By
Rebecca Gibson |
When Cunard carried out an extensive refurbishment on Queen Elizabeth in winter 2018, it enlisted the help of UK-based Ulster Carpets to provide 45,000 square metres of luxury Axminster carpets.
Ulster Carpets, which manufactured carpets for Queen Mary 2 in 2016 and Queen Victoria in 2017, worked with Alan McVitty from London-based M Studio Design and Cunard’s director of Hotel Design Alison Clixby to create carpets that would reflect the ship’s Art Deco heritage and also fit with the modern interior furnishings and colour schemes.
Carpet designs that were previously used on Queen Mary and Queen Victoria have been referenced in places, but recoloured and modified to meet the brief for Queen Elizabeth. Other areas on the ship feature new contemporised, sharply delineated Art Deco geometrics and natural forms in golds, deep blues, stone-grey neutrals and terracottas. Highlights include the large scroll and strapwork compass that has been created as a signature emblem on the carpet at Cunard Place, which is the main embarkation point, and the Queens Room ballroom.
All carpets were solely produced in the UK. The yarns were spun at Ulster Yarns in Dewsbury, weaving took place at the company’s headquarters in Portadown, Northern Ireland and at Griffith Textile Machines, its manufacturing and engineering facility located in the north-east of England.