Expressive, sustainable, and sensory-rich – Balsan redefines hotel flooring as a storytelling surface rooted in craftsmanship and design innovation…
In luxury hospitality, first impressions are formed the moment guests cross the threshold – and the floor beneath their feet plays a more powerful role than ever before.
Once considered a passive backdrop, flooring has become a central design element, shaping ambiance, guiding experience, and reinforcing a hotel’s identity. For Balsan, one of Europe’s most storied carpet manufacturers, flooring isn’t just functional – it’s a medium for artistic expression, technical performance, and environmental responsibility.
With roots dating back to 1751, Balsan merges centuries of French textile expertise with royal links and forward-looking design intelligence. Today, this dual heritage informs collections that are as beautiful as they are resilient – inviting designers to see flooring not only as a surface, but as story.
From the Daydream collection: wellness-inspired geometry in nature-soft tones, crafted with Thrive Matter | Image credit: Balsan
Daydreaming…
Unveiled at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week, Balsan’s Daydream collection captures a new mood in hospitality design: one of sensory calm, understated luxury, and mindful materiality.
Designed for lobbies, lounges, and private suites, the collection features a softly raised geometric texture and a muted, nature-infused palette – perfect for wellness-focused interiors.
What sets Daydream apart is more than aesthetics. It is the first Balsan collection crafted with Thrive Matter, the lowest carbon footprint yarn currently available: 90% recycled and solution-dyed, its carbon footprint is reduced to a record low of 1.19 kg Co²eq/m². This innovation embodies Balsan’s belief that sustainability should never mean sacrificing softness, durability, or design depth.
Subtle volume
Across its latest collections, Balsan explores how texture, pattern, and tone can shape both atmosphere and identity. From the biophilic-inspired Canopy, Bark, and Peak ranges to the expressive detailing of Marble and the eclectic, maximalist spirit of Boheme, each collection is rooted in material storytelling.
For timeless elegance, the Encre collection introduces new couture-inspired colourways and customisable options. This flexibility allows designers to layer tone, texture, and form – crafting flooring that’s unique to each space yet inherently Balsan.
Canopy to Bark macro-micro collection | Image credit: Balsan
Forecasting with purpose
Every Balsan collection is informed by insights from global trend authorities, including the brand’s long-standing partnership with Scarlet Opus, a leading voice in design forecasting. This collaboration translates emerging macrotrends – from chromatic evolution to shifts in spatial psychology – into tactile, future-ready surfaces.
At Balsan’s newly renovated London showroom, a stone’s throw from Farringdon station, these ideas take physical form. Here, designers can interact with samples, experience new textures first-hand, and explore how flooring can function emotionally – as a carrier of brand values, a mood-setter, and a narrative device.
Artistry meets engineering
Beneath the surface of every Balsan carpet lies a commitment to precision and performance. The brand’s proprietary MBrodery technology enables high-definition patterns that stand up to the demands of high-traffic hospitality environments, while solution-dyed yarns like Econyl and Thrive Matter ensure fade resistance, easy maintenance, and long-term environmental benefits.
Soon, Balsan will expand its Elite LVT offering to include dryback and acoustic dryback formats – empowering designers to achieve cohesive floor plans that seamlessly integrate hard and soft surfaces under one curated vision.
Encre: Couture-inspired detailing with bespoke colour layering | Image credit: Balsan
Sustainability, woven in
For Balsan, decorative detail should never come at the planet’s expense. The company’s Green Spirit program guides every stage of production, from water conservation and low-VOC processes to waste reduction and end-of-life planning. Lifecycle thinking is embedded in each launch, offering designers the assurance that their material choices align with both luxury standards and environmental stewardship.
Where design meets detail
As hotel interiors increasingly rely on flooring to ground narrative and shape emotion, Balsan proves that what lies beneath can be as expressive as artwork or lighting – and just as essential. With collections that unite craftsmanship, trend relevance, and sustainability, Balsan invites designers to look down – and see not just surface, but story.
Balsan is one of our Recommended Suppliers and regularly features in our Supplier News section of the website. If you are interested in becoming one of our Recommended Suppliers, please email Katy Phillips.
Main image credit: Balsan
