At a time when many makers of residential flooring are eyeing the commercial market, Bentley Prince Street is taking a different approach. The company, which is based in City of Industry, Calif., was on hand at a recent design show in Santa Monica to promote bps rugs, a line of upscale area rugs that are designed to expand flooring options for the home.

The 2007 Design Is … Awards hosted by Shaw Contract Group honored six firms from the U.S. and across the world for projects that captured “the challenges, processes and results” of great design using Shaw Contract carpet. The award winners were given $2,000 to donate to schools or organizations of their choice. Winners donated to design education funds, arts colleges, demonstration houses and interior design programs.

Armstrong officials gave a preview of some of their latest products during a press event recently at the company’s headquarters in Lancaster, Pa. The company showed off additions to existing lines and discussed the benefits of its recently launched Migrations BioBased Tile product range as well as several green programs. While the products were eye-catching, it was clear that the company is treading carefully in a softening market that one staffer called “a unique economic situation.”

Armstrong Floor Products president and CEO Frank Ready was even more blunt. “It’s a very tough environment,” he said. “We’re very happy where we’re positioned right now – we feel very good about where we’ll finish in 2007, but the market in 2008 is going to be really tough.”

Milliken was recently honored for “outstanding contributions to urban forestry” by the Georgia Forestry Commission. The flooring maker helped establish the Making the Shade program, which is committed to planting shade trees near elementary school playgrounds to help shield children from high temperatures.

Brintons, widely recognized for its range of Axminster carpets, recently participated in a $20 million restoration of the historic Leland Stanford Mansion in San Francisco. Built in 1856, the 19,000 sq. ft. Victorian mansion originally served as the office of three governors and is today used for the state’s diplomatic and business receptions.  Brintons, which was founded in 1783, provided carpet patterns designed to match the original flooring from photographs taken during the 1870s.

AmericasMart Atlanta is set to add an additional 250,000 sq. ft. of space for furniture, home furnishings and area rugs in time for the January ’08 Atlanta Rug Market. The expansion in Bldg. 1 follows a planned 1.5 million sq. ft. addition to Bldg. 2 slated to open in 2009. When completed, the new wing in Bldg. 2 will create one of the largest assortments of high design, garden and gourmet products in the U.S., according to the company.

Online training group Trainingspace now offers a course on window coverings. Topics include selling window coverings, window coverings types, and measuring, installing and maintaining the product. The window coverings class marks the first course from Trainingspace that moves beyond the traditional areas of flooring and countertops.

“Change! Challenge! Choice!” was the theme of the 14th annual Certified Floorcovering Installers Association (CFI) meeting in Kansas City, Mo. With an eye toward arming CFI members with the latest tools and techniques to combat the recent downturn in housing, the recent event included educational sessions and hands-on workshops designed to take a hard look at the business.

Full-service commercial flooring provider Intertech Flooring, with offices in Austin and San Antonio, recently opened its third office. Located in Mission, Texas, in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley, the branch location will serve the Rio Grande with the company’s blend of commercial flooring products, installation expertise, design consultation and maintenance services.

Solutia’s Ultron carpet fibers business has named its judges for the upcoming 2007 Doc Award Competition in New York. Set for Nov. 28, the contest aims to honor outstanding achievement in contract interior and product design. The awards honor not only architects and designers and their projects, but carpet mills for creating aesthetic and durable contract floor coverings using the company’s fiber.