back, relax, kick off your shoes and enjoy the calmness. Brintons Bell Twist, Moonstone, works as a lovely neutral in any room in the home. Add accents of earthy, powdered greens and cool mint tones to create a light, airy and tranquil scheme in which to relax.

Experiment with natural texture by adding house plants alongside the green hues, which will bring a sense of nature and the outside into the space.

Combining and layering subtle textures in grey tones create beautiful, understated and sophisticated schemes. Choose Brinton’s Perpetual Textures, Layered Herringbone to add a subtle pattern to a scheme or pair it with rich textures like velvet, to add a touch of luxury.

We caught up with Jakki Jones to find out about why a Brintons carpet was the perfect choice.

Q1. Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Jakki Jones, I work full time in Entertainment, where I head up the Talent and Influencer Department at PMK*BNC. I have a little stationery business on the side (Jakkidoodles), I’m married and have 2 step daughters Bootsy (14) and Misty (12) and a little girl called Riley (3). We live in London.

Q2. What was the inspiration for this room?

I love colour – and anything untraditional. I first came across the wallpaper, which I thought was vibrant design and full of colour. It was playful and dreamlike – perfect for a child’s bedroom. At the time, the carpet in our new house was cream – which was not ideal for a 3-year-old, and, for me – too safe. Also bearing in mind it’s a difficult colour practically speaking with a young child.

Q3. What appealed about this particular carpet?

Again, it was the colour and the pattern. I’ve always loved bold prints and designs. Tartan prints are a real favourite. When we got married in Ireland – I remember the tartan theme being very fresh in my mind; it takes me back to a beautiful memory – plus my folks are from Ireland.

Q4. What home accessory could you not live without?

As well as Carpets – I always find a good light. We have recently bought a beautiful chandelier by Timothy Oulten and it's exquisite. It’s completely changed the room – and added a real luxe, yet very delicate chic feel and added deep texture to a big open space / what was a blank canvas. Making it feel more intimate and romantic overall. I also love a good throw on the sofa – to add texture – and to cosy up to in the evening.

Q5. Is there a restaurant or hotel whose design you particularly like/admire and inspires your own personal style?

I love Kit Kemp’s work for the Firmdale group, I love the colours she uses– Also Soho House – for beautiful, modern practical living spaces. I like the fact that the style is laid back and lived in, yet welcoming. Finally Matthew Williamson's interiors are right up my straße, rich in colour, texture and always with beautiful design.

The Birmingham City University (BCU) textile students showcase is the culmination of three years of study from their graduating students. The work on display is very diverse and highly individual, from concept to actualisation, representing the future career aspirations and developed aesthetic of the students.

BCU invited our Commercial Marketing Manager, Sarah Draper and Creative Designers, Kay Jones and Jane Bradley-Bain to the School of Fashion and Textiles Graduate Show and asked us to award a prize for Design Innovation.

The team selected Isobel Smith, BA (Hons) Textile Design (Constructed Textiles) work. The project was titled 'Considering Simplicity'.

Taking inspiration from yoga and meditative practices Isobel created a cohesive collection of surface explorations that included solid and grounding materials which allows potential for people to slow down and form balance in their surroundings.

Image left: Isobel Smith's work/display

Image right: (l to r) Kay Jones, Jane Bradley-Bain, Isobel Smith, Sarah Draper

As LL cool J once said.... “Don't call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years”.

Thank goodness carpet has made its comeback! I like rooms to feel a little ‘edgy’, I like intense colours, contrasting textures (lacquer, parchment, raffia) and my preferred scale is oversized.

Although opulence is out of fashion , ‘the new luxury’ is all about craft techniques and tactile immediacy, using contrasting materials. Cleverly combined materials, creatively implemented ideas and simple opulence form a new kind of glamour. Colour blocking and geometric patterns have also been huge recently.

I love these in the new Brintons Perpetual Textures collection. While a piece of art or furniture normally serves as the focal point of a room, I have found that what sits underneath them makes just as much of a statement.

By adding a geometric or patterned design, you instantly make the staircase a focal point. If I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for then I’m well known for torturing my poor carpet fitters by cutting up rugs or different offcuts of patterned carpet and placing a different piece and design on each individual stair…it's time consuming but the effect is stunning.

I also like to give a nod to the spirit of the Mods by using graphic black and white striped carpets.

The wool from 1 in 9 British Sheep ends up in a Brintons carpet  - Source British Wool

Wool carpets are known for their quality because wool is naturally tough, giving you luxury that lasts for longer.

British Wool tells us the science behind this amazing fibre.

Wool is an incredibly complex natural fibre, which means natural attributes that plastic fibres just can’t match. Wool has a left and right handed helix at its core, which works likes a spring, meaning it can continuously resist pressure and flattening. It can be bent many thousands of times and still spring back! And this is why British wool is such a great fibre in carpets.

Wool’s natural oils and scaled structure trap dust and dirt at the top layers of the fibre, so it couldn’t be easier to keep clean with a quick vacuum around! The scales on wool are another amazing feature - they cause liquids to bead up and stay on the surface, helping to keep wool stain free. So if you’re quick, that red wine won’t leave a single mark!

Wool is grown naturally on sheep. They live on and from the land, roaming freely in the countryside, and re-grow their fleece every year. This is in direct contrast to synthetic fibres, which need oil and refineries to be produced. Sheep grow wool continuously, and can be shorn every 9-12 months, meaning wool is rapidly and readily available. As long as there is grass for sheep to eat, wool can be produced.

Wool contributes to healthier air indoors by helping to absorb pollutants, like VOC’s, from the air. Allergens, such as dust, are also trapped in the outer scales at the top layer of the fibre, so instead of floating around and aggravating allergies, they can simply be vacuumed away.

Interested in finding out more?

Follow @BritishWool on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Not everyone is brave enough to endure such a bold striking pattern in their house but Ruth Crilly from 'A Model Recommends' fell in love with our Timorous Beasties range as soon as she saw it. We chat with her about it...

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Ruth Crilly, I’m a full-time beauty and lifestyle writer and vlogger under the name “A Model Recommends”. I’ve been blogging for over eight years and before that I was an international fashion model for over a decade. I’ve been with my husband, who’s a fashion and portrait photographer, for fifteen years and I’m now a Mum to a three year old girl and one year old boy. We live in rural Somerset with our dog and house cat in a Georgian country house.

What was the inspiration for this room? Have you had to adapt your personal style and design choices to be sympathetic to the period of property you are in?

Well, it’s still very much a blank canvas really – the carpet does all the talking and so I’m working out what will showcase it and not fight for attention. I love that the room has so many gorgeous architectural features so it really doesn’t need a lot else – I want it to feel smart but cosy, elegant but lived-in. The piano will stay here and the books are all moving in, so it’s a matter of finding the right seating. My husband has to constantly remind me that it’s a family home and not a magazine spread so we have little to-dos about my furniture choices and I like to do the same about his choices, so I imagine we’ll still be deciding next year! At least the carpet is incredible – we like to come in and sit on the floor!!

What appealed about the Noir Ruskin Butterfly design?

It’s just magical. Like an illustration from a story book. But a dark one. There’s something very enticing and provocative about the colours and the design and although it’s a massive statement, it makes the room feel very comfortable and less formal and straight than it did before.

How have you found decorating the rest of the room given the carpet makes such a strong statement.

Still working on that one – I think that with a pattern as strong as this, you start with the carpet and put in your furniture and then decorate last. If you’ve got a neutral carpet then it’s not so much of a consideration but with a strong pattern I think that you need to keep everything else quite subdued. In a way it’s far less work! Though I’d like the walls to be a warmer tone, now, so I can see that they’ll get a repaint at some point. I’ll keep you updated!

What home accessory could you not live without?

Apart from carpet? Mirrors. I love how they can completely change a room – bounce light around, increase the sense of space, add interest to a previously boring wall…

Is there a restaurant or hotel whose design you particularly like/admire?

Yes, there's a hotel in Surrey called The Aviator and it’s next to a private airfield so you watch the planes taking off and landing through the triple-glazed, sound-proofed windows. It’s very modern, very smart and has some incredible design features, like the main staircase. I think that hotel greatly influenced our last renovation, actually. I suppose I should think of hotels that I’ve drawn inspiration from for our Georgian house; I like the comfortable style at Babington, I love the pictures that people take of the Artist Residence hotels, the Endsleigh in Devon is beautiful… I have to say though that my friend Miles has the most incredible house in Cheltenham and his taste is impeccable, so every time he posts an Instagram photo I zoom in to see how he’s decorated!