Swedish firm Note Design Studio found unexpected applications for Tarkett flooring when overhauling the manufacturer’s Stockholm showroom, using it to clad everything from a kitchen to a sunken conversation pit.
Unveiled as part of Stockholm Design Week, the Tarkett Ateljé in Södermalm was designed to show off the company’s entire material palette and act as a kind of walk-in sample book, allowing designers and architects to see how the different surfaces interact.
“We wanted to celebrate the craftsmanship of installing flooring,” said Johanna Strömberg, marketing manager of Tarkett Sweden.
“You never launch a chair, for example, without talking about the craftsmanship of the carpenter. But we don’t talk about the craftsmanship in installing flooring that much.”
A circular conversation pit for hosting talks and seminars sits at the heart of the space. Mustard-yellow carpet tiles cover both its steps and upholstered seat cushions, with piping added to bring out the textile qualities of the flooring.
Laying crisp, tidy edges for the stepped seating was perhaps the most difficult project Tarkett‘s carpet fitters had ever worked on, according to Strömberg.
“Everything they’ve done here [was] a little bit of a challenge for them but they always make it a good execution,” added Note Design Studio interior architect Charlotte Ackemar.
A wall curves around the sunken lounge, with one side featuring a grid of interchangeable 50-by-50 centimetre tiles that Tarkett can use to display its new launches.
A larger selection of samples is displayed on shelves on the opposite wall, creating what Note Design Studio describes as a “kind of wardrobe space” where architects and designers can try out different materials.
“We had this thought that, as architects, we always do mood boards layering different materials on top of each other, creating nice meetings between different colours and textures,” Ackemar told journalists on a tour of the space.
“So we’ve been seeing this showroom as a big palette,” she added. “We’re basically standing in a big palette of Tarkett materials.”
Facing the storefront, the other side of the curved wall accommodates a small kitchen, where all the counters and cabinets are finished in speckled red vinyl flooring.
A baby blue version of the material was also used to form a monolithic bench and counter surrounding the conversation pit and a long table in the adjacent meeting room, where wooden planks are laid into a chequerboard pattern across the floor.
Muted greyish-green vinyl was used to clad both floors and walls throughout the rest of the space, drawing the eye to the different functional zones picked out through brighter colours.
Near the entrance, Note Design Studio created a trio of display areas set into a corrugated wall, allowing Tarkett to demonstrate the full lifecycle of its three “closed loop” materials – vinyl, carpet and linoleum.
“Being a flooring company, the surface you walk on requires quite a lot of creativity to create a showroom where you actually want to visit and can be inspired as an architect or customer,” Strömberg said.
“I think this showroom has really become a beautiful example of what you can do with flooring materials.”
Note Design Studio has been a frequent collaborator of Tarkett’s over the years, having designed the original fit-out of the Stockholm showroom in 2021 and created fair stands and installations for the brand at various design weeks.
Stockholm Design Week 2025 took place at various locations around the city from 3 to 9 February. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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