Vinyl Flooring Inspired by The Shining’s Carpet

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Like our previous dive into movie and film influenced flooring designs – Twin Peaks’ chevron flooring – this post sees us soaking up inspiration from a truly iconic carpet pattern.
All the way from the Overlook Hotel, we get creative with the carpet from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

If you’ve ever seen the film (and if not…why not??) then The Shining’s carpet stands out as a screen classic. It’s as much a part of the movie as Jack Nicholson or Scatman Crothers.
Somewhere deep within its seventies colours and geometric design, there’s the same dark sense of foreboding that fits right in with Kubrick’s uncomfortable vision.

Information on the whys and hows including the possible reasons the pattern was picked by Stanley Kubrick is here and a fascinating insight into the movie here.
I do love a good conspiracy complete with all the trimmings and backstory!
From the information found on the internet, there are no notes anywhere from the production team, Kubrick’s archivists or anyone close to the preparation of The Shining as to where the carpet was sourced from.
It was only after some digging that the original designer appears to be David Hicks, an interior and fashion designer who begin creating bold and dramatic patterned carpets in the 1960s. The ‘Hicks Hexagon’, his design was either bought off the shelf and unrolled back at the Overlook, or it was a copy made specifically for the movie.
Either way, we can see exactly why it was selected as it sure adds a spooky statement to those long hotel corridors!

Kubrick’s Carpet & Other Icons

I can’t believe for a moment there were many elements Kubrick selected that were unintentional or without a deep-rooted reason.

The Shining is no different with it being so full of visual clues. Clues that have been, (and will continue to be), dissected by fans and forums all over the world. There’s even the documentary Room 237 that attempts to circumnavigate all the twists and turns.
What film today could you imagine getting a documentary thirty years later analysing it in depth for hidden clues and meanings?!

With the incredible amount of preparation he was renowned to put in during both production and preproduction, it’s no surprise that so many visual motifs from his films have become iconic and instantly recognisable. The Shining carpet is certainly one of these.

Think of the chairs used in 2001: A Space Odyssey or even HAL 9000 itself.  (More Kubrick trivia – HAL is one letter away from IBM):

Or the riding of the bomb in Dr Strangelove:

There’s even another from The Shining that I just had to include. Who could ever forget ‘Here’s Johnny…..’

With Delbert Grady guiding us back down the corridor, we return to the retro patterned flooring.
We’re always on the hunt for ideas and fresh inspiration for our printed home decor ranges. As big fans of this movie and The Shining carpet, our Torrance design had to be at the top of our cinematic lust list.

Inspired by The Shining Carpet – A 70s Style Fit For Your Floor?

Imagine this vinyl flooring pattern in the utility, bathroom (hopefully, it doesn’t ship with her in the tub…) or kitchen.
As with our Cooper floor covering, we can use design inspiration from The Shining and beyond and couple it with digital technology. This means we can tweak and change colours to something that fits perhaps a little closer to your existing theme. The Shining carpet looks fantastic but maybe not for every kitchen!

We looked at the size of the pattern and opted for a design repeat that’s around 1.2m from the top to the upturned ‘Y’ at the base. As every flooring we create is bespoke, if this is too big for your room (or maybe not big enough), let us know before printing and we’ll mock up to different dimensions.

All of our flooring designs are available at up to 2.9m wide. Click the link to find out why we only use wide width vinyl flooring.

Kubrick may have liked to add oodles of visual punch to the colours and concepts within his movies. It is ok to not be quite so bold with your downstairs loo!
Have your own unique take on this or from any other source? Get in touch and let’s see whats possible.

Every flooring we produce is bespoke to your room size and ships in around 2 weeks. We print directly onto the wear layer making it just perfect for the lower traffic areas of the home.  Printing this way keeps our delivery times down to a minimum. Panel widths are up to around 2.9m.
We’ve always got samples available so before buying, get in touch through the product pages.

If you know of any other iconic flooring patterns like this carpet from The Shining, ping us a message across social media. I’ve been raiding my DVD collection and keeping an eye out on Netflix, if you see something, share it.

And finally, just remember as we finish off and walk slowly over to the elevator.  Repeat after me, all work and no play can make your home….well, you get the message…

By Joe: Salted popcorn & a regular Cola, aisle seat around five rows from the back.

PS: We’ve got free flooring samples of all our range – there’s a request box under every pattern. Remember we can always change colours and tweak designs to match your style!